--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The purpose of a business is to get and…" description: "\"The purpose of a business is to get and keep a customer. Without customers, no amount of engineering wizardry, clever financing, or operations expertis..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/837/theodore-levitt-18792_business_the-purpose-of-a-business-is-to-get-and_732940.jpg" --- # The purpose of a business is to get and keep a customer… ![“The purpose of a business is to get and keep a customer. Without customers, no amount of engineering wizardry, clever financing, or operations expertise can keep a company going.” quote by Theodore Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/837/theodore-levitt-18792_business_the-purpose-of-a-business-is-to-get-and_732940.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/837/theodore-levitt-18792_business_the-purpose-of-a-business-is-to-get-and_732940.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/837/theodore-levitt-18792_business_the-purpose-of-a-business-is-to-get-and_732940.jpg) > “The purpose of a business is to get and keep a customer. Without customers, no amount of engineering wizardry, clever financing, or operations expertise can keep a company going.” [Theodore Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-levitt/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A business exists to serve customers; without them, all internal expertise is useless. **In simple terms:** Customers are the purpose of business. Key Takeaway Focus on creating and retaining customers. Themes business customer focus value creation Mood pragmatic analytical Type business strategic When to use this quote - product launches - service improvements - retention campaigns Key Concepts marketing customer loyalty strategic planning Questions to Reflect On - How can you balance customer needs with employee satisfaction? - What metrics truly reflect customer value? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on customers can ignore employee wellbeing. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) [Clever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clever/) [Company](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/company/) [Customer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/customer/) [Engineering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/engineering/) [Expertise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expertise/) [Financing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/financing/) [Purpose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purpose/) [Wizardry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wizardry/) ## Related quotes > [The true purpose of a business is to create and keep a customer, not to make you money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-levitt/the-true-purpose-of-a-business-is-to-create-and-keep-a-customer-not/) [Theodore Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-levitt/) > [When you can show concern about what matters to your customer, that's Business to Customer Loyalty, and you can bet on it, you've just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-houtum-schindler/when-you-can-show-concern-about-what-matters-to-your-customer-that-s/) Albert Houtum-Schindler > [I became a policeman because I wanted to be in a business where the customer is always wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/azgraybebly-josland/i-became-a-policeman-because-i-wanted-to-be-in-a-business-where-the/) Azgraybebly Josland > [Business is all about the customer: what the customer wants and what they get. Generally, every customer wants a product or service that solves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fabrizio-moreira/business-is-all-about-the-customer-what-the-customer-wants-and-what/) [Fabrizio Moreira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fabrizio-moreira/) > [“Language is powerful. What we say can shape how we think—and it certainly shapes how others think about us. 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The law of averages shows that 80% of companies are going to fail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/troy-carter/it-isn-t-that-every-company-is-going-to-be-successful-the-law-of/) [Troy Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/troy-carter/) > [For products with revision possibilities, there is no better source available than a company going out of business!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-joseph-cossman/for-products-with-revision-possibilities-there-is-no-better-source/) [E. Joseph Cossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-joseph-cossman/) ## More by Theodore Levitt > [Ideation is not a synonym for innovation, conformity is not its simple antonym, and innovation is not the automatic consequence of "creative thinking.".](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-levitt/ideation-is-not-a-synonym-for-innovation-conformity-is-not-its-simple/) [Theodore Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-levitt/) > [The true purpose of a business is to create and keep a customer, not to make you money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-levitt/the-true-purpose-of-a-business-is-to-create-and-keep-a-customer-not/) [Theodore Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-levitt/) > [An industry begins with the customer and his or her needs, not with a patent, a raw material, or a selling skill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-levitt/an-industry-begins-with-the-customer-and-his-or-her-needs-not-with-a/) [Theodore Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-levitt/) > [A consistently highly creative person is generally irresponsible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-levitt/a-consistently-highly-creative-person-is-generally-irresponsible/) [Theodore Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-levitt/) > [A powerful force drives the world toward a converging commonality, and that force is technology. … Almost everyone everywhere wants all the things they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-levitt/a-powerful-force-drives-the-world-toward-a-converging-commonality-and/) [Theodore Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-levitt/) > [People don't want quarter-inch drills. 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