A price policy defines the initial price and gives direction for price movements over the product life cycle. In opposition to this, a price tactic is where a product is sold near or even below cost in the hope that shoppers will buy other items as well (ibid., p. 671). The "information age" (particularly the internet) is changing the nature of pricing by making it more interactive. For instance, this author had a conversation with a Wal-Mart manager that explained that their pricing and marketing decisions are made up by tabulating information gathered at the point of sale (the cash register) as the items are scanned in. Statistics are what drives Wal-Mart's marketing, purchasing and other decisions.

Method has based its marketing decisions upon polling the existing customer base. By polling the existing customers, they excited them by making them feeling important in the decision making of the company. By using advocates to reach out, sales increased by involving potential customers in parties. The website further gives customers the ability to interactively give feedback via comments...

The company nurtures their relationships by acting upon the customer feedback and updating the technology quickly to reflect this. They found that to keep this customer focus, the firm had to keep up with technology, hence the emphasis in their campaign upon technological catch up.
While ecommerce is not the only source of Method's business, it is becoming more important. The website is a balance between information and good sales methods to market the products. For instance, they did not do gift certificates and baskets before. By offering a service like this on the website, it expands sales and excites customer involvement by engaging consumers at the point of sale, which here is the website since the company is largely online on the internet (ibid.).

Works Cited

Digital assets repository - business and economics. (2008). Retrieved from http://cengagesites.com/academic/?site=4068&SecID=3665.

Lamb, C.W., Hair, J.F., & McDaniel, C. (2008). Essentials of marketing. Mason, OH:

Thomson Higher Education.