An Analysis of Online Dating Agencies
E Business: Deliverable 4
An Analysis of the Online Dating Industry
Total Pages : 35
CONTENTS PAGE
1. Introduction 3 2. Structure 4 3. Competition 5 4. Customers 7 5. People 11 6. Strategy 15 7. Regulations 18 8. Partners 21 9. Technology 25 10. Process 30 11. Conclusion 33 12. Future implications for the industry 35 13. Appendices a. Appendix 1 – DatingDirect as a global brand b. Appendix 2 – Allegran subsidiary companies c. Appendix 3 – DatingDirect on Facebook d. Appendix 4 – Primary research e. Appendix 5 – Match.com Advice Centre – Do’s and Don’ts f. Appendix 6 – Boolean tick box format g. Appendix 7 – Searching options h. Appendix 8 – Instant chat methods i. Appendix 9 – User Interface j. Appendix 10 – Match.com’s process flow diagrams k. Appendix 11 – DatingDirect’s process flow diagrams l. Appendix 12 – Allegran’s process flow diagrams m. Appendix 13 – Allegran’s Virgin Wine sign up incentive 14. References
1.0 INTRODUCTION
This project is based on a comparative analysis of three significant industry players using Farhoomads’ DOT framework. We chose this framework as it provides a broad scope in which to explore the main competitors. By discussing the various components of the DOT framework several other environmental theories are also covered, such as PESTEL, SWOT and Porters Five Forces. We also tried to incorporate the topics and case-study questions tackled in lectures to define the main e-business issues.
Match.com International Limited is owned by InterActiveCorp (IAC) and is based in Dallas, Texas. Originally set up in 1995, the company now has reportedly just over 15 million members worldwide in over 40 countries, with the site available in 15
An Analysis of the Online Dating Industry
Total Pages : 35
CONTENTS PAGE
1. Introduction 3 2. Structure 4 3. Competition 5 4. Customers 7 5. People 11 6. Strategy 15 7. Regulations 18 8. Partners 21 9. Technology 25 10. Process 30 11. Conclusion 33 12. Future implications for the industry 35 13. Appendices a. Appendix 1 – DatingDirect as a global brand b. Appendix 2 – Allegran subsidiary companies c. Appendix 3 – DatingDirect on Facebook d. Appendix 4 – Primary research e. Appendix 5 – Match.com Advice Centre – Do’s and Don’ts f. Appendix 6 – Boolean tick box format g. Appendix 7 – Searching options h. Appendix 8 – Instant chat methods i. Appendix 9 – User Interface j. Appendix 10 – Match.com’s process flow diagrams k. Appendix 11 – DatingDirect’s process flow diagrams l. Appendix 12 – Allegran’s process flow diagrams m. Appendix 13 – Allegran’s Virgin Wine sign up incentive 14. References
1.0 INTRODUCTION
This project is based on a comparative analysis of three significant industry players using Farhoomads’ DOT framework. We chose this framework as it provides a broad scope in which to explore the main competitors. By discussing the various components of the DOT framework several other environmental theories are also covered, such as PESTEL, SWOT and Porters Five Forces. We also tried to incorporate the topics and case-study questions tackled in lectures to define the main e-business issues.
Match.com International Limited is owned by InterActiveCorp (IAC) and is based in Dallas, Texas. Originally set up in 1995, the company now has reportedly just over 15 million members worldwide in over 40 countries, with the site available in 15
References: 2.0 STRUCTURE Ever since the advent of the Internet back in the 1980’s, a whole new dimension was created with regard to dating, allowing people to find love online (OLPA, 2003) Process Processes relate to the customer acquisition, retention, loyalty and lifetime value management capabilities of an organisation (Farhoomand, 2004) Technology Technology focuses on creating a customer centric integrated infrastructure, which embraces new processes, systems and technology in order ‘to collect, process and manage customer data’ more effectively (Farhoomand, 2004, p DatingDirect DatingDirect employs around 100 staff of more than 10 nationalities to support its brand development on a worldwide scale (DatingDirect, 2008b)