Customers demand variety for everything you can think of:
- Battery color
- Cartridge color
- Flavors (dozens of them)
- Nicotine strength
- Battery length
But most customers want to keep prices low. While variety is definitely desirable the additional costs very quickly add up (related to managing complexity, people, inventory, shipping errors).
So what is a customer-centric company like TheMagicMist supposed to do? Cave in to customer demands, provide variety and raise prices and gain immediate growth? Or should it resist the temptation, focus on fewer options and keep prices low for all? Tough choice to make.
Research source: “Promotional evaluation and response among variety seeking segments”, Journal of Product & Brand Management by Minakshi Trivedi, (Associate Professor of Marketing at the School of Management, SUNY/Buffalo, Buffalo, New York, USA), Michael S. Morgan, (EVP and Senior Partner, Nexus Business Information Inc., Grapevine, Texas, USA).
http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/10610420310498830