Web Awards 2000: Marketing

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Lemire, who calls himself the "Big Parmesan," launched a Web site at the end of 1995. It rapidly cooked up more than 75% of his sales. A respectable 60% of his Web customers buy from the site again after their first order -- a rate that Lemire says is unusually high for his industry. "The hardest thing in the direct-mail business is to get the second sale," he says, at his office in Hanover, Mass. Club members can have their purchases automatically billed to their credit cards, a practice that contributes to repeat sales. More than 12,000 people subscribe to Flying Noodle's monthly E-mail newsletter. Web Awards judge Don Peppers pointed to the high repeat-customer rate and a lengthy newsletter subscriber list as signs that Flying Noodle is a customer-retention star.

But Lemire is not one to rest on his laurels. He plans to add a gift-management capability to the site and to sell all the accoutrements for cooking pasta to its al dente best. Says Lemire, "We're trying to put people at ease with the experience of buying gourmet food. It's just food. It's not something you have to bow down to." --L.G.P.

Third place (tie)

Water Views

Company: Starlite Houseboats Inc.
Web address: www.starlitehouseboats.com
Why it won: The site's interactive tool allows users to design and price the houseboat of their dreams.
Company revenues: $2 million
Site-launch cost: $7,500
Judge's view: "While a drawback is that someone is not likely to order a $150,000 boat based on surfing a single site, it does serve as a solid marketing tool to engage prospective customers who may order off the site or otherwise continue to connect with the seller." --Jed Emerson

Houseboats have come a long way. Tubby eyesores of old, they are now more likely to boast king-size beds, jumbo jacuzzis, elegant flying bridges, and high-octane engines. Two things haven't changed though: they're still found mostly on fresh water (they're not equipped to handle open ocean), and they're mostly used as alternate living spaces. However, a new twist is that their builders are increasingly likely to be trolling for business in cyberspace.

That's just what Roger Aldis decided to do. Last year he launched a Web site for his Dallas-based company, Starlite Houseboats Inc., which had been in business since 1994. A houseboat is a complicated purchase, and CEO Aldis wanted to give potential customers an easy way to do research on it -- much like shopping for a car on the Web. Today visitors can use an interactive tool to "design" their dreamboat by selecting from a menu of seven floor plans that have an average base price of $139,000. They can also select optional equipment (like home-theater systems and swim platforms), hit the Send button, and receive a quote in minutes.

Our judges thought Starlite was a standout, even though it didn't reach the exalted heights of its competitor, General Excellence winner Sumerset Custom Houseboats Inc., which judge Evan Schwartz called the "Dell Computer" of the houseboat industry. (See " Web Awards 2000: General Excellence.")

Before the advent of the Web, would-be houseboaters had little choice but to trudge to boat shows and far-flung dealers' showrooms in search of information. And they had to subject themselves to high-pressure sales tactics in order to get an actual quote. Aldis wanted to let people get a real-world price quote in a matter of minutes -- no salesperson needed. That feature got high marks from our judges. "[The online configurator] is a powerful marketing tool in that it instantly connects the user's preferences with the end product," said Don Peppers.

But Aldis doesn't cut out the dealers altogether; Starlite has one in Atlanta and one in North Carolina. In addition, the company still hauls its boats to the big shows. But Aldis believes that his site's online configurator puts his customers at ease and makes them more likely to buy from Starlite over the long run. "They decide when they're ready to buy or if they want to talk to someone," he says.

Proof that the approach is working: people have configured more than 600 boats online since the site's inception, in October 1999, and the company has received online orders for 29 boats since then.

Peppers suggested that Starlite should next add to its site "relevant content that addresses general concerns (FAQs) of the entry-level houseboat market." --L.G.P.

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