INTERNATIONAL SCHOOLS: Succeeding in Mature Markets (Part II)

Part II: Implications of Maturity

This article is the second in a series examining the implications of maturing markets for international schools. Part I is available here; part III is here.

If you have been enjoying gold rush conditions, what happens when the gold stops flowing? When you can no longer stake a claim and expect to strike it rich, how do you protect the claim/s you have?

To recap Part I, in a maturing market:

1) Ever more schools are open; overcapacity increases.

2) The ‘quality gap’ narrows; the difference between the ‘best’ schools and the rest reduces.

3) It becomes difficult to differentiate. Schools become increasingly similar; competition becomes ever more price-based; promotional activities become the norm, even schools who have previously done little marketing join the fray.

4) Parents becoming more discerning and more demanding.

These market dynamics have a number of implications:

There is nowhere to hide

When the market is growing strategic errors are easy to hide. Most, if not all, schools survive and prosper.