Buzzwords instead of real outcomes: the recipe for mistrust

Time of India

27-05-2025

HighlightsSimplicity is key in AI marketing messaging. Customers prefer clear outcomes over jargon. Make the customer the hero of your story.
By Jaspreet Singh
'If you can't convince them, confuse them.' This line, often attributed to Harry S. Truman, may sound like a cynical punchline — but for many sales and marketing professionals in IT services, it hits close to home. In an industry now dominated by AI and Generative AI narratives, complexity has become a default. Everyone's racing to sound smarter, faster, and more futuristic — and in that race, we often forget the most important thing: clarity.
We've moved from digital transformation and hyper-automation to
LLM
orchestration, multi-modal interfaces, RAG pipelines, GenAI-infused workflows, and autonomous code remediation. While these terms aren't meaningless, overusing them without clear context dilutes their impact. Every service provider is saying the same thing, just with a different color palette and voiceover.
In the quest to stand out, we've ironically blended in. Customers — whether CIOs, CMOs, or line-of-business leaders — are smart. They've seen the demos, heard the acronyms, and sat through the slideware. They know when they're being pitched buzzwords instead of real outcomes. And in that moment, trust evaporates.
Add to that the challenge of shrinking attention spans. According to research, we now have less than 8 seconds to capture attention — shorter than a goldfish. So when we bombard buyers with jargon-heavy messaging, verbose value propositions, and AI-laden acronyms, we're not convincing them — we're confusing them.
In this environment, simplicity becomes the differentiator.
This is especially true for AI and GenAI in IT services. Today, business users — not just technical teams — are making decisions about technology. A GenAI solution built for legal operations or supply chain doesn't need to be explained in terms of transformer models or vector databases. It needs to be explained in terms of what problem it solves, how fast, and what value it brings.
Marketing's job isn't to decorate complexity — it's to distill value. To make the message not only accessible but meaningful. That's not about dumbing down the solution. It's about focusing on what matters most to the person on the other side.
Take the example of
Slack
. Their core message wasn't about real-time messaging protocols or integrations with 200+ tools. It was: 'Be less busy.' Similarly, Stripe — a deeply technical payment infrastructure company — simplified its positioning to: 'Payments infrastructure for the internet.' Both are powerful, concise, and grounded in user benefit. And they've helped shape entire industries.
Apple's 'Think Different' is another obvious example. But you don't need a billion-dollar brand to achieve that level of clarity. In B2B tech, even internal projects can be reframed with simplicity — "Automated KYC review in under 5 minutes" is a lot more compelling than "GenAI-powered regulatory document classifier."
So how do we make our messaging simpler — especially in the age of AI and GenAI?
Start by contextualizing, not complicating. Don't just say 'AI-led automation' or 'GenAI CoE with multi-model capabilities.' Instead, say: 'We helped a global insurer cut claims processing time by 60% using a GenAI chatbot trained on historical tickets.' That's memorable.
Use the WIFM principle — What's In It For Me? Speak to the specific pain points, aspirations, and outcomes that matter to your audience. A COO wants reduced cycle time. A CMO wants personalized experiences at scale. A CIO wants cost-effective transformation. Frame your message in their terms, not yours.
Anchor your narrative in facts, not fluff. Show what you've done, how it's worked, and why it matters. Replace vague phrases like 'industry-leading' or 'next-gen' with quantifiable outcomes — '$3M in operational savings,' '30% drop in manual reviews,' '2-week deployment with no downtime.'
Make the customer the hero of your story. Your solution isn't the star — their success is. Highlight how your AI/GenAI service made their job easier, helped their team shine, or solved a business-critical challenge. Elevate them, not yourself.
And most importantly, edit ruthlessly. Cut what doesn't add value. Clarity isn't just a writing choice — it's a mindset. As
Steve Jobs
put it: 'Simple can be harder than complex. You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple.' But once you do, you can move mountains — or close deals.
In today's AI-first world, where everyone's shouting the same buzzwords, being understood is your competitive advantage. So the next time you're pitching an AI-native solution or a GenAI-powered platform, skip the jargon maze. Just tell a clear, useful, honest story.
Because if you can't explain it simply, maybe it's not ready. And if you can? You're already ahead.
(The author is marketing leader, Apexon. Views are personal.)