The capability already existed and customers were already relying on it. The commercial opportunity came from recognising that ongoing support needed to become a clear service rather than an informal promise attached to the original sale.
Figures are approximate and reflect the position during the engagement. The company is anonymised, and the service itself was delivered by its technical and operational teams.
The business was providing support without a defined commercial service
The company had installed specialist technical equipment at customer sites around the UK. Customers knew who to contact when they needed help, and the business was already responding when problems arose.
What did not exist was a consistent proposition explaining what customers would receive, how support would be accessed, what was included and how that ongoing responsibility should be paid for.
The business was therefore carrying an open-ended support commitment without the clarity, process or recurring revenue that should have accompanied it.
My role
Take the opportunity from an informal idea to a contracted service.
I diagnosed the commercial opportunity, designed the proposition and pricing, established the supporting process, prepared the customer communication and led the initial rollout and agreement process. The company’s internal team remained responsible for delivering the technical support.
The quickest new revenue opportunity was already sitting inside the customer base
Customers had equipment that remained important after installation. They wanted to know where to go when something went wrong and what help they could expect. That need did not finish when the original project was completed.
The installed base meant the company did not need to invent a new capability or find an entirely new market. It needed to turn an existing customer dependency into a service that was clear and commercially sensible for both sides.
Define the service
Make the support offer clear enough to buy and deliver
The first job was to define what the customer was actually paying for. That included the support available, how it would be accessed, what sat inside the agreement and where the company’s responsibility ended.
Clear boundaries mattered. Without them, the proposition would simply have formalised the same open-ended commitment that already existed.
Price and contract
Put a commercial structure around the value being provided
I developed the pricing and agreement structure so the proposition reflected the support customers valued while remaining workable for the business.
The aim was not to create a complicated product. It was to give customers a straightforward reason to formalise a relationship they were already relying on.
Customer rollout
Explain the service in practical terms to the existing customer base
The proposition was introduced to an initial group of approximately 40 customers. The communication focused on what the agreement meant for them: defined access to support, clearer expectations and a known commercial basis for ongoing help.
of the initial customer group adopted the contracted support service.
A service the company was already providing became a dependable commercial proposition
The contracted support offer created a completely new recurring revenue stream and increased total company revenue by approximately 15%.
It also gave the business a repeatable proposition for future installations. Support no longer needed to be discussed informally after a customer required help; it could become part of the commercial relationship from the outset.
A previously uncharged responsibility became a contracted service.
Customers and the company had a better understanding of what support covered.
The proposition could be offered consistently to future customers.
New revenue does not always require a new product or a new customer
Look at what customers already rely on
The starting point was not a new market. It was an existing customer need that continued long after the original installation.
Do not leave ongoing value informal
If the business continues to provide expertise, availability or responsibility, there may be a service that has never been properly defined or contracted.
Keep the proposition understandable
Customers adopted the service because the need was real and the offer was straightforward—not because it was made unnecessarily complicated.
Recognise the pattern?
This is relevant when customers continue to depend on the business after the original sale.
- Support is being provided without a consistent agreement.
- Customers rely on technical expertise that is not separately priced.
- The installed customer base has more potential value than the current model captures.
- Management wants to improve recurring revenue without relying entirely on new sales.