3 big South American failed proposals.

* Pachetes (ads supported + subscription)
Pachetes was really good to attract men and repel women!

* CitasWeb

(ads supported), launched in 2004. Now trying to resurrect as a Facebook application.







* Alguien a Quien Querer (ads supported + subscription + TV program on Fridays and Saturdays + planned a mobile application)
October 2008 - February 2010

Alguien a Quien Querer was good to attract men and repel women. Any pretty woman there received plenty of messages, winks and instant chat requests!

They should be cases of study for other companies planning to enter the South American market.


Why they failed:
* They offered the same stuff already available from Match, TeBusco and Zonacitas. Cannot differentiate from Match, TeBusco and Zonacitas.
* Operating costs surpassed revenue (Always negative cash flow).
* Alguien a Quien Querer also made the mistake to rely on Astrology to justify compatibility between prospective mates in the TV program but the online dating site offered a "compatibility calculator" based on reported preferences (smoke / drinking habits, etc).



OasisActive / AmorenLinea & DatingChile / DatingArgentina are making the same mistakes as Pachetes, CitasWeb and Alguien a Quien Querer, because they are managed by "marketineros" (very wise persons in selling smoke, only smoke, but with limited knowledge of the Online Dating Industry).

Some European countries, and USA & Canada but not Mexico can tolerate the Attraction, Conversion and Retaining with automatic rebilling technique, which also works in Australia and New Zealand (South Hemisphere & Anglo-Saxon persons) but that technique never works in South American countries because:

South Americans do mostly not have credit cards.
The ones who have credit cards, do mostly not use them for subscriptions.
South Americans do not trust in Banks.
South American users mostly pay in cash, debit cards or by other electronic methods like PagoFacil, Rapipago, by Post Office wire transactions or by Western Union for International transactions.
South America, is full of free/cheap low quality online dating proposals -Search and Recommendation engines- powered by local newspapers like Te Busco by Clarín and Zonacitas by La Nación.
There are also many tricks to use dating sites like Match, Meetic and Be2 for free in South American countries.
More than 70% of people who own a cell phone, are pre-paid clients. They do not receive bills, they charge credit in their cell phones by 2 methods: Acquiring pre-paid cards at kiosks/drugstores or via virtual charge at kiosks/drugstores/supermarkets or at any place with a PosNet terminal (Banelco or Link)