Sales leaders, marketing leaders, and account managers spend a significant amount of time controlling for the costs of customer acquisition, customer retention, and customer attrition. Possibly the most important driver in acquiring and retaining customers is relationship management. Successful relationship management demands a significant investment of time and energy to prepare and execute a customer acquisition, customer retention, and customer attrition management strategy. Customer acquisition requires consistent dialogue with potential customers about their goals, objectives, and ideas for achieving them. Customer retention is realized by not only establishing regular dialogue about forward-looking plans, but also establishing a shared understanding of the partnership’s successes and areas for improvement. Customer attrition demands a hawklike management of challenges that may lead to the loss of a customer's confidence. While building and maintaining relationships is part of the everyday lifeblood of a successful department, challenges that may lead to the loss of a customer's confidence are naturally less frequent. Consequently, information technology leaders may not allocate sufficient time to prepare risk-management plans for potential customer attrition. Repairing damaged customer relationships can be extremely difficult. Repairing the damaged reputation of an information technology department can be even more difficult. Information technology leaders who drive organizational success invest a substantial amount of their time and energy to acquire and onboard new customers, ensure their current customers reach their goals and objectives, and always have a plan to deal with potential customer loss of confidence.