Who Really Owns the Customer? (And How We Lost Them Without Noticing)

Your sales rep used to show up with answers. Your customers called you first. The relationship was direct, personal, built on trust.

Now they Google before they call. Search Amazon Business before they email. Check reviews before they visit.

The interface moved. And with it, the relationship.

Here's what happened:

• Amazon Business didn't just add B2B products. They became where 6+ million businesses start their search. Your visibility depends entirely on their algorithm now.
• Salesforce didn't just manage contacts. They became the system of record that defines how your relationships are tracked, measured, and valued. Your customer data lives in their cloud.
• Google didn't just organize information. They became the front door to your business. If you're not in their results, you don't exist to new customers.
• Microsoft Teams didn't just enable meetings. They became the workspace where decisions happen. If you're not integrated, you're not part of the conversation.
• LinkedIn didn't just connect professionals. They became where your customers research you before meetings. Your reputation lives in their algorithm. One bad review or missing update, and you're invisible to prospects.

Each solution made business easier. Each promised more reach, more efficiency, more growth.

But notice the pattern: every convenience moved your customers one step further from you.

You still get the transaction. But they own the relationship.

Your "customers" are really Amazon's users, Google's searchers, Salesforce's contacts, Microsoft's subscribers, LinkedIn's connections. You've become a vendor in someone else's operating system.

This didn't feel like loss because it came disguised as opportunity. More leads. Better tools. Easier processes.

The platforms delivered exactly what they promised. What they didn't mention was the price: your customers would no longer be yours.

Ask yourself: When your customers have a question, where do they go first? When they're ready to buy, whose interface guides that decision?

If you can't answer with confidence, you're already losing ground.

The consumer world took 20 years to flip. B2B is flipping in half that time.

Who's building the interface that will own your customer relationships?

And what are you doing about it this quarter?