We discovered that by abandoning scripted narratives and empowering customers to share their authentic stories, we transformed our entire approach to business.
For as long as I can remember, we told stories the same way. We had a formula, a template that felt safe and predictable. It was called ‘Challenge, Solution, Benefits,’ and it was the bedrock of our customer case studies for decades. We’d outline a customer’s problem in sterile, technical prose, present our technology as the heroic solution, and then list the benefits-which almost always circled back to how great our products were. The stories were polished, professional, and completely devoid of a human pulse. They were monologues, not conversations. We were beating our own chests, so focused on our own brilliance that we rarely captured the true, transformative business outcomes our customers were achieving. We were creating content that could cure insomnia, and deep down, we knew it.
A Mandate for Authenticity
Then, a shift began to ripple through the organization, starting from the very top. Our President and CEO, Antonio Neri, alongside our then-CMO, Jim Jackson, posed a fundamental challenge to the status quo. The directive was simple in its concept but radical in its implications: we had to dramatically change the way we told customer stories. It wasn’t about finding a new template or a catchier format. It was about changing our entire philosophy. The new mission was to stop talking and start listening. To hand the microphone over to the people whose stories we were supposedly telling. It was a call to find the human element, the genuine voice that was being lost in our corporate translation. This meant letting go of control, a concept that can be terrifying for any large organization. We had to trust that our customers’ unvarnished truths would be more compelling than any carefully crafted marketing message we could ever write.
We had to unlearn decades of marketing-speak and trust that our customers’ truths were more powerful than any message we could craft.
This idea became the seed for what we called the Digital Game Changers program. It began modestly, as a simple digital flipbook. In those early days, every story felt like a hard-won victory. We weren’t just asking customers for a quote; we were asking them for their trust. We had to prove that this was different. We had to show them that we weren’t going to feed them scripts, apply a heavy-handed filter, or twist their words to fit our narrative. Our promise was to provide a platform for their authentic voice. We wanted to hear about their real IT journeys, the messy middle parts, the unexpected challenges, and the triumphant successes, all in their own words. The first few customers who took that leap of faith with us were the true pioneers. They spoke with a candor that was refreshing and, frankly, a little startling at first. Their stories weren’t always perfectly aligned with our talking points, but they were real. And that authenticity resonated in a way our polished case studies never could.
From a Trickle to a Flood
Slowly but surely, a community began to form. As more stories were published, other customers saw their peers sharing candidly and wanted to be part of it. The conversation shifted organically from our technology to their business transformation. They talked about empowering their own teams, creating new efficiencies, and solving complex problems that had a tangible impact on their bottom line and their company culture. It was no longer about a server or a software solution; it was about what those tools enabled them to achieve. This was the turning point. We saw engagement metrics climb, but more importantly, we felt a different kind of energy around these stories. They were being shared, discussed, and celebrated. The program was evolving from a modest marketing asset into a cornerstone of our brand’s identity.
The moment a customer’s unscripted story resonated more deeply than our most polished campaign, we knew we had found our new direction.
The impact soon cascaded across the entire company. Our sales teams, who once had to make the often-awkward ‘ask’ for a reference after a deal was closed, started changing their approach. They began including participation in the program as part of the conversation from the very beginning. It wasn’t presented as an obligation, but as a prestigious opportunity-a chance for our customers to be featured alongside some of the largest and most respected corporations on the planet. The response was overwhelming. Customers were proud to accept. It became a point of pride, a milestone to be celebrated. We even started seeing reference participation proactively included in contracts before deals were signed. Meanwhile, our marketing department wove these stories into the very fabric of our global campaigns, lending an unparalleled level of credibility to our messaging. Our biggest stage, the keynote at our annual Sphere conference in Las Vegas, transformed. It was no longer just a parade of our own executives; it became a platform to spotlight our customers, the true heroes of these transformation journeys.
A Community of Champions
Seeing them on stage, speaking with passion not as paid spokespersons but as genuine champions of the work we’ve done together, has been the ultimate validation of this journey. This transformation didn’t happen overnight. It was the result of five years of persistence, of building trust one story at a time, and of holding fast to the principle of placing the customer at the absolute center of everything. We learned that when you empower people to speak authentically, the world listens. Today, the Digital Game Changers program is so much more than a marketing tool. It’s a movement. It’s a reflection of the shared success we build with our partners every single day. The journey from customer reluctance to enthusiastic participation tells its own powerful story. It’s a testament to the fact that the most compelling voice a brand can have is not its own, but the collective voice of the people it serves. It all started with the simple, human act of listening.
