Information Technology Leadership and Management Legal Marketing and Sales Making the Sail Photos of boats under construction, posted online daily, boost business for a Kentucky boatbuilder. When Jack and Janet Cassell of Louisville, Ky., decided to have a houseboat built, they wanted to be closely involved in its construction. The Cassells were able to look at their boat every day. And they did it without having to travel. Sumerset Custom Houseboats lets clients follow the construction of their boats by posting new digital photos daily on the company's Web site.
Customers can make corrections and request changes along the way.
Sumerset added the daily photos to its site in 1998. Since then, traffic has jumped from 22,000 visitors per day to 55,000, with each visit averaging 22 minutes. Repeat business has increased from 40 percent to 60 percent. Revenue have almost tripled over the last three years. The Web strategy has also eliminated costly mistakes, which clients can immediately point out.