SWOT

see Red!!

SingleNoMore.net rises above competition with //competitive prices//. Consumers are given a one-month free trial, providing them with the opportunity to determine if they like the service before having to pay a fee. A $14.95 per month fee beats much of the competitors pricing from $29 to $100 per month.
 * Strengths**

//Safety assurance// is especially important in online services. Once privacy becomes a concern, users must be provided with the peace of mind that they are protected in a safe community. Our site is constantly searching for and purchasing the highest quality security features to protect our daters. Through the use of honey pots, virus protection and spyware protection security strategies, we ensure a maximum of 0.01% security breach on our site.

Online websites are filled with advertisements that most users do not want to deal with. Requiring a fee from our customers prevents the need for advertisements and provides revenue to the company. There are //no constant push advertisements// that distract users from their intent to find their partner.

Since //customer satisfaction// is important to this company’s success, service for customer questions, concerns and problems are available 24/7. There is no need to wait until the next day to help a problem that customers have now. The site will send an email and wait for a reply within minutes.

Each individual has different tastes and specifications for their search for a partner. Our diverse target segment provides consumers with a large, diverse array of individuals in our //multicultural// Canadian country.
 * Features
 * Biometrics
 * successful matches
 * GPS
 * Blog/forum on website
 * Dating tips

Despite the strengths of SingleNoMore.net, it is best to analyze the company from a different perspective in order to achieve success in online dating service market. In the infant stage of SingleNoMore.net, it is safe to assume that SingleNoMore.net will experience a slow start-up. With an extensive amount of existing competitors, a high entry barrier is expected for the online dating service market. As a result, SingleNoMore.net is expected to invest heavily on marketing in order to gain brand awareness and website traffic. Moreover, SingleNoMore.net will dedicate some of their resources on website (content and maintenance) and technological (GPS and biometrics) development to achieve user acceptance.
 * Weakness**

The technological aspect of SingleNoMore.net involves GPS and biometrics for enhancing the quality of the matching process for the subscribers. The time and cost of the technological development is undeterminable and risky. In addition, the technology will not be state-of-the-art which makes the technology vulnerable to SingleNoMore.net's competitors as they can duplicate the technology and develop a similar product. Furthermore, the GPS and biometrics technology may be controversial as the security concerns involved is relatively high. With the technology rapidly evolving, it is difficult to develop the "prefect" security system to prevent all hackers in the future.
 * Slow start-up
 * Marketing
 * gaining Brand awareness, website traffic, forum content
 * Users acceptance
 * Technological costs for biometrics
 * time and cost of development
 * won't be state of the art tech, hence copycats
 * No Prefect Security - Hackers are getting better as technology enhances
 * GPS feature may be controversial

Global Expansion With the online dating industry already exploding and online corporate giants like Yahoo, Microsoft, AOL and even Google are all trying to get involved, SingleNoMore.net has recognized that its most valuable business opportunity should be global expansion. eHarmony is an perfect example of a successful globally expanded online dating company. eHarmony have been rated the number one online dating website in both Canada and the United States while its business operates internationally as well in countries such as United Kingdom and Australia.
 * Opportunities**

Referral marketing is another important business opportunity for online dating companies like ** SingleNoMore – are you sure you put the right company down? **. In the online dating industry today, referral marketing methods has become widely adopted by top ranking online dating websites such as eHarmony, UltimateMatch.com, and SoulMate.com. SingleNoMore.net has recognized referral marketing as the dominating trend of marketing for online dating businesses in the near future. Therefore, by implementing referral marketing methods into our original business model, SingleNoMore will have the opportunity to be able to stay on top of competition and increase its market share in the referral marketing target segment. One of SingleNoMore's greatest advantage and opportunity as an online dating business is the GPS technology features. Being the first online dating company to adopt the GPS technology with search and locate features puts SingleNoMore.net in a position with first mover advantage. If results and feedbacks for incorporating this technology turn out successful, SingleNoMore will be the company with dominating market shares of online dating GPS technologies. Patenting our GPS technology features and functions towards online dating businesses will certainly give SingleNoMore.net a unique competitive advantage among competitor in the online dating industry.
 * Referral Marketing**
 * First Mover Advantage on GPS Technology**

