Final answer:
Market-based businesses aim to build lifetime partnerships with customers, as sustaining a loyal customer base can be more beneficial and cost-effective in the long term, similar to how producers find it easier to expand over several years.
Step-by-step explanation:
A market-based business typically views customers through a strategic lens, often aiming to build lifetime partnerships. The idea is that over the long term, sustaining a loyal customer base can be more profitable and less costly than constantly seeking new one-time transactions.
This aligns with how on the supply side of markets, producers tend to find it easier to expand production and operations over a span of several years rather than in shorter, more immediate terms. Investing in customer relationships can parallel the way that businesses plan for growth and expansion over the long term. Therefore, the correct answer to the question 'A market-based business looks at customers as ________.' would be D) lifetime partners.