Development of a Strategy for Positioning a Higher Education Institution in the Educational Services Market

The purpose of this project work is to develop a strategy for positioning a private higher education institution in the Russian educational services market. The development of an effective positioning strategy plays an important role in the success of the company, as it allows the organization to take an advantageous position in the market among competitors, increase competitiveness, meet the needs of the target audience better than other players, and achieve a sustainable competitive advantage, which is especially important for the selected educational organization, which first entered the educational services market in September 2023 and is a new player among a large number of competitors. To achieve this goal, a research approach is used, consisting of theoretical and empirical parts. In the theoretical part, a selection of scientific publications was carried out on the topic of developing a positioning strategy, existing tools of strategic analysis were considered, the most relevant of which were used as part of strategy development (PESTEL, Porter's 5 forces, CFU analysis, strategic canvas and map of strategic groups, Osterwalder business model , analysis of resources and capabilities under the Grant, SNW analysis and VRIO analysis). Also, as part of the analysis of the internal environment of the organization, an in-depth interview was conducted with the company’s CPO, and for a detailed study of the target audience and its needs, 15 in-depth interviews were conducted with representatives of the target segments. Based on the results of the analysis of the external and internal environment as part of the SWOT analysis of the organization, a number of strategic alternatives were identified, followed by scenario analysis with the development of a strategic ladder over a 5-year horizon. At the end of the work, within the framework of the developed strategy, a relevant marketing mix and GAP analysis are presented, followed by a plan for implementing the strategy.