People nowadays expect top-quality personal and business relationships but are short on time, and this has created a viable opportunity for matchmaking businesses. Note that smart solutions have become a viable part of our daily lives, from cutting-edge business networking software at work to high-tech AC or Netflix in your home.
These modern technologies are all around us, and they play an important role in saving us time, assisting us at work, and aiding us to find anything we need in the most unexpected places.
By bringing buyers and sellers together but not owning – or even touching – what is bought and sold, today’s matchmakers can expand their businesses with almost no external funding, especially since there is no need to tie up cash in large amounts of inventory.
Companies such as eBay, Airbnb, and Expedia were founded by visionary entrepreneurs, and since they do not need to buy what they were going to sell, a good number of these businesses were built with almost no initial investment. None of the above companies own or have any control over the items being bought, sold, or exchanged.
Nonetheless, they make a sizeable profit via commission or listing fees, which they receive from either the buyer or the seller, or sometimes both. It’s also worth noting that the matchmaker model isn’t confined to modern technology-enabled services; it’s also been used in more traditional businesses. The real estate industry is a prime example of a traditional business that operates on the matchmaker model.
The best feature of the matchmaker model is that aside from requiring little or no cash to expand a mid-market company, it can even provide the company with what experts refer to as negative working capital.
Matchmaking models sell lower transaction costs whereas traditional business models sell products and/or services. Furthermore, matchmaker models work great in fragmented industries where several firms compete but no single or small group of companies dominates the industry.
How Does Matchmaking Business Model Work?
This business model works as a multi-party (triadic) arrangement that occurs when an Organization helps to identify two (or more) distinct customer groups A and B and brings them together via the organization’s digital or physical marketplace.
It should be noted that the Organization’s value proposition is transactional, and it resides in the matching of A and B via this new marketplace. This business model operates in the following ways:
- Identifying potential buyers and sellers and bringing them to the marketplace at the same time (a double challenge)
- Developing a high level of trust with each of these two groups – that they can meet their needs by trading on the Firm’s digital or physical marketplace.
- Charging mechanisms are almost always a fee based on actual trade
- Construction of the marketplace and the mechanisms of customer engagement are not always outsourced
How Do Matchmaking Business Models Make Money?
It’s worth noting that this model helps to create mini-weddings among people who can provide services and people who need them. These kinds of matchmaking services are inarguably among the hottest Internet ventures available today, especially if you’re looking for a business opportunity.
How businesses that employ this business model make money is frequently determined by the services they provide and who they charge for arranging the connection (buyers or sellers). Thumbtack, for example, connects service providers with individuals who require a service executed.
However, its revenue generation strategy differs from other businesses that use the same model, such as Uber. Uber and other companies, such as Airbnb, take a percentage of the fee charged for the service provided. Thumbtack charges service providers a fee to submit a quote on a potential job.
It is worth mentioning that someone seeking a wedding DJ can use Thumbtack to look for solutions. The engaged couple would post the date, the length of time the DJ would be needed, and the type of music preferred, then sit back and wait for bids from various musical groups.
DJs, on the other hand, would receive emails about the open invitation for bids, assess their schedules, and decide whether or not to submit a bid. Those who decide to pursue the opportunity must pay a small fee. While Thumbtack covers everything from wedding DJs to private tutoring to HVAC experts, HomeHero.org chooses to focus on connecting caregivers with senior citizens.
It makes money by taking a cut of the care provider’s fee. According to experts, these business models do what a traditional matchmaker would do in multiple ways. They make connections, continuing to make the connection more convenient while also providing quality control and communication.
These online services allow users to see provider ratings, almost the same way a traditional matchmaker would be able to notify prospective husbands and brides about the eligible people they would be introduced to.
However, one of the most difficult aspects of working with service providers in these areas is collecting and distributing money. When online matchmakers charge a fee, they handle these responsibilities. The Thumbtack model arranges payment directly between the client and the service provider.
Top 20 Companies Operating This Business Model
Top companies using this business model include;
- Airbnb
- Expedia
- Farfetch
- Busuu
- Bla Bla Car
- Airbnb
- Adzuna
- Auction House
- BGL Group
- Eventbrite
- Uber
- TaskRabbit
- Freecycle
- Etoro
- Quikr
- Naked Wines
- Just Eat
- Housetrip
Conclusion
One excellent thing about the matchmaker model is that it is not restricted to large, international corporations or any specific industry.
Truth be told, no technological or programming knowledge is required. The so-called “long tail effect” holds true seamlessly in matchmaking, implying that these cutting-edge association software and database management tools are accessible to entrepreneurs from all walks of life.
People from all walks of life can build their businesses using the matchmaker model, utilizing their personal skills and experience and providing highly personalized matchmaking services to their communities.