Strategic Analysis of eHarmony
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CONTENTS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 4
ANALYSIS & EVALUATION: 4
EXTERNAL ANALYSIS: 4 ECONOMY: 4 DEMOGRAPHICS: 4 INCOME DISTRIBUTION: 4 ETNIC MIX: 5 GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION: 5 AGE STRUCTURE: 5 SOCIAL AND CULTURAL TRENDS: 5 GLOBILIZATION: 5 TECHNOLOGICAL TRENDS: 5 GOVERNMENT INTERVENTION: 6 BUSINESS TRENDS: 6
MICRO LEVEL ANALYSIS: 6
BUSINESS CYCLE: 6
MAJOR PLAYERS IN THE INDUSTRY: 7 DIRECT COMPETITORS: 7
INTERNAL ANALYSIS: 7 OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT: 7 COST CONTROL 7 RISK: 8 CUSTOMER MANAGEMENT: 8 WHO EHARMONY WANTS TO ATTRACT: 8 HAVE THEY SEGMENTED THE MARKET: 8 HAVE THEY FIGURED OUT WHO THEY DON’T WANT TO ATTRACT? 8
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* 10% of people who visits personals website live in suburban areas. * 9% of people who visits personals website live in rural areas.
AGE STRUCTURE:
* 18% of people who visits personals website are in the age group 18-29 * 11% of people who visits personals website are in the age group 30-49 * 6% of people who visits personals website are in the age group 50-64 * 3% of people who visits personals website are in the age group 65+
SOCIAL AND CULTURAL TRENDS: * 12% of people who visits personals website are men * 9% of people who visits personals website are women. * 7 million people gone on dates with people they had met through online personals site, with 40% entering some type of long term relationship. * Of the 2.2 million marriages that took place every year in US, reportedly 120,000 occurred between people who had met on online personals. * After 2005, the percentage of internet users who visited online personals fell from 20% to 10%. * 20% of paying members on online dating sites comprised of people who signed up at the request of their families, although this number -varied depending on the target market of the site. GLOBILIZATION: * Increasing growth in Europe, U.K and Middle East. * Many of the dating sites have already expanded to the other parts globally.
TECHNOLOGICAL TRENDS: * Technical advancement gave the DATING SITES, the opportunities to
of substitutes to be high because online daters can try several different sites at the same
Online dating has altered the process used for obtaining a romantic partner as well as has altered the process of compatibility matching. Online dating has created a new platform for meeting potential partners. Romantic relationships contribute to emotional well-being and individuals crave the intimate connections that are formed through their romantic partnerships; it is a fundamental part of human motivation. These dating sites have created a medium for potential partners to meet by alleviating the daunting task of conventional dating by solving the problems such as lack of access to potential partners, confronting potential partners regarding their romantic availability, and gathering the courage to approach strangers face to face (Finkel, Eastwick, Karney, Reis, & Sprecher, 2012).
Online dating is perhaps the fastest growing industry in this day and age. In 2016, over 50 million people in the United States had signed up for online dating sites, which bring in an annual revenue of around 2 billion. As the reach of the internet increases, so does the ability of businesses to find exactly what customers are looking for. Websites such Match.com, Eharmony, and Zoosk boast couples that met on their site and have been together for years, as well as their abilities to find “the one” just by answering a few questions. With numerous success stories and an international market, love seems guaranteed. However, only 20% of all relationships started online stay committed and successful.
Ansari refers to a study called “Geographic Proximity of Partners in 5,000 Marriages, Philadelphia, 1932,” which reveals that 51.94% of people who were married in this study lived within 20 blocks of one another before they began dating, (15). These numbers are just one example Ansari gives to prove his point on just how different dating was in past generations, as roughly half of all people were simply marrying someone within close proximity to them. And it goes deeper than basic proximity. According to C.L Harrington, “Those who monitor trends in marriage, divorce, and intimacy note that the ideal of love in America appears to be undergoing gradual but significant change, and the reasons for it are hard to grasp.” Nowadays, dating is not so easy. With cities becoming so large and the people becoming more specific to their dating preferences, Ansari argues that online dating is becoming more than just a last-ditch option.
In the article “How Match.com Aims to Stay Relevant” by Tara Nieuwesteeg the writers tells a story about two people who met on the website years ago and are happily married today. Lauren Whitson, 30 was in search of a relationship with a man whose relationship history was a mystery to her. She created a profile on the site in hopes of at least meeting new people. After she received a few creepy messages she thought twice about using the site to find her
The biggest threat to eHarmony and other paid dating sites was the free dating sites that were the newest entrants into the market. These sites did not have major restrictions to joining and did not necessarily do the match-making for the members. According to Piskorski, Halaburda & Smith, very many people subscribed to such sites as witnessed by the rise of “Plenty of Fish” in 2007 to become the most frequently visited in Canada and the U.K, and fourth in the United States(8).
The first general environment that is most relevant to this case is the demographic segment. This segment focuses on population size, age structure, geographic distribution, ethnic mix, and income distribution. This segment is relevant to eHarmony because there main focus is to match their customer’s with potential partners. They need to take in account the matches age, income, ethnicity, and income. In the case, they discuss how they require customers to answer questions about how old they are, where they are from, where they are living, where they work... etc. They take all this information and match it with another customer. The second general environment that is most relevant to this case is the sociocultural
Agreeing to an arranged marriage is no different from going online and signing up for matchmaking services or online dating sites. In fact, since 2013 online dating sites have tripled for adults in their 20s, 40s and 50s. With the use of technology, people can register online to dating sites, and after including their values and interests, they get instant results on their perfect match. This process is no different from having parents and family members introduce a person to their son/daughter. Online dating sites are an evasion of privacy. It requires for members to have personal information available for thousands of people to see -true or false. In addition, online dating sites require for the person to do their own research to find someone. This may easily again lead to a relationship based purely on physical attractiveness and information that may be false, instead of the foundation of a successful relationship (Chapdelaine et al.
The concept of online dating has exploded into mainstream culture since the emergence of the Internet. Websites have allowed for the virtual facilitation of basic needs
According to psychologist James say, “Couple who met online are nearly 3 times as likely to get divorced as couple that met face to face”
The extent of the growth of online dating sites over the years can be seen in the case of Match.com. The service attracted 60,000 members during its first year in operation; by 2005, it had acquired more than 15 million active users, as well as “about one million paying subscribers from more than 246 countries” (“History of Online Dating” n. p.).
With the recession periods coming of the global economy, it even increases the competition pressure for sponsorship money with more and more competitiveness. So it becomes more and more significant for every corporate to takes some effective measures in the operational management for a better operational performance. In this thesis, the author analyzes the case of Jordan Grand Prix in the aspect of planning and Control, Quality Management, Project Management and operational improvement. Specifically, it points out the measures and strategies Jordan takes in the process of advantage pursuit in competitiveness.
The popularity of this new dating trend is stunning experts from around the world. As new data shows a decrease in new memberships on traditional dating sites, one SD site reports 120,000 active members with rate of new membership growing rapidly.
Yahoo! Inc. is one of the oldest and most well-known Internet content providers. Yahoo! Inc. offers one of the most diverse Internet websites. It is believed that by expanding Yahoo!'s services and expanding broadband access, Yahoo! customers will stay on the website and spend increasing amounts of time and money. Yahoo! Inc's biggest obstacle lies in its competition in the form of
There was also a hike in common-law relationships in general, with 2.8 million persons aged 15 and over reporting they lived with their partner outside of marriage in 2006.