Cover Story: Finding the Perfect Balance

Many people use a cataloger's e-commerce site as an order-taking tool. But Burke says, "Gaiam went in the completely opposite direction from a strategy perspective and created an experience for the customer that supports all elements of that customer."

Offering multiple payment options such as PayPal and Bill Me Later also illustrates Gaiam's focus on the customer, according to Burke. Gaiam does things like calculating tax and shipping at the shopping cart, so customers know exactly what their totals will be instead of having to go to the fourth page of checkout to find out.