SMART COMPANY – Feb 6 – How do eHarmony and Aussie RSVP get customers to pay? RSVP offers low barriers to entry to acquire users. People can search, view profiles and express interest for free. eHarmony provides a much more limited experience for non-paying customers. Once people have joined, the sites work hard to convert users to paying customers. They use tension to drive conversion by withholding something of value. eHarmony withholds access to photos and RSVP withholds the ability to correspond. The key is to hold something back that customers value so you can entice them to upgrade. Both eHarmony and RSVP have been careful about how they present pricing options to their customers. Rather than spelling out the total price, customers are presented with the cost per month (eHarmony) and cost per bundle of "stamps" (RSVP). Use sequencing and cost per unit to advantage where possible. Use design to attract attention. RSVP uses a more vividly coloured and boxed design to drag customer attention toward the Premium membership option. Also, a great way to overcome customer anxiety about a purchase is to offer a guarantee.
