In tech and B2B companies, it’s not always easy to quickly explain what the product does and why it’s important. The product can be technological and complex, the sales process can take a long time, and sometimes several decision-makers are involved in the decision-making process.
Here he came in Business storytelling – The ability to turn complex information into a clear narrative that connects the market change, the customer’s problem, the solution, and the business value.
The goal is not to turn every presentation or page on the website into a ”story.” The goal is to give the information structure and context so that it is easier to understand and remember it.
What is business storytelling?
Business storytelling is the use of a narrative structure to convey a business message. Instead of presenting only the product and its features, we start from the customer’s reality and explain how the product connects with them.
A basic structure might look like this:
Market change – Problem – Limitation of existing solutions – New approach – Solution – Result
For example, a cyber company could say:
“Our platform uses AI to identify threats in real time.”
Or explain the same product through the problem:
“The number of cyber alerts has increased, and security teams find it difficult to check them all manually. Our platform analyzes the alerts and helps teams identify the threats that require attention.”
The technology is still in the early stages, but it is now clearer Why is it relevant.
Why is storytelling important in tech and B2B companies?
Complex products require connection
When the product includes technology, integrations, or complex processes, a feature list is not always enough to explain its value.
A narrative allows one to start with the problem and the desired outcome, and only then to explain how the technology makes that possible.
There are several stakeholders in the acquisition process
In B2B, different people may examine the same product from different perspectives. A business manager will be interested in the outcome, an IT person in the implementation, and a user in how the product will impact daily work.
Therefore, it is advisable to build one central message that can be adapted to the needs of each audience.
The message needs to be passed on.
In a complex sales process, the person who meets with the company is not necessarily the sole decision-maker. A clear message allows him to explain the solution to other people in the organization as well.
How do you build a business narrative?
It is possible to start with six simple steps.
1. What has changed in the market?
Start with the client's reality:
- What has changed in the field?
- Which problem became more significant?
- Why is the topic relevant now?
2. What problem has arisen?
Define the problem as concretely as possible.
Instead:
“Managing permissions is a significant challenge.”
One could say:
“When employees and systems have access to a large number of environments, it is more difficult to maintain an up-to-date view of permissions.”
3. Why are the existing solutions not enough?
It is not necessary to claim that the existing solutions “do not work”. It is possible to explain what has changed and what the created limitation is.
4. What is the company's approach?
Here we present the company’s main concept – even before we get into all the features.
5. How does the product implement the approach?
Only at this stage is it worth getting into the technology, the functionality, and the product's advantages.
6. What evidence exists?
A business narrative needs to be connected to reality. You can use customer data, case studies, usage data, results, or concrete examples.
A simple template for writing a narrative
We can start by completing the sentences:
The market has changed: ___
As a result, customers face: ___
The existing solutions are difficult because: ___
Our approach is: ___
The product allows customers to: ___
Proof of this: ___
Then you can adapt the same narrative to a presentation, a website, marketing materials, or a sales pitch.
Storitization for complex technological products
In DeepTech companies and in companies that offer complex technological products, one of the common mistakes is to start with the technology.
Instead of immediately explaining how the system works, we could start with the value:
“The system allows manufacturers to identify defects in the production process in real time.”
And only afterwards explain:
“The system analyzes images from the production line using a computer vision model and identifies abnormalities.”
Thus, someone who is not an expert first understands. What the product allows, And anyone who wants to go deeper can also understand how he does it.
Storytelling in a presentation for investors
In a presentation to investors, the narrative should help answer some basic questions:
- What has changed in the market?
- What problem has arisen?
- Why are the existing solutions not enough?
- What does the company offer?
- Why is this approach relevant?
- What evidence already exists?
Therefore, instead of starting immediately with the product, we can build a sequence like this:
The change → the problem → the gap → the new approach → the product → Traction → the market and opportunity
The exact structure varies depending on the company, the stage it is at, and the purpose of the presentation.
Storytelling in the B2B sales process
In B2B sales, it is important that the narrative be clear even for those who did not participate in the first meeting.
It is possible to maintain the same central message, but to change the emphasis depending on the stakeholder.
For the Business Manager:
“The system allows for reducing the time the organization invests in the process and improving the ability to manage it.”
To the IT manager:
“The system connects to existing systems and centralizes the process in one place.”
For the user:
“Instead of performing the process manually across multiple systems, it can be performed from a single interface.”
This does not require three different stories. It is the same narrative, with a different emphasis depending on the need.
5 Common Mistakes in Business Storytelling
Starting with the features
The list of capabilities does not necessarily explain why the product is important. Start with the problem and the value.
Users use too much jargon
Professional terms are important, but it is worth making sure that the main message is understood even by those who are not experts.
They exaggerate the message
Not every company needs to “change the industry” or “redefine the future.” A good narrative can be simple and based on a real problem.
Presenting claims without proof
If it is claimed that the product saves time, reduces costs or improves performance, it is worth supporting this with data or examples.
Creating different messages in each channel
If the company's website displays one message, another message in a presentation, and a third message in its marketing materials, it is more difficult to understand what the company is doing.
How do you measure if storytelling works?
The impact of a narrative is not measured by a single metric. The metrics need to fit the purpose.
In sales, for example, you can check:
- The percentage of conversion between the stages of the Funnel.
- Win Rate.
- Length of the sales cycle.
- Average deal size.
On the website you can examine:
- Engagement.
- Beyond product or demo pages.
- Conversion Rate.
- Performance of the main message columns.
Questions that repeat themselves from customers can also provide an indication: if customers still have difficulty understanding what the company is doing or what the value of the product is, the narrative may need to be refined.
Business storytelling in the age of AI
Today, company messages appear not only on the website and in presentations, but also in search results and in AI systems.
To understand a company, these systems need to clearly identify:
- Who is the company.
- What she offers.
- To whom it is intended.
- What problem does it solve?.
- In what category does it operate?.
- In what way is it different.
Therefore, a clear and consistent narrative can also contribute to the company’s digital presence. There is no need to write content “for AI”; it is more important to ensure that the company presents itself in a clear, consistent, and verifiable way across all digital assets.
Frequently asked questions
How do you build storytelling for a high-tech company?
We start with the change in the market and the customer’s problem, continue with the company’s approach and solution, and conclude with evidence that supports the value the company offers.
How to do storytelling in B2B sales?
They build a central narrative that explains the problem, the solution, and the value, and then adapt the emphasis to the different stakeholders in the purchasing process.
How do you explain a complex technological product?
It is recommended to start with the results that the product enables and only then explain the technology behind it.
Is storytelling suitable for startups?
Yes. It can be used on the website, in investor presentations, in sales calls, and in marketing materials. It is important that the narrative is based on the problem the company truly solves and on facts that can be supported.
What is the difference between storytelling and content marketing?
Content Marketing is a broad field of creating and distributing content for marketing purposes. Storytelling is a way to build and convey a message, and it can be used as part of a Content Marketing strategy.
