METHOD, SYSTEM AND PROGRAM PRODUCT FOR DISTRIBUTION OF FEEDBACK AMONG CUSTOMERS IN REAL-TIME

• US 20140006310A1
• Filed: 09/03/2013
• Published: 01/02/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 10/24/2007
• Status: Active Application

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Hamilton, Rick A. II, Li, Jenny S., Pickover, Clifford A., Huie, William J.
• Application Number:
  US14/016,369
• Publication Number:
  US 20140006310A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/347
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0203 Market surveys; Market polls
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0282 Rating or review of business operators or products

Abstract

A method, system and program product for providing distribution of customer feedback pertaining to an aspect of a retail environment. The method includes creating either a text, an audio or visual tag for inputting into a tool, feedback from customers using a plurality of devices, the tag including either a product-related or a location-related tag that can be used to extrapolate on the feedback. The method further includes identifying respective locations of customers, collecting in real-time the feedback inputted by the customers and providing a user, a customer that has provided feedback or not, access to the feedback collected based on either an inquiry submitted to the tool by the user or based on a current location of the user identified by the tool. The method further includes retrieving in real-time a subset of the feedback collected based on either the inquiry submitted or the current location of the user.

Claims

1. A method for providing distribution of customer feedback in a retail environment, said method comprising the steps of:

creating a tag corresponding to feedback to be inputted into a tool;

receiving, into the tool, the feedback inputted by one or more customers using a plurality of devices that are configured to communicate with said tool, said feedback inputted pertaining to one or more aspects of a retail environment;

determining whether said feedback inputted pertains to either a product or a location within said retail environment;

extrapolating, by said tool, based on said determining, one or more additional tags to said feedback inputted by said one or more customers pertaining to said one or more aspects of said retail environment;

adding, by said tool, the one or more additional tags to said feedback;

providing a user access to said feedback collected, including said one or more additional tags extrapolated from said respective first tag based on either an inquiry submitted to said tool by said user or based on a current location of said user identified by said tool, wherein said user comprises at least one of;

a customer of said one or more customers that has inputted said feedback and a customer, other than said one or more customers, that has not inputted said feedback;

identifying, based on at least one of the tag and the one or more additional tags, at least one of personnel, department, demographers, and product manufacturers to review the feedback; and

sending the feedback to the identified at least one of personnel, department, demographers, and product manufacturers.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

presenting said user with additional information besides said feedback collected based on either said inquiry submitted to said tool by said user or based on said current location of said user identified by said tool.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said respective first tag comprises at least one of:

an image tag, an audio tag and a textual tag, and wherein said respective first tag comprises at least one of;

a product-related tag and a location-related tag.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the access by the user to said one or more additional tags extrapolated from said respective first tag is determined based on a preference of the user to specify an amount and degree to which the one or more additional extrapolated tags are retrieved and provided to the user.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

tracking, using said tool, a respective location of said user for identifying a respective location of said user.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising recording the feedback in real-time.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein said aspect of said retail establishment of said one or more retail establishments comprises at least one of:

product, service, store operation, recommendation, review, overall shopping experience and miscellaneous.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein a service solution provider provides a computer infrastructure that performs the method for one or more consumers.

9. A system for providing distribution of customer feedback in real-time, comprising:

a network communications channel;

one or more servers connected to said network communications channel and to a trans-retail establishment server connected to said network communications channel, each of said one or more servers corresponding to one or more retail establishments, each of said one or more servers having deployed thereon a tool for distributing feedback received in real-time from one or more customers of said one or more retail establishments, said tool comprising;

a tag creation module for configured to create a tag corresponding to feedback to be inputted into a tool;

a feedback reception module configured to receive, into the tool, the feedback inputted by one or more customers using a plurality of devices that are configured to communicate with said tool, said feedback inputted pertaining to one or more aspects of a retail environment;

a determination module configured to determine whether said feedback inputted pertains to either a product or a location within said retail environment;

