I'll admit it. I'm a big fan of eHarmony.com - http://www.eharmony.com/ - and I'm married and the mom of four. The reason I'm a fan is the marketing genius and lessons we all can learn from the site and its approach. Launched in 2000, the site is the #1 trusted relationship destination on the website, and has kept that position even in the face of a lot of competition. Why?
•1. A real person as founder. You are the spokesperson for your brand. In fact, you are your brand. Are you communicating genuinely? Authentically? Are you being real?
•2. True differentiation. Back in an era where horoscopes were the best the lovelorn could turn to for guidance, eHarmony introduced its patented Compatibility Matching System. Brilliant. How are you differentiating yourself and your services to your target audience? Are you a specialist in an area, in a type of property? Do you know your target audience? You need to know who they are before you start a differentiated relationship with brand you.
•3. Social networking, before it was a buzzword. By pushing only those candidates with high compatibility based on 29 relationship dimensions and giving the customer the choice of how frequently to communicate with their love prospects, they put the power in the hands of customers long before most brands. How are you doing on this point?
•4. Consumer control of the experience. See above.
•5. Raving fans and product extensions. The eHarmony spots feature the happy couples born from the site - 90 members on average are married every single day - and now the company offers the eHarmony Marriage wellness program to help married couples. What are you doing to make sure your happy customers feel the love today and tomorrow?
•6. Tapping into consumer trends. Women control or influence more than 85 percent of all home purchases. Are you ok with that? Do you understand how to apply this to your business?
Hopefully, you can appreciate the brilliance of eHarmony. I know I do. Let me know what you think!
Comments(4)