We can now see the importance of not only acquiring customers but also keeping and growing them. One marketing consultant puts it this way: “The only value your company willever create is the value that comes from customers—the ones you have now and the onesyou will have in the future. Without customers, you don’t have a business.”30 Customer relationship management takes a long-term view. Companies want not only to create profitable customers but also “own” them for life, earn a greater share of their purchases, andcapture their customer lifetime value