eHarmony
Daniel Penetar
Professor Cummings
MGT 509: Business Policy
28 June 2015
E-Harmony Case
Should dating be primarily a search or an experience (as defined in Economic terms)? What are the pros and cons of each? Dating has been one of the most ever changing forms of communication in the past fifty years. In the past it was commonly for most woman to marry around the age of 22! While times have dramatically changed, so has the dating industry. The introduction of the Internet in the early 1990s brought about the introduction of online “personals” or online dating. Since that time numerous competitors have entered the online dating field and millions of consumers are using their services. A search good is a good or service with features and characteristics easily evaluated before purchase. Whereas, an experience good is a good or service where product characteristics are difficult to see in advance of consumption. Because of this a search good is much more subject to price competition since the information is more readily available to consumers. From the perspective of the companies in the online dating industry, I believe that dating should be primarily an experience. In order to attract customers and allow them to see somewhat of what they are paying for the sites should allow the users a soft run through of their product. This can vary by allowing the user to create a profile and view other paying members but not being able to contact them until they have a paid membership. Also, they may not be able to use all of the more advanced features of the service with the “soft” model. “Research findings indicate that including news about the brand in the online brand communication mix - either before or after ads - generates higher brand attitude scores for experience products. For search products sequence matters and brand attitudes are more positive when consumers are exposed to news articles first followed by advertisements. In addition, When promoting search goods
Professor Cummings
MGT 509: Business Policy
28 June 2015
E-Harmony Case
Should dating be primarily a search or an experience (as defined in Economic terms)? What are the pros and cons of each? Dating has been one of the most ever changing forms of communication in the past fifty years. In the past it was commonly for most woman to marry around the age of 22! While times have dramatically changed, so has the dating industry. The introduction of the Internet in the early 1990s brought about the introduction of online “personals” or online dating. Since that time numerous competitors have entered the online dating field and millions of consumers are using their services. A search good is a good or service with features and characteristics easily evaluated before purchase. Whereas, an experience good is a good or service where product characteristics are difficult to see in advance of consumption. Because of this a search good is much more subject to price competition since the information is more readily available to consumers. From the perspective of the companies in the online dating industry, I believe that dating should be primarily an experience. In order to attract customers and allow them to see somewhat of what they are paying for the sites should allow the users a soft run through of their product. This can vary by allowing the user to create a profile and view other paying members but not being able to contact them until they have a paid membership. Also, they may not be able to use all of the more advanced features of the service with the “soft” model. “Research findings indicate that including news about the brand in the online brand communication mix - either before or after ads - generates higher brand attitude scores for experience products. For search products sequence matters and brand attitudes are more positive when consumers are exposed to news articles first followed by advertisements. In addition, When promoting search goods