 and desires. I asked them to think about what changed when they met the right person, the one who they were willing to commit to, to be loyal to. In fact, for most of us, commitment and loyalty come not because we're satisfied, but because we are delighted. When we find that person (or company) that goes beyond simple satisfaction and into delighting us, we find the one we will stick with. The one who delights us is the one who introduces us to what we never looked at before, to reevaluating our priorities and to benefits that we never even put on our original list. This idea of going beyond satisfaction to delight is a powerful one. It makes us want more. It takes us to a higher level in our relationships, to the level of commitment and loyalty that makes us feel better about ourselves. Would you like your customers to be delighted, to be as passionate about their relationship with your company as they were when they found Mr. or Miss Right? Then read on and get ready to take action. Rob Mattison understands our industry and the problems we face. This book will give you tools that can make a difference to your customers and to your profits; they go hand in hand. Joseph H. O'Konek President Far EasTone telecommunications Co. Ltd ATT Wireless Taipei, Taiwan Table of Contents TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 1 Churn in Telecom: The Golden Opportunity Welcome to the World of Churn Wireless Churn in the U.S. Churn Is Pervasive Churn around the World Churn for Long Distance Carriers Churn Is Inevitable The Technology The Customers The Regulators The Competitors Churn Is Expensive Lost Customers = Lost Revenue Lower Rates = Lower Revenue The Cost of Reacquisition The Cost of Customer Retention Advertising Escalation The Price Spiral Organizational Chaos Planning and Budgeting Chaos Investor Relations Liability Churn Is Difficult to Manage The Big Surprise Difficult to Predict Difficult to Explain Difficult to Defend Against Churn, the Golden Opportunity How Do We Turn Churn into a Good Thing Making Radical Changes in Market 