Do you treat new customers better than existing ones?

I’ve been using Timematters (version 5.0) since it came out, and was a faithful user of 4.0 before then.  Now I see that version 6.0 is out, with a bunch more bells and whistles.  Apart from a very complicated interface, I’m generally happy with 5.0, and if the Outlook integration worked as advertised (or at all on my machines), I’d stay with that product.  However, if the new version dramatically improved my user experience, I’d spring for the $500 or so the upgrade would cost our office.

Today I called LexisNexis Timematters sales and asked if I could download a trial version of the new software or get a demo disk.  The salesperson told me that was not an option for me, because I was already a customer.  Instead, I had to buy the upgrade and then take advantage of the money-back guarantee if I was unsatisfied.  However, if I didn’t already own the product, the salesperson assured me, they would send out a working demo disk and give me thirty days to “test drive” the software.

This isn’t a rant against Timematters, per se.  Instead, it should be a lesson to all of us whose business depends on returning clients or customers.  Before you extend that “special offer” and limit it to new customers only, think about how your loyal customers would feel if they learned it wasn’t available to them as well.  Why not give those existing customers the special perks and see how much more your business grows.