Jolanta Tkaczyk

Competitive Landscape of the Educational Market: A Managerial Perspective

Brand positioning, which is an attempt to create a unique competitive position that gives buyers a reason to choose a particular offer, is regarded as a cornerstone of successful marketing strategy of any company or non-profit organisation. Despite the importance of the positioning concept, however, limited attention has been paid to the question whether players in the educational market are prepared to implement such strategies and, if not, what are the main obstacles to developing such concepts. The authors investigate these research questions by identifying the perception of competition held by managers of non-public educational institutions in Poland. This perspective is chosen because positioning, by its nature, depends on how the competitive situation is perceived and interpreted by the players. This article reports the results of a qualitative study of how managers in educational institutions perceive their competition. Results of the study indicate that managers of non-public schools are neither clear nor explicit about who their competitors are; however, paradoxically, they try to differentiate from them. These insights can be of value to institutions seeking to improve their positioning strategy.

Educational Offer and Its Positioning: A Comparison of the Perception of Customers and Managers

While customer preferences and their impact on positioning strategy have received substantial interest within marketing, the compatibility of customers and the company perception of non-business offers have received significantly less attention. This study examines non-public education in the context of the above mentioned problem. This is because the decreasing number of potential students of non-public educational institutions forces their managers to pay special attention to the problem of differentiation from competitors. What do parents as customers of non-public educational institutions strive for? Are the managers aware of these needs and expectations and, if so, how do they use this knowledge? Are the perspectives of customers and managers of non-public schools analogous? To answer these research questions, the authors have conducted both qualitative and quantitative research among parents and qualitative research among managers of selected schools. The authors also have analysed web sites of selected institutions, particularly in terms of positioning communication. The research result is a mutual confrontation of the two perceptions. Conclusions are used to sketch directions of the positioning strategy for non-public institutions in the educational market in Poland.