Here's a thought: what if we laid a foundation of solid understanding with our clients before we tried to pitch them a digital/social initiative? What if we stopped being vendors and started being thought leaders?
Clients are paying us for our expertise.
So yes, we need to simplify our presentations as much as possible. But when they still say "digital/social is complicated", it's our job to remind them (respectfully) that it's easy to shout via TV commercials and print that "our product is the best and you should buy it". But getting to know your customers and what they want is harder.
Why? Because relationships are complicated. But in the long run, you get out of them what you put into them.
What could be simpler than that?