It’s not always about the price. Or, at least, it shouldn’t be

Under-promise and over-deliver. That should be the only slogan any business lives by, right? We all wish for it to be true and we expect to be swept off our feet in order for cash to start flying out of our hands. After all, that’s the way we become loyal to any brand. We’re asking to be impressed.

The thing is that it does not take much to make an impression on potential customers and turn them into loyal advocates. Forget mega-bonus packages and fancy hi-tech gizmos offered as raffle prizes. No 1 in a million chance of winning a tropical vacation if you refer a friend is going to convince you to trust a business so much that you would turn down alternatives on the spot. As it turns out, the secret ingredient is … common sense.

Edgar Navera, 67, a recently retired mechanical engineer from the City of Philadelphia has been using Nobel calling cards for about five years. He found them on the Internet. “I’m very happy with Nobel” he said. “I never had any problem since I’ve been with them. It’s not so much the cost, but the service”.

So what was it that convinced Edgar to stick with the same calling card company for the last five years?

“If I anticipate making a lot of calls I can go online and buy my minutes ahead of time. I don’t rush to the store to buy a card, I can do everything online. That’s convenience for me.” He makes calls to the Philippines specifically to Manila and Tuguegarao and to his wife’s relatives in Tagaytay and Bicol. “Reception is good no matter where I call,” he added.

Convenience and reliability. It really does not get any simpler than this. At least in the case of Edgar Navera and NobelCom.com that’s all it took to go from a one-time occasional purchase to a five year relationship.

“If they have a promo discount, they let me know in my email. They let me do everything on the web, where I buy my minutes. When I call, they tell me how many minutes I have left and I can plan ahead. It’s that kind of nice service.”

Daniel Ungureanu, business development manager at Nobel, said that customer retention has been the main goal of the company since it first appeared on the market. “We’ve been in the calling card business for 15 years and if there’s something we’ve learned, it’s that the real measure of success in this market is the rate of returning customers. Our goal has always been to keep it as high as possible.”

Ungureanu is convinced this business logic is the key to running a successful business: “It’s so easy to go an extra step or two for your customers. It’s not always about the price. It’s about earning the trust of people who buy from you, about giving the best customer support and being reliable. How do we do this? That’s the easy part: we listen to our customers and tailor the service for their needs.”

Nobel Ltd., through its two online services NobelCom.com and Enjoy Prepaid, provides international calling solutions to hundreds of thousands of customers of all nationalities every day. They are setting the standards in terms of quality connection, attention to detail and customer retention.

In case this feels too good to be true, don’t take their word for it: Edgar Navera said he’s been receiving calls and direct mail from other carriers, including his old carrier, making offers for years. His answer every time? “There’s no way I will switch to anything else.”