With the introduction of new technologies into the market more and more people wonder why is it that these so-called outdated calling cards have not yet died? Why is it that there is still a healthy demand for calling cards and why hasn’t voice over IP or any of these new technologies taken over this sector of the market?
Land lines have been around ever since we can recall and the new kid in town (voice over IP) was supposed to take over a great share of the market due to its low cost however we haven’t seen any aggressive takeover or a sharp decrease in phone card sales, there are many reasons for their resilience of phone cards, the top five are:
A well branded product
Overcoming a well branded products such as calling cards can be a very difficult task even for a revolutionary technologies such as voice over IP because people are arrayed used to the way phone cards and land lines work and at the same time they know what to expect from the product, we can say same thing about VOIP.
The familiarity of the market with a product
People of all ages have grown accustomed to the way phone cards work; they know that after buying a card they will be giving a phone number and a pin which they will have to enter before they make the call. If we were to ask a person to explain to us how voice over IP works or what the advantages of this new technology are we would not get a straight answer because of the fact that the market is not familiarize with the way such technology operates.
Low cost
If you were given the choice as far as selecting between a monthly payment plan of say $20 a month or a one-time payment of five dollars for every time you wanted to make an international call, which one would you choose? Exactly, those people will choose the lower payment because they just don’t want to get tied up on a monthly payment plan or a contract and given the fact that most people use calling cards every once in a while a monthly payment plan doesn’t make much sense.
No contract
This is by far one of the most important reasons why calling cards have not yet disappeared, people don’t like to be tied up in a contract especially nowadays when the economy to be on a slippery slope. A contract usually calls for a credit inquiry and depending on the results of such inquiry additional fees may be charged and “fee” is just another word that puts people off.
Can be purchased at stores or over the web
Calling cards have for the most part been available for purchase at retail stores and gas stations nationwide and for the past decade they have also been available online which makes it that much easier and faster to make phone calls.