How to Trick Members into Staying

Several companies are using an interesting marketing technique to trick their members into not cancelling their membership. I have talked to a few members of the companies I am referring to (I will not mention any names of companies that are using this technique) and all of them said that they don't think of this technique as a way to trick them into staying. This just shows how good this tecnhique really is. You be the judge, is this a trick or not? What the companies are doing is giving you a name depending on how long you have been a member. If you have been a member for five years, you might be a silver member, if you have been a member for ten years, you might be a gold member. You don`t get any benefits from it at all, you just get the name (remember, you are a gold member). I think that what the companies are doing is using a marketing technique that applies to our emotions. We all want to be someone special, and by receiving a special name, we think of us as special members of the company. If I received status as a gold member, I think it would be harder to cancel my membership, a gold member would never cancel his membership. If I received a letter from the company telling me that I just received status as a gold member, I would probably think that I have achieved something. I would think of myself as a proud member, but is this something to be proud of or is it just a marketing trick to keep you from leaving the company?