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RESEARCH, ANALYSIS & TRENDS

There’s still more to ‘courting’ clients

than ‘swiping right’!

Would you pop the big question to the special person in This matching process is driven by eHarmony Labs, a
your life via an SMS text, tweet or Facebook? If you’re relationship research facility based on sound psycholo-
hoping for a “yes!”, then perhaps social media wouldn’t gy. And their formula is working. The divorce rate of
be your number one choice. There are just some things couples who met on eHarmony is just 3.86%, com-
that are better said in the flesh. And whilst in our new pared to the national U.S. average of 50% (American
tech-savvy age some people are turning to social media Psychological Association). The site has members in
to romance their other half, ironically the rate of more than 150 countries, with large investors who back
breakups via text is rocketing. Technology is fast- its success. The secret to its success? Finding deeper
tracking relationships with ‘instant access’ and ‘virtual commonalities and shared interests between two peo-
conversations’ – yet, in many instances, they don’t last ple – i.e. eHarmony offers users the opportunity to find
and there’s a danger that social media may actually far more than just a ‘hook up’. The aim is genuine con-
derail them. Could the same be said of business rela- nection.
tionships? Technology may speed up the time it takes
to ‘dial up’ – but let’s not forget that it is the human Although the world of business and boardrooms if a far
touch, not touchscreen, that strengthens the relation- cry from red roses and romance, forming working rela-
ship. tionships in a digitally connected business world is now
more commonplace than ever. But in our haste to settle
The ‘dating game’ the ‘transaction’ – have we forgotten the person at the
other side of the email? What happens when you find
The world of online dating (can anyone say ‘swipe yourself working on a project with dozens of people,
right’?) sees many relationships formed, but their long- who work in various locations around the world, none of
term success is not always guaranteed. whom you’re ever likely to meet? Should we be turning
to eHarmony (and shying away from Tinder) for inspira-
At the other end of the scale, the hugely successful tion?
eHarmony is an online dating website designed to Using a more work-focused variant of eHarmony’s psy-
match single men and women with each other for long- chology-based 29 dimensions of compatibility, we
term relationships. might be able to work out the commonalities that can
12 April 2017 - Marketing Automation & Attribution