If you’re marketing services to pharma, biotech, contract development and manufacturing organizations (CDMOs), contract research organizations (CROs), or life science buyers of any kind, you’ve probably wrestled with this: How do I position what we do in a way that doesn’t just sound impressive but makes us stand out in a sea of same-sounding vendors, resonate with real buyer pain points, and spark the kind of conversations that lead to pipeline?
Recent data from sterile CDMO benchmarking studies, including reports by ISR, Nice Insight, and Bain, reveal some surprisingly consistent priorities across buyers. While my focus here began with sterile CDMO services, the takeaways are widely applicable to any vendor in the life sciences ecosystem, from CROs and CDMOs to tech providers and emerging biotechs.
What’s really valuable? Not just having these insights but knowing how to use them. The following breakdown pairs what buyers are actually prioritizing with practical marketing moves you can make right now to better align with what your audience is looking for.
Let’s dive in.
1. A Buyer-Centric Lens Increases Loyalty and Revenue
CDMO benchmarking studies show that customer loyalty isn’t just driven by outcomes; it’s driven by experience.1,2 In fact, what keeps buyers coming back often has less to do with the deliverables and more to do with how the relationship feels day to day.
The most cited drivers of long-term loyalty include:
Service responsiveness means more than fast replies, it’s proactive issue management, regular check-ins, and a sense that your team is genuinely invested in their success.
Transparent communication builds trust, especially when timelines shift or challenges emerge. Buyers prefer partners who deliver clear, honest updates, even when the news isn’t good.
Cultural alignment is the wildcard that often seals the deal. If your team thinks and works like theirs, quality-focused, mission-driven, solutions-oriented, they’re far more likely to stick with you long-term.
→ Marketing Move: Don’t just list services. Show what it’s like to work with you. Use Net Promoter Score (NPS)-style scores, testimonials, and customer experience (CX) narratives. Build landing pages or video case studies that demonstrate your responsiveness and partnership mindset. Strategic marketers are shifting from proof of capability to proof of experience.
What are NPS-style scores? NPS is a widely used loyalty metric that asks customers, “How likely are you to recommend us?” Scores are calculated from this answer and used to track satisfaction and predict retention. Sharing a strong NPS, or similar satisfaction metrics, along with customer stories is a powerful way to build trust and stand out.
2. Compliance, Quality and On‑Time Delivery Are Non-Negotiables
Across nearly every life sciences buyer segment, the big three decision drivers remain:2,3
Regulatory readiness
Consistent timelines
Reliable quality systems
→ Marketing Move: Bake these into your messaging using specific proof points.
Example:
“100% FDA audit success since 2018”
“>95% on-time delivery rate”
High-value marketing isn’t just saying you’re compliant, it’s showing how you de-risk their decision with real-world data, certifications, and audit histories.
Bonus points for downloadable “inspection-ready” checklists that can actually help your prospect.
3. Vendor Selection Is a Strategic, Not Administrative, Process
Vendor selection isn’t a one-and-done decision. It’s a team sport involving:
Technical leads (R&D, Tech Ops)
Commercial teams
Regulatory and QA
Procurement
Marketing Move: Build content that speaks to each of these personas. Create modular decks or landing pages with sections for “Technical Fit,” “Regulatory Track Record,” and “Commercial Flexibility.” This isn’t just account-based marketing (ABM), it’s removing internal friction.
4. Customer-Centric Cultures Foster Innovation (and Faster Problem-Solving)
In competitive RFPs, service-first companies often win not because they’re the cheapest, but because their clients believe they’ll be the best partner when (not if) problems arise.1,4
→ Marketing Move: Elevate your service ethos. Publish stories of how your team solved an unexpected problem mid-project or show how you tailor your workflows to fit client needs. Even better, turn these into downloadable “culture in action” case studies.
5. Buyers Want Outsourcing Models That Fit Them, Not You
ISR and BioProcess data consistently show that buyers are looking for:2,6
Flexible outsourcing models (contract testing, development, and manufacturing organization (CTDMO) vs. pure CMO)
Cost-benefit clarity by molecule type
Risk-sharing mechanisms
→ Marketing Move: Help them self-identify what works best for them. Create side-by-side comparisons of outsourcing models by stage of development or molecule class. Offer calculators or guides that help clients understand where you add value (and when).
Turning Insight into Content That Converts
Here’s how to reverse-engineer high-impact campaigns:
Loyalty is experience-driven → Publish NPS benchmarks and client journey stories
Compliance is non-negotiable → Offer a downloadable “inspection-ready checklist”
Many decision-makers in play → Build persona-targeted messaging for Tech Ops, QA, Regulatory, and BD
Culture wins deals → Highlight service-first wins with mini case studies
Buyers want options → Develop a guide comparing outsourcing models by phase or asset class
If you're tired of marketing that gets polite nods but no follow-ups, this is your wake-up call. Position like you understand what your buyer is up against, internally and externally, and you’ll stop sounding like everyone else.
Want a cheat sheet of the top-performing content formats used by CDMOs and biotech vendors? Or a messaging teardown of your current site? Shoot me an email. (emilee@thatsnice.com)
Let’s make your positioning work harder.
References
Biologic API CDMO Benchmarking (8th Ed.). ISR Reports. Jan. 2023.
Branch, Emilie, Carrie Cao, Cynthia A Challener, and Steve Kuehn. "Changes in the Wind: CDMO Market Survey Results." Pharma’s Almanac. 9 Mar. 2017.
“Warning Letters – Compliance Actions and Activities.” U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Accessed 13 Jun. 2025.
"2023 Global Life Sciences Outlook." Deloitte. Accessed 13 Jun. 2025.
Shrinivasan, Sriram, Rohit Singh, and Anik Ganguly. “Healing the World: A Roadmap for Making India a Global Pharma Exports Hub.” Bain & Company. Accessed 13 Jun. 2025.
Nelson, Millie. “Testing Times: MilliporeSigma Talks CDMO Competition.” BioProcess International. 11 Oct. 2023.