Storytelling in B2B Tech

In an exclusive conversation with Global Leaders Insights, Damien Davis, Senior Director of the Customer Excellence Group at ServiceNow, shares how B2B tech storytelling is evolving as products and buyer journeys grow more complex. He emphasises shifting from feature-heavy messaging to human-centred narratives that clarify outcomes, build confidence, and unite diverse stakeholders. Davis highlights the importance of simplicity, emotional resonance, and narrative agility—especially as AI accelerates expectations and increases the need for proof-driven communication. His perspective underscores a clear truth: the most effective tech stories today translate complexity into possibility and make transformation feel achievable, personal, and inspiring.

How is storytelling evolving as B2B tech products and buyer journeys grow more complex?

Storytelling in B2B tech has shifted from explaining what a product does to clarifying why it matters and how it makes people feel. As buyer journeys become more complex; with multiple stakeholders, longer cycles, and higher expectations, the role of storytelling becomes even more important.

Modern buyers aren’t looking for feature lists. They’re looking for confidence. They want to understand how technology will reduce friction, accelerate value, and make their teams’ lives easier. That means stories must go beyond functionality and focus on human outcomes: clarity, speed, trust, resilience, impact.

The evolution I see is a move from product storytelling to purpose storytelling. The best B2B narratives today help an organisation imagine a better version of itself. They translate complexity into possibility. And they connect strategy, emotion, and technology in a way that feels personal, even across large enterprises.

The most successful stories simplify, unify, and energise. In a world of more noise and more choice than ever before, and in an era where storytelling runs a risk of being caught up in AI fatigue, the brands that win will be those who tell the clearest, most human stories

Also Read: Methods to Combat Clinician Burnout Through Smarter Healthcare IT

What challenges arise when turning technical features into clear, human-focused stories?

The biggest challenge is translation. Technologists speak in precision; talking about features, architecture, performance, integrations. Buyers speak in outcomes; time saved, risk reduced, people empowered, processes improved.

Bridging that gap is an art.

Another challenge is proximity. When you live inside a product every day, it’s easy to forget that customers don’t. Leaders often fall into the trap of “over-explaining the engine” instead of “showing the road ahead.” Too much detail creates distance. Simplicity creates connection.

There’s also the challenge of emotional resonance. B2B environments have historically avoided emotion, but the reality is that technology decisions are deeply emotional: anxiety about implementation, excitement about transformation, fear of failure, pressure to deliver. Stories must acknowledge the human reality behind enterprise decisions.

Finally, there’s the challenge of relevance. A story that makes sense to a CIO may fall flat with a finance lead or a frontline manager. Human-centred storytelling requires empathy, not assumption. It demands we understand people, not just role personas.

How do you ensure B2B tech stories resonate with diverse stakeholders and pain points?

You start with empathy, not messaging.

Before writing a single sentence, I ask myself three questions:

1. Who is the hero of the story?
2. What do they care about most?
3. What outcome would change their world?

When you shift the narrative from “our product” to “their progress,” you unlock relevance across the organisation.

For technical teams, that may mean clarity and reliability.
For executives, it’s value and predictability.
For operators, it’s reducing chaos and creating space to think.

The second key is layering. Great narratives allow multiple entry points; a high-level vision supported by specific proof points, use cases, accelerators, or data depending on the audience. A single “story spine” can serve the whole business if it’s constructed properly.

The final piece is human language. If someone can’t repeat your story after one conversation, it’s too complicated. Resonance isn’t about saying more, it’s about saying what matters in a way people remember (which is usually by saying less)!

What advice do you have for turning technical features into simple narratives?

Start with the outcome, not the feature.

A feature is what it does.
A narrative is what it unlocks.

If you can connect a capability to a human moment; a saved hour, a reduced escalation, a happier team, a clearer insight, you’ve created meaning.

Here’s a simple framework I use:

Problem → Promise → Proof → Emotional payoff

• Problem: What frustration or friction exists today?
• Promise: What becomes possible with this capability?
• Proof: What evidence or example brings it to life?
• Payoff: How will this feel for the people who use it?

The emotional payoff is where the magic happens. Because even in enterprise tech, emotion drives action. People remember how you made them feel long after they’ve forgotten the metrics.

And most importantly:
If your story requires a decoder ring, rewrite it.
Clarity and simplicity are the ultimate differentiators.

Also Read: The Roll-Up-My-Sleeves Leader: Driving Hig-Performance B2B Teams

How will B2B tech storytelling shift with AI growth and changing buyer expectations?

AI is accelerating everything; expectations, competition, complexity, and demand for clarity. As a result, storytelling will need to evolve in three key ways:

• Faster and more adaptive narratives

AI will change buyer questions week to week. Stories will need to evolve as fast as the market shifts. Static messaging won’t survive. Leaders will need narrative agility.

• More human-centred messaging

Ironically, the more AI enters the workplace, the more human the story needs to be. Buyers want reassurance about trust, safety, augmentation, and purpose. The winning narratives will focus on empowering people, not replacing them. 

• Proof-led storytelling at scale

AI enables deeper data, benchmark intelligence, and predictive insights. Future stories won’t rely on abstract claims. They’ll be rooted in live evidence: adoption signals, value realisation, customer accelerators, and real-world outcomes.

Ultimately, storytelling is becoming less about “explaining technology” and more about building belief; belief in the vision, the partnership, and the path forward. AI can support that, but it will never replace the human touch that makes a story worth following.