Reader Network System for Presence Management in a Physical Retail Environment

• US 20120316953A1
• Filed: 01/05/2012
• Published: 12/13/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 01/06/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Maplebear Inc.
• Original Assignee: Maplebear Inc.
• Inventors: Ramchandani, Jayant, Rolin, John
• Granted Patent: US 11,182,661 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/14.39
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/0723 the record carrier comprising an arrangement for non-contact communication, e.g. wireless communication circuits on transponder cards, non-contact smart cards or RFIDs
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07749 the record carrier being capable of non-contact communication, e.g. constructional details of the antenna of a non-contact smart card
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/341 Active cards, i.e. cards including their own processing means, e.g. including an IC or chip
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/352 Contactless payments by cards
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/387 Payment using discounts or coupons relating to marketing G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0207 Discounts or incentives, e.g. coupons or rebates
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0224 based on user history
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0235 constrained by time limit or expiration date
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0241 Advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0251 Targeted advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0261 based on user location
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0267 Wireless devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0269 based on user profile or attribute
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0272 Period of advertisement exposure
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0281 Customer communication at a business location, e.g. providing product or service information, consulting
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/0833 Card having specific functional components
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/0846 On-card display means
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49016 Antenna or wave energy "plumbing" making

Abstract

A customer relationship management system wirelessly detects presence and identity of a customer when the customer enters a business establishment. The system captures a visit pattern of the customer based on communication from the wireless device. A relevant marketing message for the customer is determined based on the customer'"'"'s presence, visit pattern, identity, and location. The marketing message is delivered directly to a wireless device carried to the customer upon a subsequent entry of the customer to the business establishment. Responses of the customer (e.g., purchasing patterns, etc.) are stored for subsequent use in presenting relevant offers.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method for marketing directly to a customer of a business establishment, the method comprising:

wirelessly detecting via a reader network installed in the business establishment, presence and identity of the customer upon entry to the business establishment based on wireless communication with a wireless device carried by the customer;

capturing a visit pattern of the customer to the business establishment based on the communication between the reader network and the customer'"'"'s wireless device;

determining a relevant marketing message for the customer based on at least one of the presence, visit pattern, identity, and location of the customer;

sending the marketing message directly to the wireless device of the customer upon a subsequent entry of the customer to the business establishment; and

storing a customer'"'"'s response to the marketing messages.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the reader network comprises at least one wireless active radio frequency identification (RFID) activator and at least one wireless reader.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the reader network comprises an 802.11 wireless access point.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the reader network comprises a Bluetooth reader.

5. The method in claim 1, where the reader network comprises a Near Field Communications (NFC) reader.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the wireless device comprises an active RFID card carried by the customer.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the wireless device comprises a WiFi-enabled smartphone carried by the customer.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the wireless device comprises a Bluetooth-enabled smartphone carried by the customer.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the wireless device comprises a NFC-enabled smartcard carried by the customer.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the wireless device comprises a NFC-enabled mobile phone carried by the customer.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

providing a web-based campaign management interface accessible to an advertiser; and

receiving information relating to a campaign uploaded by the advertiser via the web-based campaign management interface.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

receiving from the advertiser via the web-based campaign management interface, selections of offers or incentives for inclusion in the campaign.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the web-based campaign management interface further includes an interface for advertisers to segment offers based on one or more of the customer'"'"'s demography, the customer'"'"'s transaction information, and the customer'"'"'s store visit pattern.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the web-based campaign management interface further includes an interface for advertisers to define validity limitations for offers, the offers including at least one of:

an offer valid only for a current visit to the business establishment, an offer valid only in the business establishment, an offer valid only in a particular geographic region, and an offer valid only for a particular duration of time.

15. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

charging the advertiser based on the customer'"'"'s response to the campaign using an ad monetization engine.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein charging the advertiser comprises:

generating a charge to the advertiser when the offer is delivered to the customer upon entry to the store using an entry Cost Per Click (CPC) metric.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein charging the advertiser comprises:

generating a charge to the advertiser when the customer selects one or more offers of interest to see a detailed description of the offer including an offer code using a brand response Cost Per Click (CPC) metric.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein charging the advertiser comprises:

generating a charge to the advertiser when the customer shares the offer with a friend using a social network according to an Viral Marketing Cost Per Action (CPA) metric.

19. The method of claim 15, wherein charging the advertiser comprises:

generating a charge to the advertiser when the customer uses an offer code to redeem the offer using an offer redemption Cost Per Action (CPA) metric.

20. The method of claim 11, wherein the web-based campaign management interface further includes a rules engine to determine relevance of offers based on the customer'"'"'s campaign response and the visit pattern.

21. The method of claim 11, wherein the web-based campaign management interface further includes an interface for providing a report to the advertiser based on a response to the campaign.

22. The method of claim 11, wherein the web-based campaign management interface further includes an interface for providing a report to the business establishment representing the store visit pattern of a segment of customers.

23. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

sending an offer to the wireless device of the customer as an SMS (Short Message Service) message.

24. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

sending an offer to the wireless device of the customer as a rich text message.

25. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

sending an offer to the wireless device of the customer that is associated with a coupon code.

26. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

sending an offer to the wireless device of the customer that is associated with a 2-dimensional bar code or quick response (QR) code.

27. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

sending an offer to the customer'"'"'s mobile device upon entry to the store.

28. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

sending a department-specific offer to the customer'"'"'s mobile device upon entry to a department within the business establishment.

29. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

sending an a menu or list of offers to the customer'"'"'s mobile device providing an abbreviated description of each offer.

30. The method of claim 29, further comprising:

receiving a selection from the customer of one or more offers from the list of offers.

31. The method of claim 30, further comprising:

storing the customer'"'"'s selection as an indication of the customer'"'"'s interest in the product or brand.

32. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving information pertaining to the customer'"'"'s social network information; and

storing the social network information.

33. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

providing an application for execution on the customer'"'"'s mobile device enabling the customer to share offers with a social network.

34. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

redeem a selected offer provided to the mobile device of the customer at a point of sale.

35. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

detecting an exit of the customer from the business establishment; and

providing an offer to the customer responsive to detecting the exit.

36. The method in claim 35, wherein the offer is associated with a merchant in close proximity to the business establishment that the customer has exited.

37. The method of claim 1, further comprising of analytics engine to measure the effectiveness of campaigns based on offer response

38. A computer-readable storage medium storing computer-executable program instructions for marketing directly to a customer of a business establishment, the instructions when executed causing one or more processors to perform steps including:

wirelessly detecting via a reader network installed in the business establishment, presence and identity of the customer upon entry to the business establishment based on wireless communication with a wireless device carried by the customer;

capturing a visit pattern of the customer to the business establishment based on the communication between the reader network and the customer'"'"'s wireless device;

determining a relevant marketing message for the customer based on at least one of the presence, visit pattern, identity, and location of the customer;

sending the marketing message directly to the wireless device of the customer upon a subsequent entry of the customer to the business establishment; and

storing a customer'"'"'s response to the marketing messages.