Online Dating Magazine > Interviews > Patrick Perrine

Interview - Patrick Perrine of MyPartnerPerfect
Interview conducted by James Houran, Ph.D.

I’m delighted to introduce you to Patrick Perrine, the President of the newly launched myPartnerPerfect.com. He’s perhaps best described as a “man on a mission” – someone who’s passionate about filling a void that many feel has long existed in the online dating industry.

All of the media hype currently surrounding eHarmony.com and Chemistry.com and the issue of exclusionary practices has brought an immediate spotlight onto this new service. It’s my pleasure to present an interview with Patrick about this new service. Please send me your comments at: [email protected].

Dr. Jim: Congratulations on your launch, Patrick. Tell us why now... why did it take so long for someone to establish a site that catered to gays?

Patrick: Thank you. I don’t know why it has taken so long for the industry to identify this tremendous opportunity. It was partially because of the eHarmony.com policy and other ‘relationship sites’ lack of service to the gay segment that I founded myPartnerPerfect. For far too long the industry has neglected the gay community and their pursuit for life-partners. Instead, the dating service industry has been flooded with gay sites that only promote hook-ups and short-term encounters. I don’t object to sites with that goal, but a very large segment of the gay community is looking for something deeper, that can last a lifetime. That’s exactly what the myPartnerPerfect system was designed to do.

Dr. Jim: Do you think all of the recent, negative press around eHarmony.com is fair, or are these just cheap shots from competitors and a few dissatisfied customers?

Patrick: It appears to me that the larger issue being drawn out in the press isn’t with the niche focus of eHarmony's services (this niche being a large population of people in the United States ), but the underlying premise of that niche focus. Sites like eHarmony.com will always have a place in the world of online dating and relationships, but it is my hope that myPartnerPerfect can help fill the void in the market and foster many happy and healthy relationships for gay men.

Patrick: Wikipedia describes a niche the following way:

A niche market is a focused, targetable portion (subset) of a market sector.

By definition, then, a business that focuses on a niche market is addressing a need for a product or service that is not being addressed by mainstream providers. A niche market may be thought of as a narrowly defined group of potential customers.

A distinct niche market usually evolves out of a market niche, where potential demand is not met by any supply.

eHarmony.com, in my opinion, essentially started out as a niche site for marriage-oriented heterosexual Christians. Dr. Warren himself attributes much of eHarmony's success to its ties to Focus on the Family, a conservative Christian community. Only recently had Dr. Warren and eHarmony.com began distancing themselves from that “niche” market as the site began growing rapidly and they began positioning itself for the masses.

myPartnerPerfect is completely forthwith about the segmented “niche” market we cater to due to the demand in the market that is not being met.

Patrick: myPartnerPerfect is an exclusively gay site that has been designed to cater to gay men. Much like any other niche site, myPartnerPerfect addresses the areas of partner selection that are not only important to our community, but unique to our community. Although there are many similarities between heterosexual and homosexual relationships, there are also many differences in partner selection. Our Partner Perfect Compatibility™ matching system was designed because of the many differences of gay partner selection in the areas of relationship styling, characteristics of partner selection, partner qualities and personalities, and above all else…cultural and sexual lifestyle considerations.

We also have a monthly newsletter called Partnering, which will focus specifically on gay dating issues, Q & A’s, Relationship Guidance tools, and much more that again, is specific to the lifestyle of gay men. Along with advice on the secrets to developing a successful relationship on my Dr. Patrick pages, members use guided communication tools to start connecting with truly compatible partners. Members seeking even more hands-on guidance can sign-up for our personal and private matchmaking services.

Dr. Jim: From your experience and research, are gays more interested in compatibility testing (and perhaps long-term relationships) than other groups? If so, why might this be?

Patrick: I wouldn’t say that gay men are more interested or less interested in compatibility testing than the general population. I think that gay men are a very discerning population of consumers and demand the very “best of breed” on anything that they patron and that’s why myPartnerPerfect has developed the Partner Perfect Compatibility™ matching system. In order to compete with the market space and the demand by the savvy online dater, we have assessed the desire and need by gay men to enter into long-term relationships and thus developed a “best of breed” system to help meet that demand.

Dr. Jim: What does a customer really get for his money at your site -- what are the compelling features that can't be found elsewhere?

Patrick: In addition to the unique Partner Perfect matches presented to the user by our matching system, members can search the database with 5 different customized browsing tools (including our Deal Breaker Search, our Partner Perfect Search, and our Custom Search). We also have unique profile customization tools, a monthly gay-relationship eNewsletter, one-on-one consultations, anonymous phone calling, our myProfilePartner™ personal profile advice and review services, monthly socials and singles mixers, weDate!™ group dinners, and our a la carte menu to select the features that are most important to the user who is not yet ready to commit to a full Premium Membership. For a further description of our competitive advantages, please see our Competitive Advantages page.

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