Method and system for customizing electronic communications

• US 20020095481A1
• Filed: 01/12/2001
• Published: 07/18/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 01/12/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: George, Gary, Luongo, Annette
• Granted Patent: US 6,944,645 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/219
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

A vendor provides a customer an electronic communications system for customizing the content and the delivery date of product information. The communications system also keeps the vendor informed of evolving customer interests. In one embodiment, a computer-implemented method for customizing electronic communications to a customer includes storing a set of customer-provided data in a first database, the customer-provided data being associated with a customer identification code and characterizing the customer. A set of customer-behavioral data is then generated in response to a data selection made by the customer at an informational database and is stored in the first database in association with the customer identification code. A content database is configured for storage of a plurality of product data sets and then at least one product data set is selected from the content database as a function of the customer-provided data and the customer-behavioral data. The customer is then sent the data set from the selecting step via a communications network.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for customizing electronic communications to a customer, the method comprising:

storing a set of customer-provided data in a first database, the customer-provided data associated with a customer identification code and characterizing the customer;

generating a set of customer-behavioral data in response to a data selection made by the customer at an informational database;

storing the customer-behavioral data in the first database in association with the customer identification code;

configuring a content database for storage of a plurality of product data sets;

selecting at least one data set from the content database as a function of the customer-provided and the customer-behavioral data; and

sending to the customer via a communications network the at least one data set from the selecting step.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of constructing a communications message from the at least one data set as a function of a message delivery date specified in the customer-provided data.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the customer-provided data includes a data set from at least one of the group consisting of customer survey data, electronic commerce transactions, product and service registration data, call center data, point of sale information and demographic data.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the customer-behavioral data includes customer selections of electronic newsletter subscriptions.

5. The method of claim 2, further comprising the steps of:

capturing behavioral data from a customer review of the communications message; and

storing the captured data as customer-behavioral data in the first database.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the step of capturing data includes transmitting customer-behavioral data via an electronic mail jumpstation arrangement to the first database.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of obtaining access by the customer of the first database such that customer review is limited to a set of predetermined data sets.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of selecting the at least one data set includes selecting the at least one data set as a function of a set of business rules defined by the vendor.

9. The method of claim 7, further comprising the step of generating a web site and data storage location for the customer after storing the customer-provided data in the first database.

10. A system for customizing electronic communications to a customer, the system comprising:

means for storing a set of customer-provided data in a first database, the customer-provided data associated with a customer identification code and characterizing the customer;

means for generating a set of customer-behavioral data in response to a data selection made by the customer at an informational database;

means for storing the customer-behavioral data in the first database in association with the customer identification code;

means for configuring a content database for storage of a plurality of product data sets;

means for selecting at least one data set from the content database as a function of the customer-provided and the customer-behavioral data; and

means for sending to the customer via a communications network the data set from the selecting step.

11. A system for customizing electronic communications to a customer, the system comprising:

a first database configured to store a set of customer-provided data in association with a customer identification code and characterizing the customer, the first database configured to store a set of customer-behavioral data in association with the customer identification code, the customer-behavioral data generated in response to a data selection made by the customer from a second database;

a third database configured to store a plurality of product data sets; and

a server arrangement configured to select at least one product data set from the third database as a function of the customer-provided and the customer-behavioral data and construct a communications message, the server configured to send the communications message via a communications network to the customer in response to a message delivery date specified in the customer-provided data.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the customer-provided data of the first database includes data from at least one of the group consisting of customer survey data, electronic commerce transactions, product and service registration data, call center data, point of sale information and demographic data.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein the customer-behavioral data includes customer selections of electronic newsletter subscriptions.

14. The system of claim 13, further comprising an electronic jump station arrangement adapted to capture and store customer-behavioral data in the first database.

15. The system of claim 11, wherein the customer specifies a transmission frequency for the number of times the communications message is sent in a predetermined time period.

16. The system of claim 12, wherein the server arrangement further includes a content merge program configured to construct the communications message as a function of a set of business rules defined by the vendor.

17. The system of claim 11, further comprising a display arrangement communicatively coupled to the server and adapted for displaying the communications message to the customer.

18. The system of claim 11, wherein the communications network includes a wireless network.

19. The system of claim 17, wherein the display arrangement includes at least one of the group consisting of a CRT monitor, a cellular phone display, and a personal digital assistant display.

20. The system of claim 17, further comprising a data input device adapted to input customer-provided data into the first database.