ONLINE MARKETING, MONITORING AND CONTROL FOR MERCHANTS

• US 20130085804A1
• Filed: 10/04/2012
• Published: 04/04/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 10/04/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Reach Pros, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Reach Pros, Inc.
• Inventors: Leff, Adam, Bay, David, Ferro, Mike, Dawley, Phil
• Granted Patent: US 8,818,839 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/7.29
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0201 Market modelling; Market analysis; Collecting market data
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0219 based on funds or budget
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking

Abstract

Systems and methods of online marketing, monitoring and control for merchants are disclosed. Third party providers are crawled to obtain information about a plurality of merchants and correlate the merchant information to create a merchant database. Third party providers are monitored for merchant information, and information about the merchants is stored. Alerts are provided to subscribing merchants when an alert trigger is identified within the system or at a third party provider. The method allows the subscribing merchant to view and respond to reviews, view and maintain online listings, prepare and send consumer offers, and prepare and send communications to consumers, all directly from the system. The method allows the subscribing merchant to view information and analyses for competing merchants. An overall marketing score for merchants is prepared and displayed. The method may be performed on a server and accessed via an Internet browser and mobile device applications.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

crawling a plurality of third party websites and social media providers to obtain information about a plurality of merchants, including basic information and enhanced information

correlating the information from the plurality of third party web sites and social media providers for the plurality of merchants based on merchant names, merchant phone numbers and merchant addresses;

creating a merchant database based on the results of the crawling;

providing a web page allowing a new merchant to create an account;

receiving a request from the new merchant to create an account;

receiving account creation information from the new merchant;

linking the new merchant to an existing merchant entry in the merchant database based on the account creation information;

creating an account for the new merchant as a subscribing merchant including updating the merchant database for the subscribing merchant based on the account creation information and the linking;

monitoring the third party websites and social media providers for information regarding the subscribing merchant and the plurality of merchants;

storing in the merchant database information regarding the subscribing merchant and the plurality of merchants found during the monitoring;

providing an alert to the subscribing merchant based on the monitoring when an alert trigger is identified;

providing a main web page allowing the subscribing merchant to select from a plurality of components including at least three of a competition component, a reviews component, a visibility component, a get customers component, and a communications component;

receiving a selection of one of the plurality of components by the subscribing merchant;

preparing an overall marketing score for the subscribing merchant based on the subscribing merchant accessing each of the plurality of the components, a number of appearances of the merchant on third party sites with consistent information, a number of reviews for the subscribing merchant on third party websites, a number of mentions in social media, a number of offers promoted by the subscribing merchant;

displaying the overall marketing score on the main web page.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the basic information includes a name and address for the subscribing merchant, and the enhanced information includes at least one of prices or price ranges for goods and services, photos or videos posted by or about the subscribing merchant, email addresses, social media accounts, hours of operation, payment types accepted, Wi-Fi availability, and reviews regarding the subscribing merchant.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the alerting is provided to the subscribing merchant by one of text message and email.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the marketing alert is provided to the subscribing merchant on an app on the subscribing merchant'"'"'s mobile telephone or mobile computing device.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the alert includes the information regarding the subscribing merchant found during the monitoring.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the alert further includes a link to either a reviews web page or a communications web page that provides suggested actions for the subscribing merchant to take.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the alert trigger is one selected from the group including:

incorrect subscribing merchant information on one of the third party websites, inconsistent subscribing merchant information between two or more third party websites, when a review of the subscribing merchant is posted on one of the third party websites, when the subscribing merchant is mentioned on one of the third party websites or social media stream.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the monitoring includes analyzing reviews on third party websites that mention the subscribing merchant.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the monitoring includes analyzing listings on third party websites that mention the subscribing merchant.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the monitoring includes analyzing social media feeds for references to the subscribing merchant.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein receiving the selection includes receiving a subscribing merchant selection of the visibility component and the method further comprises:

