Match Group, an online dating conglomerate, released its first Impact Report on Monday. The company owns over forty dating sites, including Tinder, OkCupid, and Hinge, and is striving to establish greater transparency and increased safety initiatives for users.
In the report, Match Group highlights its past successes and prefaces its upcoming social and environmental initiatives. The company’s goal is to provide full transparency to consumers, which can potentially secure their trust and loyalty.
Read more to understand how a multibrand corporation is boosting customer trust and loyalty by establishing transparency as a primary company value and practice.
Match Group Increases Transparency to Gain Consumer Trust
Consumers appreciate when companies remain open about their business practices, particularly when customers are giving their personal information. Eighty-six percent of U.S. consumers feel “transparency from businesses is more important than ever before,” according to Sprout Social.
Knowing the behind the scenes of a business encourages consumers to stay engaged and personally relate to a brand, according to the 2019 Edelman Trust Barometer Special Report. When consumers trust a company and its practices, they are more likely to remain loyal to it.
Match Group’s Impact Report allows consumers to better understand the company’s mission and societal impact. Additionally, the report includes company gains and losses throughout 2020.
Certain metrics weren’t reported on, such as “government requests to remove content,” “water consumption,” and “number of law enforcement requests for user information.” These were excluded due to insufficient data collection, and the company pledges to release them in next year’s Impact Report.
Ensuring Users Feel Safe on Dating Apps
The company is making a large effort to nurture safety on its platform, according to Match Group’s Impact Report. To avoid dating harassment and violence, Match Group is partnering with more “governments, legislators, and regulators” to ensure all users enjoy a comfortable dating experience.
The greater emphasis on reducing dating violence continues Match Group’s previous efforts to develop a safe online dating network. In 2018, the company established the Match Group Advisory Council, a group of leading experts dedicated to preventing sexual assault, harassment, and abuse.
Moreover, recent partnerships have strengthened its safety efforts. In March 2021, Tinder partnered with the background-check company, Garbo, to prevent gender-based dating violence.
Match’s forthgoing strategy will focus on more partnerships, prevention strategies, and new policies to protect daters. Specifically, it will introduce more background check features this year to aid with swiping.
“When it comes to safety, you’ll never hear me say we’ve done enough – safety never stops,” said Tracey Breeden, MatchGroup’s Head of Safety and Social Advocacy. “We want to prevent, disrupt and respond to physical, emotional and psychological abuse, harm, harassment, hate and discrimination connected to our users and communities, whether online or in person.”
Match Group will also prioritize privacy on its platform by guaranteeing users’ data is kept confidential and secure.
“We won’t grow by monetizing data or compromising privacy, but by being the place where people want to spend their time and can express their authentic selves,” the company states in its report.
Over the course of 2021, Match is projecting to invest $100 million in trust and safety. Currently, there are over 375 employees working in this sector.
Extending Diversity & Inclusion Efforts
In addition to the company’s emphasis on safety, the report goes on to feature Match Group’s dedication to workplace inclusivity. The company looks to continue certifying employees in diversity and inclusion, expanding recruitment pools, and seeking out diverse applicants.
“We are passionate about improving representation in our talent pipeline and are enhancing our recruitment practices to increase the diversity of our people,” the company said in the report.
Companies with higher ethnic and gender diversity are more likely to financially outperform their competitors, according to multiple sources, including the Impact Report.
Currently, the company’s ethnic diversity in leadership positions is below that of the national rate. However, its gender diversity in leadership positions is proportionate to the U.S. as a whole.
Photo Credit: www.mtch.com/impact
Impacting Communities Through Progressive Policies
Dating apps are overwhelmingly used by millennials, and Match’s decision to include social and environmental initiatives in its report can reach this demographic well. According to a 5W consumer report, “eighty-three percent of Millennials say it’s important for the companies they buy from to align with their beliefs and values.”
Match Group’s Impact Report emphasizes the company’s support for Pride marches, Best Buddies, Match 4 COVID, the BLM movement, #StopAsianHate, among other initiatives.
Match Group’s network donated $2.8 million to charitable causes in 2020, and $3 million to pro bono advertising.
In the environmental sector, the company will assess its carbon footprint and create sustainable office spaces. Match’s “Green Team” is committing its Los Angeles office to being zero waste by 2022.
“We must stay vigilant on our environmental impact. Our servers are the biggest driver of our carbon footprint and we are committed to reducing it as much as possible,” said Shar Dubey, Match Group’s CEO.
Using an Impact Report to Aid Company Growth
In Q1 2021, Match Group reached 11.2 million total subscribers — an increase of 200,000 subscribers from a quarter prior. In areas where COVID-19 cases are low, users have been more active on Match Group’s dating apps. At the end of last year, Match saw a rise in users in Japan, where first-time subscriber growth has increased.
Match Group’s portfolio generated nearly $2.4 billion in revenue in 2020 — up nearly $400 million from 2019. Improved vaccination rates and health recovery has allowed the company to exceed predicted earnings at the beginning of 2021.
“Exiting the first quarter we are seeing improving trends across the portfolio,” said Shar Dubey, Match Group’s CEO, in a Q1 2021 letter to shareholders, “We are pleased with the way 2021 has begun and are optimistic that the rest of the year will continue this momentum.”
Through in-depth reporting, Match Group aims to leverage this transparency to remain at the top of the dating industry. Moreover, the company is setting the precedent for other subscription and dating companies to connect with consumers in a genuine way.
“Match Group is committed to releasing an annual Impact Report to help raise the bar across the industry and continue to allow more people to find connections that enhance their lives safely, securely, and inclusively,” the company said in a press release.
Key Takeaways:
- Match Group’s Impact Report transparently detailed the company’s social and environmental efforts.
- In Q1 2021, Match Group reached 11.2 million total subscribers — a 200,000 subscriber increase from a quarter prior.
- The company recently surpassed expected earnings and is using transparent reporting to better appeal to consumers.
- This year, the company is planning to invest $100 million in trust and safety.