In his recent article in Markeing News, author Bob Donath suggests that in B:B marketing we may be able to create a competitive advantage by trimming the number of options we give to customers. He adds a caveat that it isn't only trimming the options, but a corresponding trimming of the cost to the customer, thus creating a lowest-price offering.

Referred to as "right-sizing value and price" or 'naked solutions" this approach is based on the assumption that customers place a higher value on low cost over options -- at least in a B:B environment. I wonder if this same gambit is true in the B:C environment.

WalMart, Costco, and other big box mega retailers have all placed their bets that low cost outweighs a bevy of options. But then food chains like McDonalds, Taco Bell, and and Subway have all varied their menu to such an extent that they've adopted Burger King's mantra, "Your way, right away."

Is there a defining line to help marketers distinguish when options are an advantage, or where stripped-down, low cost is paramount? Doesn't stripping down options relegate every product or service to a commodity-level offering?