//From the Triceps Scaling Up Business Practice

This case is particularly relevant for companies in the High-Tech Systems & Materials (HTSM) sector, which often struggle with translating technology into market relevance. The approach demonstrates that strategic validation is not only a method for solving existing problems but can also act as a growth accelerator. It highlights the importance of companies actively shifting toward a customer-focused approach to maintain their competitive edge.

Page: Scalable Growth

From Technology Push to Customer ROI: Validation as a Driver for Growth in the HTSM Sector

For many scale-ups in the high-tech sector, strategic focus ultimately determines the difference between stagnation and exponential growth. Technology-driven companies in the HTSM sector often develop impressive solutions but risk losing alignment with customer needs. What happens when the market fails to respond adequately to your offerings, while expecting your solutions to directly contribute to customer ROI?

A recent case from Triceps’ practice demonstrates how strategic validation not only brought focus to one of our HTSM clients but also accelerated their growth as a result.

The Challenge: From Innovation to Irrelevance

Our client, an ambitious scale-up in industrial automation, initially found success with a self-developed process optimization technology. However, growth stalled. While the technology was impressive, customer outcomes fell short. Large clients demanded concrete, measurable ROI instead of technological promises. Despite internal efforts led by the CEO to refine the strategy, progress was hindered by outdated assumptions and a product-centric focus.

A thorough validation process, which actively engaged all key stakeholders (OEMs and subcontractors), uncovered four core issues:

Technology-First Mindset: Product development was driven by technological capabilities (CNC machine tools) rather than customer needs.
Unclear Customer Value: ROI benefits were neither visible nor measurable.
Inefficient Processes: Sales and implementation approaches were too generic and not tailored to specific customer segments.

The result? Delayed new deals, unclear market positioning, and competitors—well-integrated into local ecosystems—persuading clients with far better substantiated business cases.

The approach: Strategic validation as a lever for ROI-Driven Growth

In collaboration with the client’s leadership, a strategic validation approach was adopted, placing customer ROI at the center and addressing three critical pillars:

Governance and Execution:
A dynamic strategic roadmap, supported by a Business Balanced Scorecard (BBS), ensured measurable outcomes in customer value, revenue growth, and operational improvements. This enabled the scale-up to adapt quickly and continuously integrate customer feedback into its strategy.

Market Validation and Customer Focus:
Using a sharp STP model (Segmentation, Targeting, Positioning), the company identified customer segments where the technology could deliver immediate ROI. For instance, manufacturing companies with clear needs for cost reduction, improved uptime, and process flexibility. The value proposition was refined, and new ROI-based models were introduced, such as performance-based pricing and products-as-a-service (PaaS), including pay-per-use models.

Customer-Focused Technology Roadmap:
Technology development shifted from “what is possible” to “what delivers measurable returns.” By implementing Industry 4.0 solutions—such as IoT for real-time monitoring, predictive maintenance, and workflow optimization using AI—customers could see direct value in terms of cost savings, efficiency, and uptime.

De strategische cyclus is voor volwassen MKBs, maar ook scale-up bedrijven, enorm ingekort door de impact van globalisering en de snelheid van de technologische vooruitgang. Vaak ontbreekt het aan historische ervaring en multidisciplinaire kennis binnen een Management Team om tot een coherente, integrale strategie te komen, die voor- en achterkant van een bedrijf effectief met elkaar verbindt. Voorwaarde voor een succesvolle groeistrategie is het vermogen om sneller te schakelen en de organisatie bij te sturen, bijvoorbeeld met behulp van een team strategisch programma (TSP), in de vorm van een BBS of OKR benadering, die ook een dynamische scenarioplanning mogelijk maakt.

Result: Strategic Focus, Immediate Customer Impact, and Measurable Growth

The validation process, which resulted in a robust roadmap, delivered tangible outcomes within a short timeframe:

Strategic Focus: Clear positioning enabled better customer selection and a scalable sales and implementation process.
Accelerated Sales Cycle: Well-defined business cases reduced deal realization times by 40%.
Increased Customer Value: Measurable improvements in customer ROI, including a 20% reduction in operational costs and a 30% increase in uptime.
EBITDA Growth: Value-based pricing models significantly boosted margins, increasing EBITDA by 15%.

Conclusion: Validation as a Growth Accelerator

The strategic cycle for OEMs, SMEs, and scale-ups has been drastically shortened due to globalization and the rapid pace of technological advancement. Often, management teams lack the historical experience and multidisciplinary expertise needed to develop a cohesive, integrated strategy that effectively connects the front and back ends of the business. A successful growth strategy requires the ability to pivot quickly and recalibrate the organization—this can be achieved through a strategic program team (TSP), using approaches like a Business Balanced Scorecard (BBS) or OKRs, enabling dynamic scenario planning.

Strategic validation is not a cost but an investment that delivers rapid returns. Scale-ups in the High-Tech Systems & Materials sector that prioritize customer ROI can translate their technological strengths into measurable value, strengthening their market position.

Take the next step. Don’t wait for your customers or competitors to force you into change. Be proactive, validate your strategy, and make customer ROI the engine of sustainable growth. Curious about how validation can help your organization transition from technology push to customer ROI? Frank and Marc have joined forces to accelerate ROI-driven growth. Contact us at 088 – 5000 500 or send us a message to discover how we can strengthen your strategy.

Marc A. Timmermans

Managing Partner Triceps Scaling Up Business

Chief on Demand – Go-to-Market Strategie, Innovatie en Supply Chain Management

Frank Klomp

Chief on Demand Scaling Up Business

Triceps helps leaders and organizations achieve their goals. Through our matching, coaching, and Chief-on-Demand services, you as an executive or business can shift into the next gear.