For years I was a Giant Eagle fan.  I didn’t care that their prices were a little higher or that it was a little further out of my way.  I loved their consistency, fresh produce, and giant cheese selection.

Then I moved to a part of Columbus that should be known as Kroger Valley.  Off the top of my head I can think of at least four Krogers within a five mile radius.  Those are just the ones I know about.  There are probably more.

With Krogers a’plenty and the nearest Giant Eagle a lengthy 20 minute trip by comparison, I made the decision to shop at one of my (many) neighborhood Krogers.

I did notice that the food was cheaper, and that made it a little more bearable.  Then I noticed that the produce was just as fresh as Giant Eagle, so that was nice too.  And then I saw that they had Port Salut cheese, which made it a reasonable Giant Eagle alternative.  After the course of several months, I slowly began to forget about my once beloved Giant Eagle.

And today, Kroger did one more thing to secure my business–they sent me customized coupons with a thank you note for shopping with them.  And not crappy little $.25 off coupons–I mean totally decent, go-ahead-and-have-these-products-for-free coupons.  Turns out, each time I use my Kroger Plus card, Kroger keeps track of what I buy.  They know that I buy Cheerios and frozen thin-crust margherita pizzas and Del Monte fruit cups.  And not only that, but they use this information to make valuable connections with their customers.

And once again, database marketing saves the day (and, in this case, saves me money).