SingleNoMore.net biggest threats are its competitions such as PlentyofFish and eHarmony. These are the two top ranked dating website in North America, with “PlentyofFish attracting 36,825 visitors per day and eHarmony attracting 19,269 per day” ( ComScore Media metrix 2008) according to comScore Media Matrix on June 2008. In order to complete in the dating industry, SingleNoMore.net have to continuously offer unique features that separate them from their competitions. Since the competitions provide similar products and services, SingleNoMore.net must constantly monitor the competition’s actions and counter it by offering more. Other competition includes Match.com, Lavalife, and PerfectMatch.com. Also, beside competition from other online dating website, SingleNoMore.net has to complete with local matching companies such as Selective Search. Selective Search is “a boutique matchmaking service that carefully screens clients to ensure that a selection of men, who pay for the service, and women, who join for free, fit a classy profile: well-educated, professional, fit, attractive, and cultured” (Wangsness 2007). Consumers are buying into local match making services more then online dating according to Adler, “30% of her clients marry the person they meet after first introduction, and 45% marry by the third introduction” (Wangsness 2007) an executive at Selective Search “ Another threat that SingleNoMore.net faces is security issues such as Hackers, identity theft, and information privacy. A Hacker is defined as “a series of specific actions done to allow someone to access a password protected situation” (Richardson 2009). In most cases, Hackers hack into dating websites to gain access to user’s accounts. They can use the accounts to manipulate users for profit or sexual intention. For example, on February 13, 2009, Valentine Day, a hacker attempted to spread a virus on the internet by sending two innocent e-greetings cards to numerous lonely singles. The first e-greeting cards “containing an image of a puppy holding a heart in his mouth, which asks the users to download a puppy love developer kit” (MacLeod 2009). The second e-greeting card “shows an image of a series of hearts which asks users to choose an e-card and forward to a friend” (MacLeod 2009). The results of clicking on the link will infect the users with a “digitally transmitted disease” (MacLeod 2009). Hackers can cause a lot of damage to a dating website by spreading a virus, stealing valuable data, and stealing users identity. Another security issues is identify theft, it is define as “a crime in which imposter obtains key pieces of information such as social security and driver’s license numbers and uses it for their own personal gains” (Richardson 2008). One example is people using Social Engineering to “trick people through lies into giving their personal information under false pretenses” (Richardson 2008). Moreover, informational privacy is another security issues that can threat an online dating website. An unclear legal agreement and privacy policy can lead to legal action such as using users personal information without their proper consent, fail to verify user age, and promoting in a way that act discriminating. New entrants into the online dating industry would require powerful technology, large financial resources to maintain its operation and create outstanding products, and compete against its rivals’ (PlentyofFish, LavaLife, and Match.com) existing brand identity. With the competitions already establishes it brand in the online dating industry, SingleNoMore.net will have to face many challenges such as getting sponsors to support their goals, hiring staff, and most importantly marketing their brand to create awareness of their product and services. Online dating websites have faced legal issues with informational privacy, discrimination, age verification, copyright protection, global expansion, and ethical issues. It is vital for any online dating website to have a legal agreement between the host and the users. The legal agreement should contain the terms of use and must be acknowledge by the users in order to use their services.
 * Threats**
 * Competitions**
 * Security Risk: Hackers, Identity Theft, and Information Privacy**
 * Entry Cost**
 * Legal Issues**


 * References**
 * "ComScore Media Metrix Ranks Plentyoffish.com #1 Dating Site in North America And U.K. By Total Visits." __Free Services for PR :: News :: Press Releases__. 28 July 2008. 20 Mar. 2009 <[]>.
 * Wangsness, Jess. "Online dating gets a little competition from local matchmaking companies." __Medill Reports__. 25 Apr. 2007. 20 Mar. 2009 <[]>.
 * Richardson, Tim. "Hacking & Cracking & the Trojan Horse Technique ." __Prof. W. Tim G. Richardson, Toronto, Canada, e-commerce professor, internet marketing and international business professor__. 18 Mar. 2009. Universtiy of Toronto. 20 Mar. 2009 < [] >.
 * MacLeod, Michelle. "Hackers fail to show any love this Valentine's Day." __IT Business - News, Articles, Info Strategies for Business Managers and Information Technology Professionals in__ __Canada__ __- Computer Products - Technology Consulting__. 13 Feb. 2009. ItBusiness.ca. 20 Mar. 2009 <[]>.
 * Richardson, Tim. "Identify Theft ." __Prof. W. Tim G. Richardson, Toronto, Canada, e-commerce professor, internet marketing and international business professor__. 7 April. 2008. Universtiy of Toronto. 21 Mar. 2009