3. Should certain customers be asked to take their business elsewhere?

As business owners we often get faked out by thinking as long as we keep the gross
sales numbers high, theres bound to be enough net left over to make it all worthwhile.
However, if we ran a true profit and loss statement on these problem clients, which took
into account all the time we spend chasing and appeasing them, we would find very
often that were making very little, if any, real profit on them.
In fact most of them would likely result in a net loss when taking into account the low
value they bring coupled with the time and energy needed to deal with them. Another
reason we should immediately fire low value customers is because apart from sucking
up our financial resources, they are also causing us to lose out on opportunities.
Firing problem customers gives us more time to spend on acquiring high quality, high
value customers. With the squeaky wheels taking up all our time and energy, its often
the high value, respectful customers who suffer a lack of attention.
Firing them gives us the time needed to show more love to our existing top 20%, high
value customers. This builds loyalty and can very quickly result in an increase in sales to
these existing high value customers that far outweighs any loss of sales that resulted in
firing problem customers.
Another beneficial side effect of firing problem customers is that it creates scarcity
without being disingenuous. It sends a message that we only have a limited supply. With
limited supply, people have to play by our rules and pay accordingly.

4. How should the revised service packages to each segment be introduced to
thatsegment? By the sales force? Should all segments be done at the same time?
As segmentation being done by the company along with the evolving in
telecommunications offerings, one of the biggest industry trends is that operators are
trying to find ways to engage in a conversation with their customer base via their
customer care organization. The reasons as numerous studies confirm, there is a direct
correlation between 'good customer service' and such value-management levers as
customer satisfaction, retention and up/cross-sell propensity.
The difficulty lies in the current state of customer service in the telecom industry. Telcos
are still struggling to support their customers and their existing services as complex new
offerings continue to proliferate. And while customers scrutinize service quality, company
management dissects organizational efficiency and the cost of running the service
operation.
Too many operators provide the same level of service to every customer. This structure
has huge cost implications for the organization and results in poor quality and service
inefficiency. A segmentation-based approach to service helps to deliver on both
customers' and management's expectations by providing the right level of service for
each customer or customer group based on their value and needs. Essential to a
segmentation-based service strategy is channel migration, which helps to contain
service costs.
In simple terms, customers' value is not equal; therefore, their treatment strategies
should not be equal. Today such emerging channels as mobile, social media and the
Web create opportunities for telco operators to adopt a segment approach that will allow
them to optimize their service quality. Higher-value customers receive higher-quality
service through direct channels, while operators migrate lower-value customers to
alternative channels. Doing so leads to cost optimization, which would not only improve
the company's bottom line, but would also help to offset the cost of differentiated
services, like concierge services for high-value customers.
This segmentation-based service methodology should trigger a mind-set shift that has
implications in four areas such as organizational structure, agent profile and skill-set,
quality practices and performance/KPI monitoring. The service operation needs to be
structured to support segmentation-based service. This may require additional agent skill
sets, changes to processes that impact service quality and rethinking KPIs (e.g., moving
from average handle time to first contact resolution).