In stating that the existential purpose of a firm is to serve a customer profitably, we can even leave the word “profitably” out of this claim and still be accurate. Customers that are not profitable are not customers. They are leeches sucking the lifeblood, that is, cash flow, out of the firm. No firm can serve leeches for long. Leeches should be eschewed rather than pursued. Hence, we could simply state that the purpose of a firm is to serve customers. Period.
