Kitchen & Bath Design News is the industry's leading business, design and product resource for the kitchen and bath trade.
Issue link: http://kitchenbathdesign.epubxp.com/i/921215
Leap WHAT IT IS: An app that digitizes the in-home sales process. WHAT IT DOES: The Leap application was created by home services professionals to help busi- nesses and homeowners by simplifying, securing and automating the day-to-day sales process. The app helps home services companies to save money by convert- ing the all-paper sales process to digital documents, eliminating inaccurate measurements, providing a digital library of brochures and company literature, converting paper price guides to digital price guides and shortening sales employee training time. The app was developed for use by all in-home service vendors, including kitchen and bath remodelers, exterior remodelers, landscaping com- panies, electrical supply, HVAC, general contractors and plumbers. Leap integrates with industry-leading tools such as Salesforce, MarketSharp and Provia to help home services sales teams manage customer and prospect information. Leap also partners with GreenSky and other lending firms to conveniently provide in-app financing options to customers on-site, allowing customers to obtain financing approvals within seconds. Addition- al features include: creating digital estimates quickly without errors; creating digital contracts customers can sign on an iPad; digital credit applications that can be processed to GreenSky and Service Finance directly; integrating with multiple CRMs and other programs, and capturing the appointment result data to review at a later time. It is important to note, in order to use the Leap app, users must also be subscribers of the licensed software of the same name. Price plans are customized for each company that purchases the software based on the number of "seats" used. WHO IT'S FOR: Business owners WHY KITCHEN AND BATH DESIGNERS NEED IT: For most designers, the creative process is the part of the job they want to focus on – not the business details. As Leap is tailored to the home service professional, designers with their own businesses will find it a helpful tool to handle the business logistics without having to go too deep into the weeds. AVAILABLE SINCE: July 2016 WHO MAKES IT: Leap PLATFORM(S): iOS for iPhone and iPad WHERE TO FIND IT: iTunes Store FOR MORE INFORMATION: http://leaptodigital.com/ HelloGbye WHAT IT IS: An app that serves as a virtual travel agent WHAT IT DOES: With HelloGbye, users can plan, book and change their trips simply by texting to the app. Powered by proprietary arti- ficial intelligence (AI), the app will respond quickly with curated results in seconds, according to the firm, who also refers to the app as "Siri for travel." Additional features include: doing multiple searches at once by texting travel plans to HelloGbye; making changes to a booked trip by texting the app directly without needing to speak with an agent or the airline; curated and personalized travel options, and inviting travel companions to assist in planning the trip with the ability to split payments, set personal preferences and share itineraries. The app has a free version and a subscription model. Subscribers get additional benefits such as 2% cash back on all hotel bookings and no change fees. WHO IT'S FOR: Anyone who travels WHY KITCHEN AND BATH DESIGNERS NEED IT: Designers have enough to worry about when it comes to offsite projects or making sure they keep up with all the trends at a trade show – why add travel details on to it? HelloGbye streamlines the travel process without wasting time on hold with the airline. AVAILABLE SINCE: March 2017 WHO MAKES IT: HelloGbye, LLC PLATFORM(S): iOS for iPhone and iPad WHERE TO FIND IT: iTunes Store Inigo WHAT IT IS: An app that creates and provides a digital business card WHAT IT DOES: Inigo is an app intended to eliminate the need for a paper business card. Users can design their own digital business cards, share them with anyone as well as track statistics on how many times the cards have been viewed and who has saved the contact information. Recipients do not need to have the app in order to see and save the card, and they can be shared through text message, email, Twitter, QR code and more. Contact information can be directly saved to the recipient's electronic device as a vCard, and videos, websites, Facebook pages, LinkedIn resumes and more can be included in them. Users can also create multiple card options for both business and personal situations. WHO IT'S FOR: Business professionals WHY KITCHEN AND BATH DESIGNERS NEED IT: Business cards are a necessary part of a referral business like designing; however, they can be quite pricey, and easily lost in a purse, wallet or pile of cards. With a digital solution, designers can not only save money, but also have their contact information easily saved to a potential customer or collabora- tor's device. With this app, the words, "I don't have a business card on me" no longer have meaning. AVAILABLE SINCE: October 2014 (Android); October 2015 (iOS) WHO MAKES IT: Inigo, LLC PLATFORM(S): iOS for iPhone and iPad, Android OS WHERE TO FIND IT: iTunes Store, Google Play 46 Kitchen & Bath Design News • January 2018 WHAT'S APP DESIGN, BUSINESS & PRODUCT APPS FOR KITCHEN & BATH PROS