 of complexity you find that churn is not the real problem but the symptom of a larger underlying problem. Namely, the organization does not know how to manage the complex, critical relationships with customers. They don know who the customers are, what they want and need, what makes them stay, and what makes them go. Because of this, churn appears to be such a big problem. The reality is that customers come and customers go. Some are good and some are not so good. To attempt to prevent customers from leaving is to stifle the long-term economic and marketplace health of your organization. To learn who your customers are and how to manage the complex relationships with them optimally is the key to churn management success. Churn is a complex issue. It is complicated for the customers, who have many reasons for churning, and it is even more complicated for the carriers who have SO many ways to evaluate a churn event. The continuing nature of rapid change and assimilation in the telecommunications area guarantees that these complexities will only increase over time and will happen at an ever-faster pace. If we hope to put together a comprehensive strategy for the management of churn, we need a simple, straightforward, and easy- to-understand framework for evaluating what churn is and what it means to our organization. That strategy must continuously adjust to these ever-changing situations. An approach based on anything less is doomed to failure since we are guaranteed of nothing except that eXcellence in Telecommunications The Telco Churn Handbook change will happen again. With this frame of reference in mind, we will then be able to propose a solution. So, what part of the organization has to address the churn problem? Is churn a revenue issue? If it is, then it is best addressed by the financial organization. Is it a marketing issue? Then let the advertising and market research people worry about it. Maybe it is more of a customer satisfaction issue? Then, by all means, place responsibility on the customer servic