Competition Analysis

How do you stack up against your competitors?

You know who your competitors are, but do you truly understand how your institution is positioned against them? More importantly, are you using that information to shape your strategy?

RNL’s Competition Analysis goes beyond a simple list of names to give you deep, strategic insights into your competitive standing. This analysis can help you answer key questions, such as: 

This analysis can help you answer critical key questions: 

• Which students are we losing to our specific competitors? 
• Is our competitor set stable or are new competitors emerging? 
• What makes our competitors unique, and how do we compare?
• Is our competition concentrated in a few “super competitors,” or is it spread out? And how should that inform our strategy?

Understand your competitive position to inform strategy

To compete effectively, you need to know who you’re up against and why. Your RNL consultant will use your institution’s own data—including demographics, academic profiles, financial aid awards, and more. We then combine this with external data to create a detailed picture of your competitive landscape.

Get side-by-side guidance from an experienced consultant

Throughout the entire process, your Ruffalo Noel Levitz consultant will work with you to guide the research, interpret the findings, and recommend strategies. Every step of the way, you’ll understand the data’s importance and how to turn those insights into action.

One University’s Path to Gaining a Competitive Edge

“A private, four-year college knew who its competitors were, but needed to understand why students were choosing to enroll elsewhere.

RNL’s team analyzed data from the college and the National Student Clearinghouse to get a detailed picture of the competitive landscape. We discovered that the college was losing most of its admitted students to lower-cost institutions. We also identified which types of students were being lost to specific groups of competitors.

With these insights, the college was able to create enrollment and marketing strategies targeted to key student segments, allowing them to compete more effectively.”