The Journey: #39 No One Owner

When I started in Customer Success, we were trained to say things like:

“I’m your trusted advisor.”

“I’ll be your main point of contact.”

“If you need anything, come to me first.”

It sounded good at the time. It set a tone of partnership and made customers feel like they had a direct lifeline. And in the early days, it worked. I was the account owner. I knew everything happening in my book of business. My customers trusted me and they came to me for everything.

And I mean everything.

Support tickets.

Product ideas.

Case studies.

Billing concerns.

While it was flattering, it also made me a single point of failure.

If I was on PTO? Requests sat unanswered.

If I was buried in emails? Urgent asks went stale.

If I missed something? I became the blocker.

That wasn’t fair to the customer or to me. If I walked away, so did their only tie to the business and that’s a risk no one should carry.

Over time, I realized my job wasn’t to be the owner. It was to be the orchestrator. Customers needed to know who to go to, when, and for what.

So I started redirecting:

Support tickets → Support.

Invoice questions → Accounts Receivable.

Renewal discussions → Account Managers.

Case studies & events → Marketing.

The result? Faster responses. Better experiences. More connections across the organization. Customers built stronger partnerships, not just with me, but with the company.

Fast forward over a decade, and I still hear CSMs refer to themselves as the “account owner.” And every time, I cringe. Because there is no one owner. Ownership should be shared, clarified, and aligned.

The Problem with “Account Ownership”

Creates Bottlenecks: Customers depend on one person instead of the right team.

Breeds Burnout: The CSM becomes a catch-all inbox for every request.

Misaligns Expectations: Customers assume you’re responsible for everything—even things outside your scope.

Delays Resolution: Routing through a single person slows down answers.

Weakens Relationships: Customers miss the chance to connect with experts across your org and creates single threaded relationships.

So over the years, I’ve worked on new ways to help my CSMs manage this dynamic with customers and set clearer expectations. Here’s what I’ve found works.

Set Expectations Early: Explain who handles what from day one.

Introduce the Village: Bring support, AMs, marketing, and others into calls and emails so faces match functions.

Use “We,” Not “I”: Shift language from “I’ll take care of that” to “Our team will support you on this.”

Educate Customers on Processes: Show them how to submit tickets, where to go for billing, how renewals flow.

Stay the Strategic Anchor: Position yourself as the connector, guiding the customer toward outcomes—not managing every tactical task.

The Bottom Line

You don’t build trust by being the only name on speed dial.

You build trust by helping customers navigate your company, access the right resources, and achieve outcomes faster.

There’s no one owner. And that’s a good thing.