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makes an impact at that moment of whether customers are more or less likely to do business with that firm again now and in the long term, 

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 i.e., their profitability. Organizations need to balance their need for short-term revenue with their need for long-term sustainability. 

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An enterprise that takes too many actions that drive short-term profit at the expense of long-term customer satisfaction may over time find that it no longer has customers to sell to.

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Partnership - Of course, different businesses require different types of partnerships;

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but one company may itself have multiple types of relationships with its various customers. 

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Making a partnership successful requires first understanding your company's and customers' expectations of what that partnership should be. 

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Dow Chemical, for example, partners closely with customers that require extensive customization of its products, while also offering online self-service for customers that need only purchase standard products and that want them in the fastest time at the cheapest price.

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Both partnerships are based on value, but the value for the former is based on collaboration; the value for the latter is based on efficiency.

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From the customer perspective, partnership may be as simple as getting what they expect--based on branding or contracts or interactions.

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For the customer, having a "partnership" is often just knowing that the organizations they do business will deliver the service, price, or product they have promised.