If you had a choice (which you do), would you rather work with your friends or the usual run of the mill customer? You, like many others, would want to do business with people who are friends – those people who you can trust and enjoy their patronage. Here are three suggestions on how you can build long lasting quality friendships in business: Be in business for the long term. Consider the lifetime value of a customer over the entire period of purchase. Be honest with your customers to treat t.