Message manager for tracking customer attributes

• US 20040243676A1
• Filed: 05/24/2003
• Published: 12/02/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 05/24/2003
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: W5 Technologies, Inc.
• Original Assignee: W5 Technologies, Inc.
• Inventors: Blankenship, Mark H.
• Application Number:
  US10/444,721
• Publication Number:
  US 20040243676A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]

Abstract

The present invention relates to a message manager providing for implementing a message having the name of a prospect and a personalized message to that particular prospect within a message. The message manager provides for the following functions: maintenance, message library, edit message, create new message, subject library, edit subject, create new subject, logoff, executing a mail out, displays the user'"'"'s name, select Microsite™ message for the recipients to visit, page name, preview, create subject or select subject from existing subjects, message library to select existing messages from drop down menu, create one time message or display selected message text, message replacement tags, link label, masks URL with “hot” text such as “click here,” customer search allows the user to select recipients by name, city, state, profile, or company name, select customers to send mail out to, check/uncheck all, include opt out message, submit sends message mail outs, and confirmation screen lists number of mail outs; successful and failed.

Claims

1. A message manager for tracking purchaser attributes comprising the steps of:

(a) delivering a message having the name of a prospect and a personalized message to that particular prospect within the message by a sender,

(b) maintaining the flow of messages,

(c) using a message library for creating messages,

(d) editing automatically the message,

(e) creating a new message, if needed,

(f) using an appropriate subject library, if needed,

(g) editing automatically a subject for the message, and

(h) creating new subject, if needed, such that a sender of the message manager can execute a mail out having one or more of, display the sender'"'"'s name, select a Microsite™

message for the prospect to visit, select a page by name, preview the page, create subject for the mail out, select a subject from existing subjects for the mail out, use the message library to select existing messages, create a one time message, display selected message text, use message replacement tags, use a link label, mask the URL with “

hot”

text, conduct a customer search to select prospects by name, city, state, profile, or company name, select a prospect to send mail out to, check/uncheck all, include opt out message, send message mail outs, and confirm screen lists number of mail outs successful and failed such that an objective evaluation of the behavior of the prospect can be determined.

2. The message manager for tracking purchaser attributes and behavior as defined in claim 1 further comprising:

(a) a user interface accessible by a sender, the user interface for receiving criteria specified by the sender and for providing feedback with respect to the criteria whereby the feedback can go to at least one of the sender and a recipient,

(b) a database in communication with the user interface for receiving the criteria specified by the sender such that data that meets the criteria can be feedback to the sender via the user interface, and upon authorization by the sender to the recipient,

(c) a tracking interface in operative association with the database, and

(d) an input in communication with the tracking interface for providing select data from at least one of a suspect, a prospect, a customer and a client to the database such that the input is derived from one of the group comprising an email, a website, a registration form and an attachment such that the sender has real time access to the input in the database and, thus, can change the criteria instantaneously to initiate additional input based upon the changed criteria.

3. The message manager for tracking purchaser attributes and behavior as defined in claim 2 further comprising the sender having real time input concerning which prospect is providing the input, from where the prospect is providing the input, how long the prospect remained at the location, from where the input was submitted and what the prospect did to provide the input.

4. The message manager for tracking purchaser attributes and behavior as defined in claim 2 further comprising the sender having real time input concerning at least one of who is providing the input, where the provider of the input is located, how long the provider of the input remains at each location and what the provider of the input did at each location such that an objective evaluation of the behavior of the prospect can be determined.

5. The message manager for tracking purchaser attributes and behavior as defined in claim 2 further comprising an automated lead distribution report provided to the sender based upon the criteria comprising aggregated data from the database without the requirement for the sender to access the aggregated data such that the aggregated data comprises at least one of who is providing the input, where the provider of the input is located, how long the provider of the input remains at each location and what the provider of the input did at each location.

6. The message manager for tracking purchaser attributes and behavior as defined in claim 2 further comprising lead distribution rules for controlling how the input is distributed.

7. The message manager for tracking purchaser attributes and behavior as defined in claim 2 further comprising lead processing rules for controlling how input is acquired.

8. The message manager for tracking purchaser attributes and behavior as defined in claim 2 wherein the input comprises at least one of a registration lead alert, a return visitor lead alert and a link response lead alert based upon a prior sent email.

9. The message manager for tracking purchaser attributes and behavior as defined in claim 2 further comprising lead category engine for determining the attributes of the input in the form of leads.

10. The message manager for tracking purchaser attributes and behavior as defined in claim 2 further comprising a lead distribution engine for determining which senders and recipients receive the data from the database based upon specific criteria.

11. The message manager for tracking purchaser attributes and behavior as defined in claim 2 further comprising a campaign scheduling mode for delivering in an unattended manor a predetermined message based upon a predetermined campaign strategy to a predetermined target set of prospects over a specified period of time based upon specific review behavior criteria such that an objective evaluation of the behavior of the predetermined target set of prospects can be determined such that the campaign scheduling is based upon the behavior of the just completed behavior of the prospect.

12. The message manager for tracking purchaser attributes and behavior as defined in claim 11 wherein the campaign scheduling mode uses prospect data reflecting tangible review behavior of at least one of which prospect is providing the input, from where did the input originate, how long did the prospect remain at where the input originated and what the prospect did at each location such that an objective evaluation of the behavior of the prospect can be determined.

13. The message manager for tracking purchaser attributes and behavior as defined in claim 12 further comprising making a first objective evaluation of the behavior of the prospect, and based upon the data from the first objective evaluation, making a second objective evaluation of the prospect, and based upon the data from the second objective evaluation, making a third objective evaluation of the prospect, and continuing until an evaluation of the prospect is sufficiently complete such that an objective evaluation of the behavior of the prospect can be determined.

14. The message manager for tracking purchaser attributes and behavior as defined in claim 13 further comprising implementing different campaign strategies based upon the repetitive objective evaluations of the behavior of the prospect.

15. The message manager for tracking purchaser attributes and behavior as defined in claim 11 wherein the specified period of time is at a specific time.

16. The message manager for tracking purchaser attributes and behavior as defined in claim 11 wherein the specified period of time is for a specific interval of time.

17. The message manager for tracking purchaser attributes and behavior as defined in claim 2 wherein the replacement tags comprise contact tags to determine to whom the message is to be sent, signature tags to determine from whom the message is from, and web tags as message tags.

18. The message manager for tracking purchaser attributes and behavior as defined in claim 2 wherein to conduct a customer search comprises creating a target set of prospects from collections of prospects based upon specific attributes.