providing a web page listing third party website account information for the subscribing merchant including indications of claimed accounts, conflicting data, duplicate listings and missing accounts.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the providing a web page listing third party website account information for the subscribing merchant comprises providing a user interface allowing the subscribing merchant to update the merchant information on multiple third party website at one time without having to directly login to the third party websites.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein receiving the selection includes receiving a subscribing merchant selection of the competition component and the method further comprises:

providing a web page allowing the subscribing merchant to select at least one competing merchant from a plurality of competing merchants;

receiving a subscribing merchant selection of the competing merchants;

displaying text and graphics showing how the subscribing merchant compares to the competing merchants in marketing score, number of reviews, average review rating, listings on third party websites, mentions on social media, and number of marketing offers.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein the web page provides a map showing the subscribing merchant and the plurality of competing merchants.

15. The method of claim 13 further comprising:

providing a list of competing merchants that are within a system defined geographical area close to the subscribing merchant, share a category of business with the subscribing merchant.

16. The method of claim 13 further comprising:

providing a user interface allowing the subscribing merchant to limit the list of competing merchants based on a geographical area and a category of business.

17. The method of claim 1 wherein receiving the merchant selection includes receiving a merchant selection of the reviews component and the method further comprises:

providing a web page listing a plurality of third party website reviews for the subscribing merchant, the listing including for each review a third party website name and logo, a posting date, a reviewer ID.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein the web page listing the plurality of third party website reviews further comprises a user interface item for each review allowing the subscribing merchant to reply to the review on the third party website without having to directly login to the third party website.

19. The method of claim 17 further comprising:

evaluating whether review IDs associated with reviews on third party websites are associated with customers known to have patronized the subscribing merchant;

designating those review IDs associated with reviews on third party websites associated with customers known to have patronized the subscribing merchant as verified reviewers.

20. The method of claim 19 wherein the web page listing the plurality of third party website reviews further comprises an indication for each reviewer ID of whether the reviewer ID is for a verified reviewer.

21. The method of claim 1 wherein receiving the merchant selection includes receiving a merchant selection of the get customers component and the method further comprises:

providing a web page allowing the subscribing merchant to select from creating an offer campaign, viewing active and past promotion, and manage an offer library.

22. The method of claim 21 further comprising:

in response to receiving a subscribing merchant selection to create an offer campaign, providing a user interface guiding the subscribing merchant with text and graphical prompts to complete a suggested offer including template offer information.

23. The method of claim 22 further comprising:

receiving subscribing merchant specification for an offer;

preparing the offer based on the subscribing merchant offer specification, the offer including a trackable link;

receiving a subscribing merchant command to send the offer;

transmitting the offer on a subscribing merchant specified communication media.

24. The method of claim 23 wherein the trackable link is a link to a monitored offer web page.

25. The method of claim 24 further comprising:

tracking consumer activity regarding the offer based on the trackable link.

26. The method of claim 1 wherein receiving the merchant selection includes receiving a merchant selection of the communications component and the method further comprises:

providing a web page allowing the subscribing merchant to select from creating and sending messages to consumers, viewing sent and scheduled messages, and managing a contacts library.

27. The method of claim 26 further comprising:

in response to receiving a subscribing merchant selection to create and send messages to one or more consumers, enabling the subscribing merchant to send a message to one or more consumers via email, social media, and third party website from a single location without the subscribing merchant having to externally login and visit a third party website, email providers and social media providers, including providing message templates to the subscribing merchant.

28. The method of claim 27 further comprising:

receiving subscribing merchant specification for a message;

preparing the message based on the subscribing merchant message specification, the message including a trackable link;

receiving a subscribing merchant command to send the message;

transmitting the message on a subscribing merchant specified communication media.

