You may be able to start out that way, but at some point, you’ll have to choose one strategy so you can throw all your efforts behind it. Is it possible for one company to be both a price- and proposition-simplifier? In normal market conditions, where there is a level playing field for all competitors, the answer is a resounding “No!” For our purposes, we somewhat arbitrarily define “normal market conditions” as a time when there’s a low rate of technological change, so all competitors have relatively equal access to the principal technologies of production and marketing, and newer technologies are well diffused.