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Eric Klaassen is an expert on online dating from The Netherlands. Eric translated a thought-provoking article he wrote about dating site strategy, which I have reposted with his permission.
The market for online dating sites can be compared to a red ocean. The “ocean” refers to the complete dating industry. “Blue oceans” are untapped and uncontested markets, which provide little or no competition for anyone who would dive in, since the markets are not crowded. A “red ocean”, on the other hand, refers to a saturated market where there is fierce competition, already crowded with companies providing the same type of services or producing the same kind of goods. Nobody would voluntarily enter such a market, because competition is too fierce.
Nevertheless, there are hundreds of dating sites who are all fighting for a small piece of the cake. And everyday new dating concepts and ideas are started up, often without success. The online dating market is red ocean, filled with companies who do not offer a product that is differentiated from the product of its competitors.
Why are there no dating companies that dive into a blue ocean? Blue oceans are markets without severe competition. Everybody would like to take swim in such quiet and peaceful water. The funny part is that companies are able to create their own blue ocean.
With some creativity and market insights you can make your own market. In the process of creating a blue ocean, existing dating services are no longer the starting point. Instead, entrepreneurs should think of a service that is new and not yet invented by someone else. What others already invented is of no importance, it’s all about what your potential customers want. A good example is Cirque du Soleil. Almost two decades ago, less and less people were visiting circuses and the competition on the market was intense. Therefore in 1984 the founders of Cirque du Soleil came up with something that did not look like existing circuses. It was indeed entertainment, but the concept and the execution were so unique that until today nobody was able to compete with them.
By letting go the traditional rules of the circus industry, Cirque du Soleil was able to create their own blue ocean. Are you able to become the Cirque du Soleil of the dating market and leave all the competition behind?
More about Blue Ocean Strategy in the book by W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne – Blue Ocean Strategy.
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3 responses so far ↓
1
Shimrit (Check me out!)
// Apr 16, 2007 at 9:41 am
Interesting article. I think that rather than trying to completely reinvent the market, a lot of it is about assessing the current market situation and figuring out what it doesn’t do. You can still look at the current offerings as a starting point, but take them in different directions. Cirque de soleil (for better or worse) still use very traditional circus clowns, for example. Using that as a metaphor for say, a dating site, you could select a few standard features to keep at the core of your service, but create a whole different type of service around that.
2
chris (Check me out!)
// Apr 17, 2007 at 2:14 pm
So now that we know about the blue ocean what are the features and special likes / dislikes of the users that developer have to consider in order to be different and get out of the red ocean!?
Suggestions…!?
thx
3 Lovin.mobi » Dating Sites: Look for Blue Oceans // Apr 29, 2007 at 5:32 pm
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