| That very same march is now promising to cut the final cord "" and in some cases it already has "" that bound the online alliance seeker to the personal computer. |
| Welcome to the world of SMS matrimony. |
| If the efforts of Bharat Matrimony.com (BM), a matrimonial service provider, pays off, the speed at which you find your life partner would well depend on how fast you can punch in an SMS message on your mobile. |
| Aptly called Fifty Fifty service (5050 on your mobile phone number pad), the matrimonial service provider promises a choice of four promising contacts on your messaging inbox for just Rs.10. The registration process is fairly simple. Send the word REGISTER to 5050 and in three simple steps you are on BM's database of 8.5 lakh registered stags looking for a partner in life. |
| Mobile telephony is the latest addition to BM's efforts in pairing more couple. The matrimonial services was started in 1997 and today BM claims 8,53,000 registered users of which 26,000 have successfully reported that they have tied the knot. S Suresh, business head, BM says, "Our estimate is well above one lakh successful marriages through our services. But only 26,000 have reported to us." |
| BM recently created history, or rather repeated history by organising the world's largest Swayamwarm, in Chennai in few months ago. For a reasonable sum of Rs.300, you can meet your prospective spouse at a large gathering of single men and women under one roof. The event was organised in Chennai and attracted quite a crowd. |
| BM's services in the matrimonial business spans wide, from conventional match making up to the latest SMS or MMS services. The company bring couples together by TV, FM radio, dot com and its own matrimonial magazines. |
| The top brass at BM are however is visibly excited about its latest offering - SMS based matrimonial services. The company has tied up with leading cellular operators like Airtel, Hutch, Idea enabling access to over 14 million mobile telephony users. |
| "This is likely to bulge to 20 million in the next two to three months, thanks to growing mobile user base in India and our efforts in adding more service providers across the country," says J Murugavel, CEO, BM. |
| The one point agenda of BM - bringing likely minded couple together - pursued for the last six years has paid off impressively. BM officials refuse to divulge their topline, but say their annual online advertising budget is around $1 million. The company has also tied up with Sify.com and MSN India.com as content partners. Apart from 150 franchisee outlets the company employs 150 people. |
| The tie up with cellular operators also fetches an impressive share on the one rupee charge on every SMS sent. The Rs.10 charge for every four contacts provided by SMS is also expected to bring home rich dividends. Apart from these revenue streams, the online registration is charged at Rs.500 for three months of unlimited access to www.bharatmatrimony.com. |
| In response to a prospective 'culture vulture's call' "" what about the great Indian tradition or is it safe for my daughter, Murugavel says, "A good portion of people who avail our service are parents and going by the number of success cases we can only say our services are as safe as conventional ones." |
| As for the success of the marriages that happen with help of BM, one can hardly blame the service provider if marriages turn sour. It can happen, irrespective of how one gets married. |
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