This project was part of a university-industry collaboration in which I led a team of four students helping a pharmaceutical testing laboratory expand beyond its domestic market. Early desk research showed almost no overseas awareness, but it took a field experiment—testing search visibility while I was in Germany—to confirm the lab was invisible to the audiences it wanted most. That discovery reset the engagement.
Diagnosing the Real Problem
The lab believed it needed more marketing spend; instead, we found a fundamental positioning gap. Outside its home country the website had zero search presence, meaning procurement teams could not find the company even if they were actively looking. We catalogued competitors' messaging, presence at trade shows, and regulatory credentials to understand what earned trust in the sector.
My Contributions
- Owned the customer and competitor analysis, including on-site verification of SEO visibility and demand signals in Germany.
- Designed a direct outreach playbook combining cold calls to lab directors with targeted conference appearances.
- Facilitated synthesis workshops that kept the team aligned and gave the client clear decision points each week.
Challenges & How We Solved Them
- Low survey response: Enterprise labs rarely engage with online surveys. We pivoted to qualitative interviews that surfaced a niche of smaller companies lacking certified testing equipment.
- Conservative buyers: We translated interview insights into a trust-building roadmap, outlining scripts, follow-up cadences, and compliance documentation to bring to every conversation.
Outcomes & Skills Demonstrated
- Produced a step-by-step go-to-market plan with sequencing, ownership, and metrics for the client leadership team.
- Applied frameworks such as SWOT and PESTLE to validate that our recommendations addressed regulatory and competitive realities.
- Strengthened skills in market analysis, SEO diagnostics, customer discovery, and collaborative leadership under time pressure.