This is lesson one. This is towards one of our missions. Education. You’ll learn everything about marketing — from the basics to the most advanced strategies — for free, thanks to VellumWorks.
Long before “customer-first” became a buzzword, Peter Drucker said something revolutionary:
“The purpose of a business is to create a customer.”
He didn’t mean “make a sale.” He meant that every organisation, business, charity, or community exists to understand people’s needs and organise itself to meet them.
Drucker’s theory shaped modern management, marketing, and leadership. It reminds us that success doesn’t come from what you want to do. It comes from what others need you to be.
What Is Drucker’s Theory of Business?
Drucker’s Theory of Business is a framework that helps organisations stay aligned with the changing world around them.
He said that every organisation, or charity, rests on three key assumptions:
About the environment: What’s changing around you?
About the mission: Why do you exist?
About the core competencies: What are you uniquely good at?
If these assumptions no longer fit reality, the organisation begins to lose relevance — even if its intentions stay good.
As an example:
A charity founded to run in-person literacy programs might need to revisit its assumptions after the rise of online learning. Its mission (education) hasn’t changed, but its methods must.
Drucker’s View on the Customer
Drucker redefined marketing as the whole business seen from the customer’s point of view.
He believed that:
The customer defines what a business is.
The goal is not to sell what you make, but to make what people actually need.
True innovation begins with understanding the customer better than anyone else.
For charities, that means knowing your audience — not just the people you serve, but the people who make your work possible: donors, volunteers, partners, and communities.
As an example:
An animal welfare charity might think people donate because they love animals — but Drucker would ask, “What emotional need are they fulfilling?” (e.g., compassion, belonging, purpose).
When you understand that, your communication changes — from asking for money to inviting people to live their values.
Drucker’s Customer-Centric Model
Drucker’s approach can be summarised in a simple three-part mindset:
Know your customer.
Who are they, really? What do they care about?
Serve your customer.
Deliver something valuable, meaningful, and reliable.
Grow with your customer.
Adapt as their needs and expectations evolve.
This creates a feedback loop of trust and relevance. When you know your supporters deeply and continue to serve them better, they don’t just give once. They stay with you for life.
Why Drucker’s Thinking Matters for Charities
Because too many organisations still build around their internal goals (“We need to raise £50,000”) instead of their audience’s motivations (“How can we make it easier for people to give and feel connected?”).
Drucker’s philosophy invites charities to:
Redefine their mission around the people they serve.
Build systems that listen, adapt, and communicate transparently.
Treat marketing as a way to understand and empower, not just promote.
When you apply this mindset, you stop asking, “How can we get more donors?” and start asking, “How can we create more value for the people who already believe in us?”
That’s how sustainable growth happens.
10-Minute Exercise: Rethink Your Assumptions
Environment: What’s changed around us in the past 3 years?
Mission: Does our purpose still reflect what people actually need?
Core Strength: What do we do better than anyone else — and does the world still value it?
Customer: Who are we really serving, and what do they value most?
You’ll be surprised how much clarity (and opportunity) this brings.
Why is this important to know?
Drucker taught that organisations fail when they forget who they exist for.
The future belongs to those who listen, adapt, and serve people better every single day. That’s customer-centricity — not as a slogan, but as a way of working.
At VellumWorks, we believe knowledge should be free. That’s why this series will guide you, step by step, through everything from the basics to the most advanced strategies in marketing: no jargon, no gatekeeping, just education that empowers.
