TravPro Mobile is a dual-purpose sales companion tool that
gives suppliers a new way to engage agents at the point of sale.
First, it’s designed to fight the post-training brain drain
that can see agents forgetting as much as 75% of what they’ve learned within 24
hours of attending a presentation or webinar.
Second, it doubles as a tool to help agents sell, through a
Supplier Connect section that takes them straight to special offers and
supplier booking engines.
TravPro Mobile capitalizes on the stats that 60% of users
prefer to access content through mobile devices, and more than 90% of them
prefer native apps to responsive or mobile websites. Having mobile maps
eliminates the need for agents to remember URLs and passwords to access a
training website. They simply open it on their device. But it’s also available
online. And it works across devices, picking up training from wherever the
agent left off, no matter what device he or she was using.
To engage agents, it’s visually dynamic. Viewers see clear
water lapping the edge of a beach and palm fronds waving in the breeze when
they open the Antigua and Barbuda Insider training app, which was the launch
customer in February.
It recognizes that people learn in myriad ways. Just 13% of
people learn from reading, according to Jonathan Cooper, president and founder
of TravPro Mobile. So besides text, which it limits to 250 words or less, it
educates with video, narration and photo slide shows, which tablets, in
particular, display vividly.
There are also video aids such as maps, which agents can email to clients. And, in an
unusual feature, it includes short video bursts of agents talking to their
colleagues about a destination or supplier, sharing their sales tips and impressions.
Recognizing how busy agents are, the tool offers courses in
short morsels, which it calls “coursels,” so that agents can jump in and do
some training when they have a few free minutes.
Its assessments, or tests, vary from screen to screen,
giving agents different ways to answer questions and then telling them why they
were right or wrong.
Agents can take this training offline, but when they’re
online they can use the Supplier Connect section, with connects them directly
with hotels and resorts, special packages, transportation, activities and
events. Agents can click on a property and then click on icons for websites,
emails, phone numbers or Skype for a quick response to questions. They can also
click on a “book now” button to book a property.
TravPro Mobile has a supplier dashboard that enables
suppliers to update information through a content management system.
Because the app is in the public sphere, there are consumer
versions. When users download the app, they are asked if they are a travel
agent and input their email, which TravPro Mobile then checks against its
database of 80,000-plus agents. Nonagents can download a “lite” consumer
version of the app. Agents can also send the consumer version to their clients.
It’s flexible enough to recognize the location of agents.
SuperClubs, for example, has a resort in Cuba. Canadian agents can see that
property and the Bahamas property. But U.S. agents, who can’t sell that
property, see only the Bahamas property.
It has a rewards program for agents that can operate as a
standalone rewards technology or integrate with existing programs.
TravPro Mobile is an a la carte app. Destinations and
suppliers can use it as a stand-alone sales tool or can bolt on training or
rewards programs. It also can integrate with existing training programs.