SYSTEMS AND METHODS RELATING TO A LEAD DISTRIBUTION ENGINE WITH QUALITY ASSESSMENT OF LEAD SOURCES
First Claim
1. A method of managing the distribution of business leads received from lead sources to lead destinations, comprising:
- maintaining information about a target number of business leads to route to each of a set of lead destinations per a given time period;
tracking information about the number of business leads distributed to each lead destination;
assigning a quality ranking to at least one lead source, wherein the quality ranking is indicative, at least in part, of a perceived quality level of leads received from the lead source and wherein the quality ranking is associated with a numerical multiplier; and
in response to receiving an offer of a business lead from the at least one lead source, identifying a set of candidate destinations for the business lead, multiplying the quality level multiplier by the target number for each candidate destination to calculate a modified target number, and blocking the business lead from being offered to candidate destinations that have already been distributed a number of leads equal to or greater than their modified target number of business leads for the given time period.
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Abstract
Lead distribution systems and methods distribute consumer business leads received from lead sources for routing to one or more destinations that use the leads and/or forward the leads to another destination. A quality level is assessed for each lead source, based in part on a percentage of leads from the source that result in a desired business transaction with the ultimate user of the lead. The system identifies a set of most profitable destinations for each lead, while maintaining a desired overall quality level and flow rate of leads routed to each destination. Adjusting the quality ratings of the lead sources may advantageously be used to affect the placement of their leads with destinations.
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Citations
23 Claims
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1. A method of managing the distribution of business leads received from lead sources to lead destinations, comprising:
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maintaining information about a target number of business leads to route to each of a set of lead destinations per a given time period; tracking information about the number of business leads distributed to each lead destination; assigning a quality ranking to at least one lead source, wherein the quality ranking is indicative, at least in part, of a perceived quality level of leads received from the lead source and wherein the quality ranking is associated with a numerical multiplier; and in response to receiving an offer of a business lead from the at least one lead source, identifying a set of candidate destinations for the business lead, multiplying the quality level multiplier by the target number for each candidate destination to calculate a modified target number, and blocking the business lead from being offered to candidate destinations that have already been distributed a number of leads equal to or greater than their modified target number of business leads for the given time period. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A lead distribution system, comprising:
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a selection system that filters a set of candidate destinations for a lead, based, at least in part, on a set of exclusion rules, including one or more target-based exclusion rules that are implemented to regulate a flow of leads to destinations over the course of a given time period; and a control system that assigns a quality grade to each lead source, wherein the quality grade is reflective of a level of quality of leads from the lead source, and wherein the selection system is configured to process leads from sources that have been assigned a desired quality grade as exceptions to at least a portion of the exclusion rules. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A method for distributing leads, comprising:
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receiving leads from sources of different qualities, wherein at least one of the sources is assigned a quality grade indicative of a level of quality of the leads received from the source; selecting one or more candidate destinations to which to provide each lead, wherein candidate destinations that are provided a lead are selected, at least in part, in conformance with blocking rules that block some candidate destinations from being selected for some leads; storing information about the leads provided to a destination, including information about a quality level of the sources from which the provided leads were received; and maintaining a desired overall level of quality of leads provided to the destination by implementing quality-related blocking rule overrides that allow for an increased number of leads of a desired quality level to be provided to the destination. - View Dependent Claims (20)
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21. A set of instructions stored on a computer readable medium for use by a general purpose computer, wherein the instructions direct the general purpose computer to:
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access a quality grade for a lead source that is offering a lead for distribution; filter a set of candidate destinations for the lead, based in part on a desired consistency of flow rates of leads to the candidate destinations over a given time period, such that leads from high quality lead sources may cause the flow rate of leads to a destination to be temporarily increased to a limited extent above the desired flow rate, and such that leads from low quality lead sources may cause the flow rate to be temporarily decreased to a limited extent, thereby, on average, making more candidate destinations available to leads from high quality lead sources and fewer candidate destinations available to leads from low quality lead sources.
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22. A system for distributing leads, comprising:
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means for receiving leads from sources of different qualities, wherein at least one of the sources is assigned a quality grade indicative of a level of quality of the leads received from the source; means for selecting one or more destinations to which to provide each lead, wherein destinations that are provided a lead are selected, at least in part, in conformance with blocking rules that block some destinations from being selected for some leads; means for storing information about the leads provided to a destination, including information about a quality level of the sources from which the provided leads were received; and means for maintaining a desired overall level of quality of leads provided to the destination by implementing quality-related blocking rule overrides that allow for an increased number of leads of a desired adjusted quality level to be provided to the destination. - View Dependent Claims (23)
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Specification