Summary: When technical content is stripped of a human element—no characters, no conflict, no tension—what’s left is cold information. But even a flat JSON error can hold marketing insight. In this post, we unpack the meaning behind a raw system message: “The provided text does not contain a story or any narrative content. It appears to be a JSON response with an error message related to an insufficient account balance. There is no main story to extract or rewrite in this case.” There’s more here than just 404 thinking. There’s an opportunity.
The Error Without a Story: Why That Matters
At first glance, this isn’t worth your time. There’s no plot. No beginning, middle, or end. Just a diagnostic response from a backend somewhere saying an account doesn’t have enough money and the system refuses to proceed. Flat data, no drama… or is there?
Because behind error messages like this live two painful realities:
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Customers hitting dead ends.
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Companies missing chances to turn problems into trust.
Let’s not gloss over the obvious. An insufficient account balance is a point of failure. But failure is the very compost that trust grows in—if you know how to handle it. So instead of asking, “Where’s the story?”—ask, “Who’s frustrated? What just broke? What’s the unspoken expectation behind this error message?”
There’s No Story Because No One Took the Time to Write One
A system error may trigger from a simple backend rule—”balance too low”—but to the person on the other end, it probably wasn’t simple at all. They expected access. They expected action. They expected their request to be honored.
Now, ask yourself: What emotion gets triggered when you hit a dead end with no explanation? Disappointment? Anger? Embarrassment?
When a platform responds with cold logic instead of empathetic design, it increases friction in a world that’s already overloaded with frustration. This isn’t a technical glitch. It’s an abandonment.
This is the kind of moment where companies lose customers—not because their tools are broken, but because they’re indifferent.
“No Story” Is the Story: Missed Opportunity in UX and Messaging
Let’s flip this on its head. That JSON error message reveals a bigger truth: somebody put robust engineering into catching this condition, but didn’t invest in user communication.
Why not show:
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How much balance the user needs to proceed
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Options for resolving it—instantly
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A link to a real person who can help
Isn’t that what good service looks like? A dead-end message says “we built a system.” A helpful message says “we built this for you.”
Which one do you think people come back to?
Why Technical Precision Must Pair with Human Friction
Every marketing team should spend a day studying their own system error messages. Not to write prettier code, but to ask tougher questions:
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Where do we leave customers stranded?
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Where have we optimized logic but neglected empathy?
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How do our dead-ends sound to a first-time user under pressure?
This isn’t just customer success’s job. It’s not just “support.” This is the front end of emotion. The logic might be clean, but the experience isn’t. That’s a marketing problem. And a brand liability.
“There’s No Narrative Here” Is Never the Right Conclusion
Every piece of data tells a story—you just have to ask the right questions:
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Why was this error triggered?
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What did the user expect to happen?
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What does this moment reveal about our reputation and responsiveness?
Are we going to ignore these moments? Or are we going to turn them into trust-building bridges?
Even JSON Errors Can Sell—If You Let Them
Don’t dismiss these messages as “non-narrative.” You’re looking at inflection points—small, crucial moments where users decide if they trust you, respect you, and want to try again.
The story isn’t in the code. It’s in the reaction that code triggers. That’s where your job begins.
This is exactly where Chris Voss would lean into mirroring. The user hits a dead end. You mirror their emotion. You label their frustration: “It seems like this caught you off guard.” You create a way for them to say “That’s right.” Then you offer paths forward—without forcing a “yes.”
That one pivot can turn technical failure into emotional recovery. Into dialogue. Into loyalty.
So, next time someone on your team says, “There’s no story here,” stop the meeting. Ask:
“Why did the system shut down instead of helping?”
“What would you want to see if this happened to you?”
“If this triggered a subscription to fail—how could we turn this into trust instead of churn?”
Because every blank screen is a missed conversation—and every silent system leaves money and loyalty on the table.
#UserMessaging #TrustByDesign #EmpathyInUX #TechnicalCommunication #ValueThroughFriction #ChurnPrevention #UXCopywriting #StrategicCommunication #IEEOMarketing
Featured Image courtesy of Unsplash and Markus Winkler (-q8MdTL2998)