an extrapolation module configured to extrapolate, by said tool, based on said determining, one or more additional tags to said feedback inputted by said one or more customers pertaining to said one or more aspects of said retail environment;

an tag addition module configured to add, by said tool, the one or more additional tags to said feedback;

an access module configured to provide a user access to said feedback collected, including said one or more additional tags extrapolated from said respective first tag based on either an inquiry submitted to said tool by said user or based on a current location of said user identified by said tool, wherein said user comprises at least one of;

a customer of said one or more customers that has inputted said feedback and a customer, other than said one or more customers, that has not inputted said feedback;

an identification module configured to identify, based on at least one of the tag and the one or more additional tags, at least one of personnel, department, demographers, and product manufacturers to review the feedback; and

a disbursement module configured to disburse the feedback to the identified at least one of personnel, department, demographers, and product manufacturers.

10. The system of claim 9, further comprising:

a presentation module configured to present said user with additional information besides said feedback collected based on either said inquiry submitted to said tool by said user or based on said current location of said user identified by said tool.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein said respective first tag comprises at least one of:

an image tag, an audio tag and a textual tag, and wherein said respective first tag comprises at least one of;

a product-related tag and a location-related tag.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein the access by the user to said one or more additional tags extrapolated from said respective first tag is determined based on a preference of the user to specify an amount and degree to which the one or more additional extrapolated tags are retrieved and provided to the user.

13. The system of claim 9, further comprising:

a tracking module configured to track, using said tool, a respective location of said user for identifying a respective location of said user.

14. The system of claim 9, wherein said aspect of said retail establishment of said one or more retail establishments comprises at least one of:

product, service, store operation, recommendation, review, overall shopping experience and miscellaneous.

15. A computer program product for distributing retail information in a retail environment, said computer program product comprising:

a computer readable medium;

first program instructions to create a tag corresponding to feedback to be inputted into a tool;

second program instructions to receive, into the tool, the feedback inputted by one or more customers using a plurality of devices that are configured to communicate with said tool, said feedback inputted pertaining to one or more aspects of a retail environment;

third program instructions configured to determine whether said feedback inputted pertains to either a product or a location within said retail environment;

fourth program instructions configured to extrapolate, by said tool, based on said determining, one or more additional tags to said feedback inputted by said one or more customers pertaining to said one or more aspects of said retail environment;

fifth program instructions to add, by said tool, the one or more additional tags to said feedback;

sixth program instructions to provide a user access to said feedback collected, including said one or more additional tags extrapolated from said respective first tag based on either an inquiry submitted to said tool by said user or based on a current location of said user identified by said tool, wherein said user comprises at least one of;

a customer of said one or more customers that has inputted said feedback and a customer, other than said one or more customers, that has not inputted said feedback;

seventh program instructions to identify, based on at least one of the tag and the one or more additional tags, at least one of personnel, department, demographers, and product manufacturers to review the feedback; and

eighth program instructions to send the feedback to the identified at least one of personnel, department, demographers, and product manufacturers.

16. The computer program product of claim 15, further comprising:

ninth program instructions to present said user with additional information besides said feedback collected based on either said inquiry submitted to said tool by said user or based on said current location of said user identified by said tool.

17. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein said respective first tag comprises at least one of:

an image tag, an audio tag and a textual tag, and wherein said respective first tag comprises at least one of;

a product-related tag and a location-related tag.

18. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein the access by the user to said one or more additional tags extrapolated from said respective first tag is determined based on a preference of the user to specify an amount and degree to which the one or more additional extrapolated tags are retrieved and provided to the user.

19. The computer program product of claim 15, further comprising:

ninth program instructions to track, using said tool, a respective location of said user for identifying a respective location of said user.

20. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein said aspect of said retail establishment of said one or more retail establishments comprises at least one of:

product, service, store operation, recommendation, review, overall shopping experience and miscellaneous.