Your Benchmarking Analytics dashboard is designed to support how you monitor your Chat platform performance, how you position yourself in the higher-ed market, and to make clear where you can optimise your student recruitment campaigns and activity.

This dashboard, built into your existing University Dashboard, enables you to understand how your institution compares across sector performance metrics within your region.

This means that you can compare your institution’s engagement data against sector benchmarks, using statistically reliable comparison groups - adding a valuable layer of context and meaning to the analytics available to you.

Your sector benchmark is automatically determined using your institution’s country and the available comparison data.

The system selects the most statistically reliable cohort available:

Country cohort (default)
If there are enough comparable institutions in your country, the benchmark is based on a country-specific cohort.

Regional cohort
If there are not enough institutions in your country to provide reliable comparisons, the benchmark expands to a regional or subregional cohort.

Global cohort
If regional data is limited, the benchmark is calculated using a global cohort of institutions.

Please feel free to reach out to your CSM or Enablement Manager if you'd like to understand which cohort you are sitting within.

You can view benchmarking metrics across the following selectable time ranges:

Last 30 days
Supports short-term performance monitoring.

Last 60 days
Supports medium-term performance review.

Last 90 days
Supports longer-term trend analysis.

Reviewing multiple time windows helps you to assess your performance consistency over time. You can also track trends and patterns at key recruitment points, such as decision deadlines. These time windows are designed to keep the data fresh, however, we will be adding wider timeframes as our team further enhances the Benchmarking Dashboard.

New Chat conversations
The number of conversations started by prospective students across all of the entry points to your Chat Platform: including the Unibuddy app, your embedded Chat Platform widget, and PWA (PWA is access to your Chat widget via mobile).

New Chat signups
The total number of new students who have signed up to your Chat platform, across all channels - Unibuddy app, your embedded Platform widget, and PWA (mobile access to your Chat widget).

Countries reached
The number of distinct countries represented among your Chat signups.

Your 'Top 5 countries reached' compared to sector average
This shows the percentage distribution of Chat signups from your leading markets - how your top countries reached compares to your sector cohort (either country or region).

Your 'Top 5 Topics discussed' compared to sector average
The most discussed themes across your Unibuddy Chat conversations.

Your 'Top 5 Degrees' compared to sector average
The distribution of prospective student interest across academic categories. Our academic categories (i.e. Computing, Engineering and Technology, Social Sciences, etc) are standardised using recognised classification frameworks (HECoS / CAH). You can read more about HECoS frameworks here, and CAH frameworks here.

Your degree levels compared to sector average
Interest distribution across standardised study levels, including:

If conversations/sign ups are below sector average:

Consider reviewing your Ambassador visibility, call-to-action/Traffic Driver placement, and how/where you promote your Chat platform.

If signups are high but conversations are low:

Students show interest but hesitate to engage. Review your Ambassador welcome message - or toggle on the ability for Ambassadors to set their own custom welcome message - or add a custom filter to your Chat platform, boosting trust and confidence.

If countries reached is lower than your target:

Review your geographic targeting - do you have popcards on key international pages? It is also best practice to ensure you have Ambassador representation for your priority regions.

If Topic trends differ from your goals:

If you'd like to encourage more questions on topics such as student life, ensure you have an approachable 'blurb' on your Chat platform that not only clearly explains what Ambassadors are best placed to answer, but also signposts to relevant contacts for questions outside Ambassador remit. You can also encourage Ambassadors to post Content on key themes.

If Area of Study interest differs from your goals:

Ensure you have Ambassadors to represent your high-demand programs, and consider a Course Buddy Platform for the programs/courses that generate the most traffic. If you have a program that is underperforming, try Traffic Drivers such as popcards on your course/program page, or ambassador-generated Content (i.e. Day in the Life) to spotlight this area of study.

If Study Level interest differs from your goals:

Review your Ambassador representation and visibility - do your target study levels have plenty of opportunities to link through to your Chat platform? Use Traffic Drivers to promote and guide. Also consider embedding Buddy Cards featuring relevant Ambassadors on study level-pages, and Content to showcase the student experience at that level.

To maximise the value of your Benchmarking insights:

✅ Key Principle

Benchmarking delivers the most impact when it's used for continuous optimisation rather than retrospective reporting. This means checking regularly, noting differences, and acting on trends. Focus on the largest gaps and strongest signals first, as these will represent your highest-impact opportunities.