29. The method of claim 28 wherein the trackable link allows for tracking the receiving consumer accessing the message.

30. A server computer comprising a storage medium having instructions stored thereon which when executed by a processor cause the server computer to perform actions including:

crawling a plurality of third party websites and social media providers to obtain information about a plurality of merchants, including basic information and enhanced information

correlating the information from the plurality of third party web sites and social media providers for the plurality of merchants based on merchant names, merchant phone numbers and merchant addresses;

creating a merchant database based on the results of the crawling;

providing a web page allowing a new merchant to create an account;

receiving a request from the new merchant to create an account;

receiving account creation information from the new merchant;

linking the new merchant to an existing merchant entry in the merchant database based on the account creation information;

creating an account for the new merchant as a subscribing merchant including updating the merchant database for the subscribing merchant based on the account creation information and the linking;

monitoring the third party websites and social media providers for information regarding the subscribing merchant and the plurality of merchants;

storing in the merchant database information regarding the subscribing merchant and the plurality of merchants found during the monitoring;

providing an alert to the subscribing merchant based on the monitoring when an alert trigger is identified;

providing a main web page allowing the subscribing merchant to select from a plurality of components including at least three of a competition component, a reviews component, a visibility component, a get customers component, and a communications component;

receiving a selection of one of the plurality of components by the subscribing merchant;

preparing an overall marketing score for the subscribing merchant based on the subscribing merchant accessing each of the plurality of the components, a number of appearances of the merchant on third party sites with consistent information, a number of reviews for the subscribing merchant on third party websites, a number of mentions in social media, a number of offers promoted by the subscribing merchant;

displaying the overall marketing score on the main web page.

31. The server computer of claim 30 wherein the basic information includes a name and address for the subscribing merchant, and the enhanced information includes at least one of prices or price ranges for goods and services, photos or videos posted by or about the subscribing merchant, email addresses, social media accounts, hours of operation, payment types accepted, Wi-Fi availability, and reviews regarding the subscribing merchant.

32. The server computer of claim 30 wherein the alerting is provided to the subscribing merchant by one of text message and email.

33. The server computer of claim 30 wherein the marketing alert is provided to the subscribing merchant on an app on the subscribing merchant'"'"'s mobile telephone or mobile computing device.

34. The server computer of claim 30 wherein the alert includes the information regarding the subscribing merchant found during the monitoring.

35. The server computer of claim 34 wherein the alert further includes a link to either a reviews web page or a communications web page that provides suggested actions for the subscribing merchant to take.

36. The server computer of claim 30 wherein the alert trigger is one selected from the group including:

incorrect subscribing merchant information on one of the third party websites, inconsistent subscribing merchant information between two or more third party websites, when a review of the subscribing merchant is posted on one of the third party websites, when the subscribing merchant is mentioned on one of the third party websites or social media stream.

37. The server computer of claim 30 wherein the monitoring includes analyzing reviews on third party websites that mention the subscribing merchant.

38. The server computer of claim 30 wherein the monitoring includes analyzing listings on third party websites that mention the subscribing merchant.

39. The server computer of claim 30 wherein the monitoring includes analyzing social media feeds for references to the subscribing merchant.

40. The server computer of claim 30 wherein receiving the selection includes receiving a subscribing merchant selection of the visibility component and the storage medium has further instructions stored thereon which when executed cause the server computer to perform further actions including:

providing a web page listing third party website account information for the subscribing merchant including indications of claimed accounts, conflicting data, duplicate listings and missing accounts.

41. The server computer of claim 40 wherein the providing a web page listing third party website account information for the subscribing merchant comprises providing a user interface allowing the subscribing merchant to update the merchant information on multiple third party website at one time without having to directly login to the third party websites.

42. The server computer of claim 30 wherein receiving the selection includes receiving a subscribing merchant selection of the competition component and the storage medium has further instructions stored thereon which when executed cause the server computer to perform further actions including:

providing a web page allowing the subscribing merchant to select at least one competing merchant from a plurality of competing merchants;

receiving a subscribing merchant selection of the competing merchants;

displaying text and graphics showing how the subscribing merchant compares to the competing merchants in marketing score, number of reviews, average review rating, listings on third party websites, mentions on social media, and number of marketing offers.

43. The server computer of claim 42 wherein the web page provides a map showing the subscribing merchant and the plurality of competing merchants.

