New York, October 2004 – Mobal Communications announces fundamental change in customer trends — travelers have stopped renting phones and are buying them instead.
Mobal reports an 85% increase in phone purchase in three months, at the expense of rental. Agents continuing to promote phone rental miss out on earning the higher commission that phone purchase can pay.
Compared with rental, phone purchase is better at meeting the three C’s agents look for — conversion, commission and convenience.
Conversion
Read Internet travel forums or magazine articles about international phones and they are full of recommendations to purchase rather than rent. Much of this attention has focused on Mobal’s $49 GSM World Phone with no service fees. Its low cost and high convenience have gained praise in TIME magazine and Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel. Consequently, it is easy for agents to convert enquiries into sales.
Commission
Because customers are buying a service for life the commission can be much greater. In Mobal’s case, agents only have to refer each customer once to receive 10% of all call revenue for the life of the service. This has averaged $80 commission per referral per year.
Compare this with rental, for which agents must try to sell the service every time the customer travels, and — if successful — receives payment only for the term of the rental.
Convenience
With Mobal, set up is instant: all agents need is a coded link to Mobal's website, which they can use on their own website, print on leaflets or even quote over the phone. No Agent training is required and there is no need to carry stock or supply forms.
All Nippon Airways (ANA) London has promoted Mobal to its customers for many years — “A company like ANA demands the highest standards. Mobal has consistently exceeded our expectations”, says Kikuko Ota, Senior Marketing Manager.
The Mobal Challenge
Mobal challenges any agents currently promoting rental to promote the $49 Mobal GSM World Phone alongside — let the customers decide which is the better service.
