Customer centric virtual shopping experience with actors agents and persona

• US 6,032,129 A
• Filed: 09/06/1997
• Issued: 02/29/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 09/06/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Greef, Arthur Reginald, Hrelic, Darko, Shumacher, John F.
• Primary Examiner(s): Teska, Kevin J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): FREJD, RUSSELL WARREN
• Application Number:
  US08/924,520
• Time in Patent Office: 906 Days
• Field of Search: 705/27, 705/26, 707/103, 345/335, 709/217, 709/303
• US Class Current: 705/26.43
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0617 Representative agent
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0633 Lists, e.g. purchase orders, compilation or processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0643 Graphical representation of items or shoppers

Abstract

This invention relates to an electronic commerce software catalog system and a method of use. This electronic catalog system is specifically designed to provide the electronic shoppers with a customer-centric, virtual shopping experience by first facilitating the creation of customer-personas and their catalog-content affinities by a "Sales Representative", secondly facilitating the persona-association based configuration of a "Customer-Actor", by the actual "Shopper". Thirdly, the shopper selects an "on-the-desktop" computer directed "Sales-Advisor", that generates advice on catalog navigation, product applications and product function that is tuned to the proxy customer'"'"'s configured personality and specific needs.

Claims

1. An electronic catalog comprising:

product descriptions of the goods available thru the catalog;

customer persona descriptions defining a plurality of customer types and persona-content affinities linking each of the defined customer types to one or more product descriptions;

a plurality of virtual sales representative types with differing sales characteristics to advise a shopper;

a selection mechanism for permitting the shopper to form an imaginary customer actor based on the personas defining the customer types and in addition to select one of the virtual sales representative types to advise the shopper on progress through the catalog selection and ordering process; and

a presentation mechanism for presenting by the selected virtual sales representative to the shopper those product descriptions attuned to the imaginary customer-actor'"'"'s characteristics interest based on the persona-content affinities.

2. The electronic catalog of claim 1, wherein said affinities each comprise a numerical value that represents the strength of the association between one of the personas and a product description.

3. The electronic catalog of claim 2, wherein said selection mechanism enables the shopper to generate a customer actor which is a composite of two or more of the personas contained in the catalog.

4. The electronic catalog of claim 3, wherein the selection mechanism provides for identification of the customer actor by the shopper as himself or herself or a third party.

5. The electronic catalog of claim 4, including in the selection mechanism means to indicate that the goods selected are gifts.

6. The electronic catalog of claim 5, wherein the product descriptions include product attributes, objects and values and are linked to the virtual sales representative.

7. The electronic catalog of claim 6, wherein the selected sales representative can advise the shopper on catalog navigation, product applications and product function attuned to the customer-actors personality and needs.

8. A program product carried on a physical medium for use in a computer, said program product being an on-line catalog comprising:

product software containing product descriptions of goods or services available thru the catalog;

persona software containing customer personas defining a plurality of customer types and persona-content affinities linking the customer types to product descriptions;

salesman software containing a plurality of virtual sales representatives with differing sales characteristics to advise a shopper;

selection software providing a selection mechanism permitting the shopper to form an imaginary customer-actor based on the personas defining the customer types and in addition to select one of the virtual sales representatives to advise the shopper on use of the catalog; and

presentation software for presenting to the shopper those product descriptions attuned to the imaginary customer-actor'"'"'s characteristics based on the affinities established between the personas and the product descriptions.

9. The program product of claim 8, wherein in the persona software said affinities each comprise a numerical value that represents the strength of the association between one of the personas and a product description.

10. The program product of claim 9, wherein in said persona software is for enabling the shopper to generate a customer actor which is a composite of two or more of the personas contained in the catalog.

11. The software product of claim 10, wherein said selection software provides for identification of the customer-actor by the shopper as himself or herself or a third party.

12. The software code of claim 11, the selection software includes means to indicate a selection is a gift.

13. The product of claim 12, wherein in the product software the product descriptions are provided with product attributes, objects and values linked to the virtual sales representative.

14. The product of claim 13, wherein in the salesman software code the virtual sales representative advises the shopper on catalog navigation, product applications and product functions attuned to the actor-customer'"'"'s characteristics.

15. A method of providing a shopping experience using an electronic catalog comprising:

providing in the catalog product descriptions of goods available thru the catalog and a plurality of customer personas setting forth a plurality of customer types;

associating the customer personas to the product descriptions with persona-product affinities linking the customer types to product descriptions;

permitting the shopper to form all imaginary customer-actor based on one or more of the personas defining the customer types; and

presenting to the shopper-product descriptions attuned to the customer-actor'"'"'s characteristics based on the affinities established between the personas and the product descriptions.

16. The method of claim 15, including the step of using in each affinity a numerical value that represents the strength of the association between the customer-persona and the product description.

17. The method of claim 15, including the step of enabling the shopper to select from a plurality of virtual sales representative types for the presentation of the product descriptions.

18. A method of organizing and presenting an electronic catalog for use by a shopper comprising:

providing in the catalog product descriptions of goods available through the catalog, customer personas defining a plurality of customer types, and a plurality of virtual sales representative with differing sales characteristics to advise a shopper;

associating the customer personas to the product descriptions using persona-product affinities linking each of the personas to one or more of the product descriptions;

permitting the customer to form an imaginary customer-actor based on the personas defining the customer types and to select one of the sales representative for advice on the catalog selection and ordering process; and

presenting the catalog content to the shopper in terms of the customer-actor'"'"'s characteristics based on the affinities established between the personas of the product descriptions.

19. The method of claim 18, including the step of providing a numerical value in the affinities that represents the strength of the association between each customer persona and the product descriptions.

20. The method of claim 19, including the step of enabling the shopper to generate a customer actor which is a composite of two or more of the personas contained in the catalog.

21. The method of claim 20, including the step of providing for identification of the customer-actor by the shopper as himself or herself or a third party.

22. The method of claim 21, including the step of dividing the product descriptions into categories and providing them with product attributes, objects and values.

23. The method of claim 22, having the sale representative advising the shopper on catalog navigation, product applications and product function attuned to the actor-customer'"'"'s characteristics.