Is it just me or does anybody else get a little miffed that new customers sometimes get perks that longtime, loyal customers don’t?

I’ve been a longtime Discover card customer, and in recent ads they’ve been touting extra cash back for new customers. You see, Discover gives their cardholders a kickback percentage for using their card and now they’re giving first-time cardholders an additional amount. Okay, I get it, they want more customers, but to us old customers, this is a slap in the face. I guess my last 20 years of loyalty isn’t that important. Too bad for Discover because there are a lot of other cards I can use, all with perks of their own.

This isn’t my first experience with this kind of new-customer-perk strategy. Many years ago, I had a magazine subscription that was up for renewal and they had been promoting a special price for new subscribers. I wrote them and asked for the same rate thinking it was only reasonable given my years of loyalty. Wrong! I got no response. So, I did not renew…and I didn’t look back.

A business strategy that favors new customers over longtime supporters is just shortsighted. Attract new customers of course, but be mindful and offer your base something to match, that’s a strategy that makes sense.