Methods and systems for creating online unified contact and communication management (CM) platform

• US 20120143969A1
• Filed: 09/30/2011
• Published: 06/07/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 10/21/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Seema Subrao Shenoy, Subrao Venugopal Shenoy
• Original Assignee: Seema Subrao Shenoy, Subrao Venugopal Shenoy
• Inventors: Shenoy, Subrao Venugopal, Shenoy, Seema Subrao
• Granted Patent: US 9,384,473 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/27 Replication, distribution or synchronisation of data between databases or within a distributed database system; Distributed database system architectures therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/109 Time management, e.g. calendars, reminders, meetings or time accounting
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/1093 Calendar-based scheduling for persons or groups
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/1097 Task assignment
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/01 Customer relationship services
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 1/14 with apparatus adapted for use with individual cards
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/026 using e-messaging for transporting management information, e.g. email, instant messaging or chat
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/18 Delegation of network management function, e.g. customer network management [CNM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5064 Customer relationship management
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5077 wherein the managed service relates to simple transport services, i.e. providing only network infrastructure
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5093 wherein the managed service relates to messaging or chat services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/00 Arrangements for monitoring or testing data switching networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/04 Real-time or near real-time messaging, e.g. instant messaging [IM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/52 for supporting social networking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/4555 Directories for electronic mail or instant messaging
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72451 according to schedules, e.g. using calendar applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/655 Combination of telephone service and social networking
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25866 : Management of end-user data customer care in data networks H04L41/5077

Abstract

Sales people (agents) get engaged with a lot of contacts from past, present and future prospects that manifests on multiple contact platforms. They land up having their contacts and calendars split in multiple places including communication and messages leading to inefficiencies, loss of business and delayed response time to the end customer.

Customer Relationship Management today is still a one dimensional tool, one that featured Email as the core for direct agent-client relationship CRM should be redefined and relabeled as Communication Management to open up the idea that relationships with clients are developed across multiple platforms though multiple channels

As will be understood by reading below, the invention accomplishes this in an elegant manner. The phrases Communication Management in the main patent title and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) have the same semantics in this document.

Claims

1. An ONLINE UNIFIED CONTACT AND COMMUNICATION MANAGEMENT (CM) PLATFORM that allows its subscribers to securely import and synchronize contacts from one or more online and offline user selected and authorized accounts;

using Email, Instant Messaging, Social Networks and Integrated Telephony;

allows it to further aggregate these contacts in to one central unified database for each subscriber;

subsequently modify any contact information including creating a new contact and securely push (synchronize) out one or more of the contacts from this central database, using business rules to one or more of user'"'"'s accounts on systems utilizing Email, Instant Messaging, Social Networks and Integrated Telephony.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein contacts are imported/exported using Software Plug-in enabled on user'"'"'s desktops or browsers.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein complex business rules can be created to bring in only certain type of contacts based on contact type, acquisition date range, social media source

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the synchronized contacts are automatically grouped in to social groups or be made part of an existing social campaign.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein social media searches and authorization is done and saved.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein imported information from one social media source can be further used to cross reference and search user profiles automatically from several other social media sources concurrently and save in the centralized contact database.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the imported contacts can be cross referenced against the user'"'"'s own network contacts on one or more social networks to avoid duplication.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the imported contact data coming in to the central database can be from one or more authorized sources like websites or paid lead sources, using but not limited to web services.

9. An ONLINE UNIFIED CONTACT AND COMMUNICATION MANAGEMENT (CM) PLATFORM that allows its subscribers to securely import or synchronize calendars from one or more online and offline user selected and authorized accounts;

from systems utilizing Email, Instant Messaging, Social Networks and Integrated Telephony;

further aggregate them in to one central unified calendar for each subscriber;

subsequently give the ability to modify calendar events, including creating new events in the central database and push(synchronize) using business rules back to one or more user'"'"'s accounts on systems utilizing Email, Instant Messaging, Social Networks and Integrated Telephony.

10. The system of claim 9 wherein calendar event are imported/exported using Software Plug-in enabled on user'"'"'s desktops or browsers.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein a central calendar can be shown to user incorporating all the key dates, events and reminders from several systems including but not limited to Email, Instant Messaging, Social Networks and Integrated Telephony.

12. An ONLINE UNIFIED CONTACT AND COMMUNICATION MANAGEMENT (CM) PLATFORM that allows its subscribers to securely and concurrently communicate, reference and log all inbound/outbound messages received/send from/to one or more user selected social networking platforms based on one or more business rules;

utilizing Email, Instant Messaging and/or Integrated Telephony.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the user is allowed to stage the sending of these outbound social drip messages to different social media driven by business rules including but not limited to purchase anniversaries, other set events in sales campaign and on triggering of different milestones in the sales campaign.

14. The system of claim 12, wherein a user can search and generate reports on all social media interaction logs.

15. The system of claim 12, wherein one or more social media chats are integrated to keep all the communications centralized for running analytics on lead behavior