Table 11 Sept 2026From “Long customer relationships can be low-profit”

Why must customer profitability analysis isolate the economic transaction object?

Table 1Why must customer profitability analysis isolate the economic transaction object?

Field	Question	Why it matters
Relationship clock	How is duration measured, and from which event?	Longevity is a time variable whose start and end rules affect comparison.
Revenue path	What revenue is observed over which periods?	Repeated revenue does not reveal cost or margin by itself.
Service cost	What support, delivery, acquisition, and account costs are included?	Cost-to-serve can move differently from revenue.
Price path	How do discounts, terms, and realized prices change?	Price can explain why a long relationship is or is not profitable.
Margin boundary	Which contribution or profit measure is being used?	The conclusion depends on the economic definition.
Evidence quality	Which inputs are measured, allocated, or estimated?	Unspecified inputs make profitability comparisons fragile.
Investment decision	What action would change if the economics changed?	A diagnostic needs a decision, not only a segment label.

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Source: Table from this essay. Sources and interpretation are given in the article.

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From the essay

Growth that compounds

Long customer relationships can be low-profit

Longevity is a time variable, not proof of profit: review revenue, service cost, price, margin, measurement quality, and investment together.

1 Sept 2026

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Isoglu, S. (2026). Why must customer profitability analysis isolate the economic transaction object? [Table]. isoglu.com. https://isoglu.com/insights/exhibits/isoglu-2026-long-customer-relationships-can-be-low-profit-fig01/

BibTeX

@misc{isoglu-2026-long-customer-relationships-can-be-low-profit-fig01,
  author = {Isoglu, Sinan},
  title = {{Why must customer profitability analysis isolate the economic transaction object?}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Table 1, isoglu.com},
  url = {https://isoglu.com/insights/exhibits/isoglu-2026-long-customer-relationships-can-be-low-profit-fig01/},
  note = {From the essay {Long customer relationships can be low-profit}}
}

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