In Response to Will Ferguson's Post: Can the marketing concept reach a point of diminishing returns?

I agree that the average consumer would appreciate more features/options/services in whatever product they buy. This can be seen in a variety products in the high-end technology spectrum such as Iphones/tablets and even cars. Each comes with an incredible amount of options, Ipads with their pre-loaded apps and available services such as their E-readers, and cars with features ranging from heated seats to touch screen navigation. It would seem that overall, organizations are headed even more in this direction of providing an infinite list of options to customers. However, as you stated, manufacturers may struggle to keep up with this mindset, by trying to provide customers with their ultimate and personalized product, could end up stretching their resources and manufacturing to the  point where they will cease to make money on the final product. Therefore they establish what the customer would like most out of these additional features and create the product choices from a general consensus. I most likely would not pay for additional features, but instead would prefer to pay for specific necessities most likely included in my product.

With so many companies pushing to provide their customers with more features/applications then what their competitors can offer, is it possible that customer expectations will expand in the future to where the product provided to solve a problem (such as a car to solve the transportation issue of getting from here to there) is not enough? Will consumers consider a lack of these seemingly infinite features to be a deal breaker, or is it already that way?

Customer Satisfaction and Value

Are customer satisfaction and customer value interdependent or mutually exclusive? Can satisfaction occur simultaneously with low customer value?

I feel that the linkage between customer value and satisfaction depends on the particular product/service that is being provided. In the case where the two are interdependent would be a product that not only fulfills an immediate need, but continues to provide quality service for an extended period of time allowing the customer to place value into the product. An example of this may include that of a newly purchased car, which satisfies the immediate need of transportation, but establishes it's value in its ability to perform in the long-term; accompanied by customer support (i.e. manufacturer repair shops where they strive to maintain your vehicle, so when it comes time for a new car, you will have already established a strong customer relationship).

However, I believe it is possible for the opposite to occur as well, where as the customer is satisfied, but places no true value into the product. An example of this could include buying a pizza cutter from the dollar store. The pizza cutter will satisfy the immediate need of cutting a pizza to eat, but will most likely do a poor job completing the task, and in addition will have a short product life. Although the store has provided you with a cheap product when you needed it, the actually end product does not have any real value to the consumer, and will often be thrown away shortly after its purchase.

 Therefore the store has not truly provided it's customer with value, for instance would the same customer come back and by another pizza cutter knowing the last one broke so easily; or would they shop somewhere else where they could spend slightly more and have a product with a longer useful life?