The purpose of a business is to create Meaning Factcheck Usage

You know, I’ve seen so many businesses chase vanity metrics, but “The purpose of a business is to create” and keep a customer is the real game-changer. It flips the entire script from transactions to relationships, and honestly, it’s the only strategy that builds something lasting.

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Table of Contents

• Meaning
• Explanation
• Origin & Factcheck
• Context
• Usage Examples
• Common Questions

Meaning

At its core, this means that profit isn’t the primary goal; it’s the result. The real, fundamental job of any business is to do two things: attract a customer, and then do whatever it takes to make them stay.

Explanation

Let me break this down because it’s deceptively simple. “Create a customer” is all your marketing, your sales, your value proposition—it’s the initial handshake. But the magic, the real profit engine, is in “keep a customer.” That’s where you build loyalty, get repeat sales, and turn clients into raving fans who refer others. It’s a shift from a one-time sale mindset to a lifetime value mindset. I’ve seen companies obsessed with lead volume, but the ones that thrive are obsessed with customer satisfaction and retention.

Quote Summary

Context	Attributes
Original Language	English (3668)
Category	Business (233)
Topics	customer (3), service (57), value (44)
Literary Style	professional (35), succinct (151)
Emotion / Mood	rational (68), strategic (66)
Overall Quote Score	79 (243)

Origin & Factcheck

This quote comes directly from Brian Tracy’s book, “The Psychology of Selling,” which has been a cornerstone for sales professionals since its publication. While the sentiment echoes the legendary management thinker Peter Drucker, this specific phrasing is Tracy’s, born from his work in sales training and effectiveness, primarily in the US.

Attribution Summary

Context	Attributes
Author	Brian Tracy (375)
Source Type	Book (4032)
Source/Book Name	The Psychology of Selling (65)
Origin Timeperiod	Contemporary (1615)
Original Language	English (3668)
Authenticity	Verified (4032)

Where is this quotation located?

Quotation	The purpose of a business is to create and keep a customer
Book Details	Publication Year/Date: 1988; ISBN: 978-0785288060; Last Edition: HarperCollins, Revised Edition 2006; Number of Pages: 240
Where is it?	Chapter 18: Customer Retention, Page 231 / 240

Context

In the book, Tracy is drilling into the psychology of what makes a top performer in sales. He’s arguing that the best salespeople don’t just close a deal; they open a relationship. They understand that their success isn’t measured by a single commission check but by a growing list of satisfied, repeat customers.

Usage Examples

So how do you actually use this? It’s a north star for decision-making.

• For a Marketing Team: Instead of just asking “Will this campaign generate leads?”, ask “Will this attract the right kind of customer we can actually keep?” It changes the entire targeting strategy.
• For a Product Team: Every feature update should be viewed through the lens of “Does this deepen our existing customers’ loyalty?” Not just “Will this attract new users?”
• For Leadership: When reviewing metrics, shift the focus from just monthly sales figures to customer lifetime value (LTV) and churn rate. That’s where you see if you’re truly “keeping” them.

To whom it appeals?

Context	Attributes
Theme	Principle (838)
Audiences	consultants (70), entrepreneurs (1006), leaders (2619), marketers (166), sales people (228)
Usage Context/Scenario	business lectures (6), corporate keynotes (3), marketing workshops (7), sales training (42)

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Common Questions

Question: Isn’t the purpose of a business to make a profit?
Answer: Absolutely, but profit is the outcome, the scoreboard. Creating and keeping a customer is the activity that generates that profit sustainably. You can have short-term profit by burning through customers, but you can’t have long-term profit without keeping them.

Question: How is this different from customer service?
Answer: Customer service is a part of keeping a customer, but this philosophy is bigger. It’s about the entire customer experience—from the first ad they see, to the quality of the product, to the support they receive. It’s a company-wide ethos, not just a department.

Question: What’s the first step to applying this?
Answer: The simplest place to start is to map your customer’s journey. Identify every single touchpoint they have with your company and ask one question at each stage: “Is this designed to create a customer, or to keep one?” You’ll find your answers—and your gaps—really, really quickly.