When forming a PR strategy, there can be a real temptation to bad-mouth your competitors. It stems from the mentality that there are a finite number of customers and resources, and that success is, therefore, a zero-sum game. Big corporations are often prime examples. Think of the public rivalries between brands like Coca-Cola and Pepsi, or Apple and Microsoft.

However, it is important to resist this urge. In the long term, engaging in bad-mouthing is far more likely to damage your relationship with your consumer base than it is to improve it. Here are five reasons why it is never good PR for universities and business schools to belittle the competition.

1. Negativity dims people’s excitement
2. Students know you have a biased opinion
3. Positioning your competitors as threats
4. Taking the spotlight off your achievements
5. People switch institutions regularly

Negativity dims people’s excitement

It is only natural for potential students to regard the higher education sector with a great deal of excitement. Choosing where to study your degree represents opening a new chapter in life. For some entering at Bachelor’s level, it will be their first taste of living independent of family and setting the foundations of a future career. For those contemplating postgraduate qualifications, it is an opportunity to further specialise and hone their sense of purpose.

Canny PR strategies will harness and encourage these feelings of positivity. The key is to confidently set out what your institution has to offer, rather than spending time trying to drag down other universities or business schools. The latter approach could cause some students to feel the tone of your institution is too negative, diminishing their enthusiasm to study with you. After all, if they are deciding where they wish to invest months or perhaps years studying, it will be important to them that they associate your institution with a positive, enthusiastic atmosphere. The time you spend talking about how bad your competitors are loses you valuable opportunities to communicate how brilliant you are.

Students know you have a biased opinion

Students are intelligent and know that your opinion is biased. Of course you believe your programmes are more carefully structured, open more doors for students’ career prospects, and leave them better equipped with the skills to succeed in their chosen profession. What they want to know is why you believe your university or business school is so great. Before committing to a degree programme, they want to know that you are the right fit for them.

Instead of focusing on what your competitors are doing, focus PR messages around what you have to offer. What are you proud of? Which areas do you specialise in teaching? Remember, at the end of the day, you will not be a perfect fit for every potential student. That is absolutely fine! Present yourself with positivity and authenticity, and you will attract the kind of student who will thrive at your institution.

Positioning your competitors as threats

Students do their research. They will be looking at rankings and accreditations, and comparing course profiles. They may even read student and alumni stories to get a flavour of life at your university or business school. It is likely they will have a good idea of who your competitors are and what they have to offer. But, you can never be sure exactly what they have read or what their opinion of those other institutions are. So, why bring them into the conversation at all?

By bad-mouthing your competitors, you risk unintentionally signalling to potential students that you view those universities or business schools as a threat to your student recruitment. This may spark their interest to go and see what those other places have to offer. Alternatively, if they already know about the institutions you are talking about through their research, you are unlikely to say anything they have not already heard before. So, it is unlikely to change their mind. At the end of the day, do not give your competitors free publicity. Focus instead on why you are a great place to study.

Taking the spotlight off your achievements

Universities and business schools are busy places. The world of work is developing rapidly, and programmes are always racing to keep abreast of new trends, be it in sustainability, artificial intelligence, or any number of other new innovations. Students want to hear about why you are at the cutting edge of the education sector. How are you innovating in your teaching methods to provide the best learning experience possible?

When you spend time talking about your competitors, you shrink the amount of time you have to go into detail about what your institution has achieved. Perhaps you have integrated technology into teaching practices in a new and interesting way. Or maybe you have developed a societal impact initiative that helps students learn new skills while also giving back to society. There is so much going on that your achievements should provide more than enough material for PR efforts. So, there is really no need to discuss your competitors.

People switch institutions regularly

People regularly move between institutions, and disparaging your competitors makes you a less attractive prospect to anyone who has studied or worked at one of them. This applies not just to students, but also to faculty and staff. If you are scathing in the way you talk about a particular university or business school, you make it less likely that a Bachelor’s student from that institution will come to study their Master’s with you, for example. They may feel that you look down on their previous educational experiences.

Remember, where a person chooses to study can be deeply personal to them. Attacking the institution may be perceived as a veiled attack against them. Keep in mind that you are not just trying to recruit people with no prior educational experience. Whether as students or staff, many of the people who choose to apply to your institution may have studied at one of your competitors in the past. You want to create a positive, enthusiastic approach to PR that welcomes everyone, respects their decision to study elsewhere if that is their choice, but always invites them to see the best you have to offer.

For advice on how we can help you create a positive PR strategy that focuses on your achievements, get in touch with BlueSky Education today

Author: Jamie Hose

Having developed his craft as a writer under the guidance of world-renowned novelists, poets and playwrights, Jamie has also spent a couple of years as a content writer for a primarily American readership, with over 150 articles published under his name.