Weinstein Galleries needed some help. Out-of-town visitors comprised a significant portion of business for the Bay Area gallery. Follow-up was usually difficult, compounded by high turnover among their sales staff. Additionally, sales staff spent too much time merely trying to establish the availability of specific art pieces at the gallery's four locations.

Interestingly, a profile for the typical out-of-town, upscale, technology-employed or entrepreneurial customer was emerging. This strong potential market segment brought glaring visibility to the company's need for better tools. We found that the audience's largest complaint was that, due to the quality and complexity of fine art, a typical digital photo was not sufficient to convey enough information about a piece. As a result, we developed a custom media viewer and a unique system of photographing artwork that simulated the experience a patron would have viewing a work in person, walking between a variety of angles and distances.

Recognizing the multiple opportunities for better management tools, we created a web-based content management system that took on the dual role of customer and inventory tracking. Since the new system strengthened each art consultant's ability to work with and sell to their customers, it received wide usage, solidifying the gallery's greatest asset -- their customer database.

The emerging customer profile that had initially revealed the gallery's marketing problems -- the demanding, self-made, tech-savvy art collector -- now stood to benefit the most from a well-managed inventory system. In what has become more common in recent years, the web-based system included a sophisticated e-mail marketing module that sent out automated, visually attractive messages when new gallery acquisitions matched interest profiles in the customer database.

As an indication of future success, two significant art pieces sold during a brief testing phase of the new system. This implementation demonstrates the applicability of technology to facilitate any business, even one that deals with art, people, and relationships. Once the nature of the business is understood and the customer dynamics are respected, technology can play an appropriate role to enhance operations and sweeten profits.