Telephone system for audio demonstration and marketing of goods or services
First Claim
1. In a system for audio demonstration of merchandise or services offered over a telephone line, the combination comprisingan audio program means having a plurality of channels, one for each prerecorded demonstration,a data processor for selecting a channel of said repeating means for connection to said telephone line,switching means responsive to said data processor for connecting a selected channel to said telephone line, anda plurality of customer service operator terminals selectively connected to said telephone line by said data processor through said switching means.
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0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system is disclosed for marketing merchandise or services by telephone using brief prerecorded audio demonstrations stored in an audio program repeater and connected to a customer'"'"'s telephone line by a switching system under control of a data processor in response to a code entered by a customer service operator via the switching system or a code entered directly by the customer through his push-button telephone. In the latter case the data processor is in direct communication with the customer who uses the telephone push buttons to respond to prerecorded messages transmitted from the audio program repeater under control of the data processor. Otherwise the customer communicates with a customer service operator through the switching system and the customer service operator in turn selects the demonstration through the data processor. Having heard the demonstration, the customer indicates whether or not he wishes to purchase the merchandise or services, either to the customer sevice operator, who enters the purchase order in the data processor, or directly to the processor by telephone push-button operation. The data processor then transfers the order to an order processing system and updates both inventory records and the customer'"'"'s history record.
159 Citations
17 Claims
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1. In a system for audio demonstration of merchandise or services offered over a telephone line, the combination comprising
an audio program means having a plurality of channels, one for each prerecorded demonstration, a data processor for selecting a channel of said repeating means for connection to said telephone line, switching means responsive to said data processor for connecting a selected channel to said telephone line, and a plurality of customer service operator terminals selectively connected to said telephone line by said data processor through said switching means.
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5. A method of marketing merchandise or services by telephone using brief prerecorded demonstrations stored in an audio program repeater to demonstrate selected merchandise or services to a customer under control of a data processor comprising the steps of
answering a customer'"'"'s telephone call on an incoming line through automatic answering means and signalling to said data processor that a customer is on the line, transmitting a prerecorded greeting message from said audio program repeater under control of said data processor to the customer to acknowledge receipt of the call and to instruct the customer what to do next in order to request a selected demonstration, transmitting a selected demonstration from said audio program repeater to the customer under control of said data processor, interrupting said data processor when the selected demonstration has been completed for the purpose of transmitting a further communication to the customer, and transmitting the further communication to the customer as a prerecorded message from said audio program repeater transmitted under control of said data processor to determine whether any other demonstration is to be requested, the customer responding to each prerecorded message with a code entered from a push-button keyboard on the premises of a subscribing retailer, whereby all communications with the customer are automatically controlled by said data processor.
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6. A method of marketing merchandise or services by telephone using brief prerecorded demonstrations stored in an audio program repeater to demonstrate selected merchandise or services to a customer under control of a data processor comprising the steps of
answering a customer'"'"'s telephone call on an incoming line through automatic answering means and signalling to said data processor that a customer in on the line, transmitting a prerecorded greeting message from said audio program repeater under control of said data processor to the customer to acknowledge receipt of the call and to instruct the customer what to do next in order to request a selected demonstration, transmitting a selected demonstration from said audio program repeater to the customer under control of said data processor, interrupting said data processor when the selected demonstration has been completed for the purpose of transmitting a further communication to the customer, the greeting message instructing the customer to wait for a customer service operator, and said data processor being interrupted upon completion of each prerecorded transmission from said audio program repeater to connect a customer service operator with the customer, whereby the customer service operator elicits from the customer identification data, demonstration requests and orders, and the customer service operator enters the information elicited from the customer to cause said data processor to transmit requested demonstrations from said audio program repeater and to transmit orders elicited to an order processing system.
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11. Apparatus for marketing merchandise or services by telephone using brief prerecorded audio demonstrations of the merchandise or services, comprising
means for storing at least one prerecorded message and said audio demonstrations for selective repeating, a data processor, automatic answering means for answering a customer'"'"'s call and signalling said data processor that a customer is on a customer line, means responsive to said data processor selectively switching said customer line to a selected prerecorded message or demonstration from said repeating means, or to a customer service operator, and a terminal for said customer service operator to enter customer data, demonstration requests and orders into said data processor and to receive on a video display terminal a customer'"'"'s record block as the operator elicits requests for demonstrations and, after each demonstration controlled by said data processor through said switching means, elicits orders for the demonstrated merchandise or service, and enters into said record block demonstration requests and orders received.
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15. A method of marketing merchandise or services by telephone using brief prerecorded demonstrations stored in an audio program repeater to demonstrate selected merchandise or services to a customer under control of a data processor comprising the steps of
answering a customer'"'"'s telephone call on an incoming line through automatic answering means and signalling to said data processor that a customer is on the line, transmitting a prerecorded greeting message from said audio program repeater under control of said data processor to the customer to acknowledge receipt of the call and to instruct the customer what to do next in order to request a selected demonstration, transmitting a selected demonstration from said auido program repeater to the customer under control of said data processor, interrupting said data processor when the selected demonstration has been completed for the purpose of transmitting a further communication to the customer, transmitting the further communicatin to the customer as a prerecorded message from said audio program repeater transmitted under control of said data processor to determine whether the customer wishes to order the merchandise or service just demonstrated and whether any other demonstration is to be requested, the customer responding to each prerecorded message transmitted with a code entered from a push-button keyboard on the customer'"'"'s telephone, whereby all communications with the customer are automatically controlled by said data processor.
Specification