METHOD FOR CROSS-PROMOTING COMMUNICATIONS SERVICES

• US 20110060638A1
• Filed: 11/15/2010
• Published: 03/10/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 01/21/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Advanced Messaging Technologies, Inc. (J2 Global, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: J2 Global, Inc.
• Inventors: Zucker, Nehemia
• Granted Patent: US 8,315,903 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/14.27
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0211 Determining the effectiveness of discounts or incentives
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0222 During e-commerce, i.e. online transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0226 Incentive systems for frequent usage, e.g. frequent flyer miles programs or point systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0236 Incentive or reward received by requiring registration or ID from user
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0239 Online discounts or incentives
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0251 Targeted advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0256 User search
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0262 during computer stand-by mode

Abstract

A method to promote use of one communication service by associating it with another service and offering incentives to use the first service in return for use of the second service. Other embodiments are also described and claimed.

Claims

1. A computer system that provides a communication service to customers, comprising:

a fax server to receive inbound fax pages at a telephone number of a customer; and

a web server to indicate a credit when a number of said inbound fax pages have been received, wherein the credit enables the customer to make one or more fax transmissions, using the fax server, to send a number of outbound fax pages at a price that is less than a usual price for sending said number of outbound fax pages.

2. The computer system of claim 1 further comprising:

an email server to accept a request from the customer to send one or more outbound fax pages, wherein the web server is to enable the fax server to make a fax transmission to send the requested outbound fax pages pursuant to the credit.

3. The computer system of claim 2 wherein the fax transmission requested by the customer contains more than said number of outbound fax pages enabled by the credit, being an excess number of outbound fax pages, the web server to charge the cost of transmitting the excess number of outbound fax pages to the customer at the usual price.

4. The computer system of claim 1 further comprising a database server to store the credit in a customer account maintained for the benefit of the customer.

5. The computer system of claim 1 wherein the web server indicates the credit as enabling the customer to send said number of outbound fax pages for free.

6. A computer system that provides communication services to customers, comprising:

a data center to receive inbound messages according to a first communication service at a telephone number of a customer and to indicate a credit when the customer has used a predetermined amount of the first communication service, wherein the credit enables the customer to use the data center to send one or more outbound messages according to a second communication service at a price that is less than a usual price for sending the outbound messages.

7. The computer system of claim 6 wherein the data center is to accept a request from the customer to send an outbound message and to transmit the requested outbound message pursuant to the credit.

8. The computer system of claim 6 wherein the first communication service is voice message reception and the second communication service is voice message transmission.

9. The computer system of claim 8 wherein the data center is to receive inbound voice mail messages and to indicate a credit when the customer has received a predetermined number of inbound voice messages, wherein the credit enables the customer to transmit a predetermined number of free outbound voice messages.

10. A computer system that provides communication services to customers, comprising:

a data center having a server network to perform a first communication service for a customer by transmitting electronic data between the customer and a participant, to determine whether the customer has used a predetermined amount of the first communication service, to transmit an offer to the customer, when the customer has used the predetermined amount of the first communication service, to perform a second, different communication service at a price that is less than a usual price of the second communication service, and to perform the second, different communication service for the customer pursuant to the offer when the customer accepts the offer.

11. The computer system of claim 10 wherein the first communication service is one of facsimile transmission, facsimile reception, conference call management, voice mail, and machine-implemented oral recitation of textual data.

12. The computer system of claim 10 wherein the second, different communication service is one of facsimile transmission, facsimile reception, conference call management, find-me/follow-me, and machine implemented oral recitation of textual data.

13. The computer system of claim 10 wherein the first communication service is forwarding a facsimile that was received at an inbound telephone number assigned to the customer, to a data network address of the customer.

14. The computer system of claim 13 wherein the second communication service is forwarding via a facsimile transmitter a message received from the customer to a destination selected by the customer.

15. The computer system of claim 10 wherein the data center is to receive a request, from the customer, that contains more than an amount of the second communication service that has been indicated in the offer, being an excess amount of the second communication service, the data center to charge a cost of performing the excess amount of the second communication service to the customer at the usual price.

16. The computer system of claim 10 wherein the offer transmitted by the data center is an offer to the customer to perform a predetermined amount of the second communication service for free.