From Kaira Rouda: You gotta love eHarmony – even if you’re not in the market for love

Kaira Sturdivant Rouda (Copied in entirety with permission from eBrand Marketing, dated 31 March 2008. Thanks, Kiara!)

I’ll admit it. I’m a big fan of 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. An authentic spokesperson for your brand can be amazingly powerful.

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. The site’s “scientific Relationship Questionaire” is an intense process. Getting customers to complete the time-consuming questionnaire about themselves assures both buy in and belief in the service. If you believe in notion of self-fulfilling prophecies, this would be a great monetized example. People love quizzes that tell them about themselves. That’s the start of a relationship with a brand.

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.

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.

6. Tapping into consumer trends. Aside from all of the above, women love online dating and women are online. Combining both is brilliant. I predict women-focused, targeted ads to come.

Hopefully, you can appreciate the brilliance no matter what industry you are in. I know I do. Let me know what you think!

(Kaira Sturdivant Rouda is the author of Real You Incorporated: 8 Essentials for Women Entrepreneurs. With more than 20 years of experience in consumer marketing – primarily focused on women – Kaira currently is President of Real Living – a national real estate firm and franchisor, where she guides the brand. Visit her online for more about the book and upcoming speaking engagements, including the Marketing to Women conference.)