Have you considered your school’s perceptual positioning?

A perceptual map may sound like a piece of marketing jargon, but it could help you identify strengths, weaknesses and opportunities for your school. The perceptual map is a commonly used piece of analysis to understand an organisation’s positioning in relation to its main competitors. It might be used by retail firms for identifying a gap in a region where a new store can be established, or by consumer goods production firms to spot an opportunity to launch a new product.

A typical perceptual map might chart a range of products against two factors, so a chocolate maker might map price against quality, or a car maker might chart sportiness against reliability.

For schools, there are plenty of variables. The key questions should be:

• How is my school different from competitors?
• How can I use this difference to become more successful?
• Would current parents and decliners (those that didn’t buy your school) have different perceptions from you?

Example perception maps

mtmconsulting helps schools to develop sound strategies to ensure that their future will be a thriving one. We work with our clients to help them grow, develop and prosper.

To find out more about our schools marketing services, or if the answer to the final question is ‘yes’ or ‘maybe’, we suggest you please call James on 01502 722787 or email james@emrsolutions.co.uk.

mtmconsulting is a brand of Education Market Research Solutions Ltd.