The education landscape is becoming increasingly competitive, and as educational institutions seek growth opportunities, they must look beyond the scopes, demographics and geographies that might have seemed obvious a decade ago.

Expanding to offer digital solutions and reaching out to global markets is fine, but universities first need to understand their prospective students in terms of who they are, where they are, what they need and who is paying for their education. Beyond that, they must also know what other options are out there, and what special or value-added offerings those alternatives might bring to the table.

Market research is the tool that provides the answers to these questions. These answers allow education leaders to make informed strategic decisions relating to various aspects of course design. These might include the courses to offer, how to deliver them, at whom to target them, how to price them competitively, what peripheral student support services to provide and lots more.

Any strategy that ignores what other actors in the industry are doing is tantamount to proceeding with at least one eye shut. Identifying how competitors approach everything from recruitment to marketing provides pointers towards best practice, and also delivers insights on whether there are competitive barriers to entry or perhaps market gaps that represent growth opportunities.