Turning a Digital Product into Market Adoption

The Client

A well-established European equipment manufacturer with decades of expertise in serving laboratories worldwide. Known for engineering quality and reliability, the company decided to expand its portfolio with a digital platform to complement its physical products. The aim was to provide customers with new services, recurring revenue options, and differentiation in a competitive market.

The Challenge

The client faced the same difficulties many OEMs encounter when moving into software:

• The digital product was developed like hardware, in long cycles, with limited customer feedback, and feature-heavy releases.
• The sales team, trained in equipment selling, struggled with SaaS concepts like recurring pricing models, value-based selling, and addressing IT stakeholders.
• Customers saw the digital platform as “nice to have” rather than essential, which slowed adoption and limited recurring revenue growth.

The Approach

Green Digital Consulting worked with the client to reposition the digital solution and accelerate adoption:

1. Market Mapping – Identified target personas and their pain points across R&D, operations, and procurement.
2. GTM Strategy – Shifted messaging from “add-on” to “enabler of efficiency and compliance,” anchoring the digital tool in the customer’s business outcomes.
3. Sales Enablement – Trained sales teams on SaaS principles, built playbooks for conversations with IT and digital stakeholders, and introduced new incentive models for recurring revenue.
4. Pilot Programs – Designed short, low-risk pilots with clear ROI metrics to reduce customer hesitation and shorten sales cycles.
5. Ecosystem Positioning – Connected the digital solution with other software and lab platforms, showing its role in the broader digital transformation journey.

The Results

• Faster Adoption: Pilot-to-customer conversion rates improved significantly.
• Sales Capability: Sales teams gained confidence in SaaS selling and began winning new types of conversations.
• Market Positioning: The digital platform became a differentiator, strengthening the company’s reputation as an innovation leader.
• Revenue Growth: The client established a recurring revenue stream, diversifying beyond one-time hardware sales.

Key Takeaway

For OEMs entering the digital space, building software is only the first step. Success comes from changing how products are positioned, sold, and adopted, turning innovation into real business impact.

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