44. The server computer of claim 42 wherein the storage medium has further instructions stored thereon which when executed cause the server computer to perform further actions including:

providing a list of competing merchants that are within a system defined geographical area close to the subscribing merchant, share a category of business with the subscribing merchant.

45. The server computer of claim 42 wherein the storage medium has further instructions stored thereon which when executed cause the server computer to perform further actions including:

providing a user interface allowing the subscribing merchant to limit the list of competing merchants based on a geographical area and a category of business.

46. The server computer of claim 30 wherein receiving the merchant selection includes receiving a merchant selection of the reviews component and the storage medium has further instructions stored thereon which when executed cause the server computer to perform further actions including:

providing a web page listing a plurality of third party website reviews for the subscribing merchant, the listing including for each review a third party website name and logo, a posting date, a reviewer ID.

47. The server computer of claim 46 wherein the web page listing the plurality of third party website reviews further comprises a user interface item for each review allowing the subscribing merchant to reply to the review on the third party website without having to directly login to the third party website.

48. The server computer of claim 46 wherein the storage medium has further instructions stored thereon which when executed cause the server computer to perform further actions including:

evaluating whether review IDs associated with reviews on third party websites are associated with customers known to have patronized the subscribing merchant;

designating those review IDs associated with reviews on third party websites associated with customers known to have patronized the subscribing merchant as verified reviewers.

49. The server computer of claim 48 wherein the web page listing the plurality of third party website reviews further comprises an indication for each reviewer ID of whether the reviewer ID is for a verified reviewer.

50. The server computer of claim 30 wherein receiving the merchant selection includes receiving a merchant selection of the get customers component and the storage medium has further instructions stored thereon which when executed cause the server computer to perform further actions including:

providing a web page allowing the subscribing merchant to select from creating an offer campaign, viewing active and past promotion, and manage an offer library.

51. The server computer of claim 50 wherein the storage medium has further instructions stored thereon which when executed cause the server computer to perform further actions including:

in response to receiving a subscribing merchant selection to create an offer campaign, providing a user interface guiding the subscribing merchant with text and graphical prompts to complete a suggested offer including template offer information.

52. The server computer of claim 51 wherein the storage medium has further instructions stored thereon which when executed cause the server computer to perform further actions including:

receiving subscribing merchant specification for an offer;

preparing the offer based on the subscribing merchant offer specification, the offer including a trackable link;

receiving a subscribing merchant command to send the offer;

transmitting the offer on a subscribing merchant specified communication media.

53. The server computer of claim 52 wherein the trackable link is a link to a monitored offer web page.

54. The server computer of claim 53 wherein the storage medium has further instructions stored thereon which when executed cause the server computer to perform further actions including:

tracking consumer activity regarding the offer based on the trackable link.

55. The server computer of claim 30 wherein receiving the merchant selection includes receiving a merchant selection of the communications component and the storage medium has further instructions stored thereon which when executed cause the server computer to perform further actions including:

providing a web page allowing the subscribing merchant to select from creating and sending messages to consumers, viewing sent and scheduled messages, and managing a contacts library.

56. The server computer of claim 55 wherein the storage medium has further instructions stored thereon which when executed cause the server computer to perform further actions including:

in response to receiving a subscribing merchant selection to create and send messages to one or more consumers, enabling the subscribing merchant to send a message to one or more consumers via email, social media, and third party website from a single location without the subscribing merchant having to externally login and visit a third party website, email providers and social media providers, including providing message templates to the subscribing merchant.

57. The server computer of claim 56 wherein the storage medium has further instructions stored thereon which when executed cause the server computer to perform further actions including:

receiving subscribing merchant specification for a message;

preparing the message based on the subscribing merchant message specification, the message including a trackable link;

receiving a subscribing merchant command to send the message;

transmitting the message on a subscribing merchant specified communication media.

58. The server computer of claim 57 wherein the trackable link allows for tracking the receiving consumer accessing the message.