This process speaks volumes as to how the company sells their products. The most successful marketing and sales integration on the website is the Outfit Your Potter page, which offers potential buyers the ability to customize a boat on-line and have the running price updated in real-time.
(International Marine encourages potential buyers to tour the factory if they are in the Inglewood California area.) And of course there are links to everything from detailed specifications and photographs, as well as club and association websites.
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There is a FAQ page with the typical customer questions and responses, and finally a Contact Us page with toll free and local telephone numbers, as well as the company mailing and email addresses. The categories include clothing, mast and boom, sails, rudder, hardware, electronics, interior fittings, exterior fittings, windows, and trailer. The Potter Shop page also integrates the website by offering a virtual catalogue of all the Potter parts for sale. This is a fast and intuitive way to outfit a new boat. The Outfit Your Potter page is the most radical integration of marketing and on-line sales, as you actually can go through and build a customized boat to your exact specifications, with a running total being calculated as you add options. The About Us page is more brochure-like information about the company and employees who build these boats. Next the About the Potter page is very much like the brochure for each boat model, and the content and pictures provided look very much like their old website. Also mentioned was an upgraded delivery service with shrink wrapping of each boat prior to shipping (they arrive on a flatbed truck.) A preview of 2004 model refinements highlighted upgraded hardware with high quality photographs and short descriptions. This is a fundamental change in company culture, marketing, design, and manufacture philosophies as previous models changed little from year to year. The first thing you notice about the home page is the marketing of next year’s models. Having ordered a boat through these traditional methods, I was very interested to see how the company has integrated their web site as tool for marketing, sales, and distribution. Gathering information and ordering a boat was done through many phone calls to their sales representative, Trishia, and the exchanging of written materials by mail. At that time their website was little more than an on-line version of their brochure. I had the pleasure of ordering a new West Wight Potter 19 as my first sailboat in 1997 (pictures are on-line at ). And since almost every boat is built for a particular customer, a high level of customization is available. Their boats are well-made, safe, easy to sail, affordable, and can be towed by most vehicles. They have a fiercely loyal customer base, with active clubs and associations across the country.
This company has produced these two models for over thirty years, and bucking industry trends sells factory direct only, bypassing the usual distribution channel of regional dealers.
Web: International Marine (IM) is the California-based manufacturer of two successful models of sailboats, the West Wight Potter (WWP) 15 and 19. West Wight Potter 15 & 19 sailboat manufacturer International Marine
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