MNteractive.com

In the Star Tribune’s recent “Best Buy Copes with Costs” article, they report that Best Buy’s customer-centric format roll-out (and here) has been scaled back 40%.

The customer centricity strategy has its costs. Operating expenses as a percentage of revenue were 2.2 percent higher at the test stores, the company said. But the test stores’ sales and gross profit rates also outpaced traditional locations.

That’s right - even with slightly higer operating expenses, Best Buy has dramatically increased sales by focusing providing an excellent experience to specific customer segments.

In a related development - McDonald’s has also declared that one brand experience doesn’t fit all

“…no single ad tells the whole story,” Larry Light, McDonald’s chief marketing officer.

He continues:

“We don’t need one big execution of a big idea. We need one big idea that can be used in a multidimensional, multilayered and multifaceted way.”

There you have it - 2 big names declaring mass marketing is not longer effective and moving their organizations to a more individual customer experience model. Is this the end of mass marketing and the return of local specialization and identity as Seth Godin recommends? I hope so.