Marketers love a good story. But when it comes to telling our own, we often fall into one of two traps: We either say too little and undersell ourselves, or say too much and come across like we’re trying to win a trophy no one asked for.
Sound familiar?
It’s easy to get caught up in the language of hype, especially when we’re under pressure to prove value. But if your messaging is packed with superlatives, sweeping claims, and phrases like “game-changing”, you’re not building trust, you’re building distance.
So, how do you communicate real brand impact without sounding self-important?
Start with the problem your customer had
Impact stories should begin with your customer, not your brand.
Before you mention your clever strategy or proprietary process, set the stage with the challenge your customer was facing. Make it relatable and specific. Use their words if you can. The goal is to get your audience nodding in recognition, not rolling their eyes at a vague business cliché.
Example:
“The team had been struggling to get buy-in for their digital strategy across the business. Marketing was operating in a silo, and projects were stalling.”
This paints a picture, and, more importantly, it shows you understand the context before inserting your brand into the story.
Shift the spotlight
You can’t be the hero and the helper in the same story. Pick one.
Good marketing impact stories position the brand as the enabler, not the main character. The moment the story becomes all about you, it stops being useful for the reader. They want to see themselves in the problem and the outcome. Your job is to show how you helped move the needle, not to hog the credit.
Focus on before and after. What changed for your customer? Be specific. Think: reduced time, increased revenue, faster uptake, better engagement, clearer decisions.
And if you don’t have numbers? Use anecdotes, insights, and feedback. Anything that grounds the story in lived experience.
Cut the copywriting fluff
Marketers are especially guilty of overusing big, shiny words to sound clever. But when everything is “strategic”, “impactful”, or “next-level”, nothing sticks.
If the impact is real, you don’t need to dress it up. Say it straight: “They reduced campaign turnaround time by 40%” is far more compelling than “We partnered with the client to supercharge their go-to-market strategy through enhanced workflows and agile thinking.”
It’s not about dumbing things down. It’s about being confident enough in the value to stop overselling it.
Use your customers to do the talking
Social proof is still one of the strongest ways to show impact, especially when it’s framed well.
Don’t just drop a quote into your case study and call it a day. Introduce it with context. Highlight what makes it meaningful. And choose testimonials that go beyond “great service” and get into why the experience mattered to them. If possible, tie their words to the broader business outcome, because that’s what decision-makers care about.
Mind your tone
Tone carries more weight than most people realise. You could write a factually perfect case study and still turn people off if the tone isn’t right.
If your brand voice is trying too hard (read: too clever, too excitable, too “inspirational”), it can weaken the credibility of the story. The most powerful tone? Calm, clear, and human. Speak like a brand that’s comfortable with the results it delivers.
Let the results do the talking
There’s no shame in being proud of your brand’s impact. Just remember that it’s not about sounding impressive, it’s about being believable. The best way to do that? Say less, mean more, and let the results do the talking.
First published on marketing.org.nz, June 2025
