By aahmadi on 8/26/2010 3:50 PM
A recent Wall Street Journal article entitled “
The Price Isn’t Right” explained the issue of companies losing price control online due to intermediary discount sites, promotional codes, and shopping search engines. This is a rising issue among many manufacturers and while some have employed successful strategies to counter this problem, others have seen their profits shrink at the hands of aggressive bargain-hunting shoppers. The article provided eight strategies to help tackle this problem, but three of them in particular stuck out.
The first suggestion was to “Control the Sales Network.” Manufacturers must set price standards and let their authorized retailers know what the lowest possible price is, and to deal with those who break this rule harshly. The second tip that could prove to be useful was to “offer discounts through intermediaries who hide the brand.”...