System and method for analyzing customer transactions and interactions

• US 6,334,110 B1
• Filed: 03/10/1999
• Issued: 12/25/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 03/10/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: NCR Voyix Corporation
• Original Assignee: NCR Corporation
• Inventors: Schrader, David K., Walter, Joanne S.
• Primary Examiner(s): GRAVINI, STEPHEN MICHAEL
• Application Number:
  US09/265,675
• Time in Patent Office: 1,021 Days
• Field of Search: 705/8, 705/14, 705/26, 235/380, 235/493
• US Class Current: 705/14.41
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0242 Determining effectiveness of advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0255 based on user history
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0269 based on user profile or attribute
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0277 Online advertisement

Abstract

A system and method is provided for analyzing customer behavior based on the time when those behaviors occur. This invention captures information about customer transactions and interactions over time, classifies customers into one or more clusters based on their time-based interactions and transactions, or both, and uses this classification to perform selected target marketing and cross-selling. This is performed by temporally tagging customer transactions and interactions, analyzing the tagged information to create temporal profiles, creating advertising campaigns aimed at the temporal profiles, triggering an advertising campaign, and analyzing the effectiveness of the advertising campaign.

Claims

1. A system for performing targeted advertising based upon a customer'"'"'s prior transactions and interactions, comprising:

(a) input means for receiving transaction data associated with a retail transaction, wherein the transaction data includes customer information, purchasing information and temporal information associated with the transaction;

(b) means for creating a temporal profile for each customer, based upon the transaction data received by the input means for one or more retail transactions;

(c) means for creating a segment of temporal profiles, each segment having a set of temporal profiles with similar temporal information and similar purchasing information; and

(d) means for generating an advertising campaign directed to the segment.

2. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

(e) means for analyzing the advertising campaign to determine its effectiveness.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the input means comprises a point-of-service terminal.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the input means comprises a Web server.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the temporal information comprises the date and time of the retail transaction.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the temporal profile creating means comprises:

(i) means for analyzing the transaction data to create a transaction profile for each customer; and

(ii) means for time-wise analyzing the profile to create a temporal profile for each customer.

7. A process for performing targeted advertising based upon a customer'"'"'s prior transactions and interactions, comprising the steps of:

(a) receiving transaction data associated with a retail transaction, wherein the transaction data includes customer information, purchasing information and temporal information associated with the transaction;

(b) creating a temporal profile for each customer, based upon the transaction data received by the input means for one or more retail transactions;

(c) creating a segment of temporal profiles, each segment having a set of temporal profiles with similar temporal information and similar purchasing information; and

(d) generating an advertising campaign directed to the segment.

8. The process of claim 7, further comprising the step of:

(e) analyzing the advertising campaign to determine its effectiveness.

9. The process of claim 7, wherein step (b) comprises the sub-steps of:

(i) analyzing the transaction data to create a transaction profile for each customer; and

(ii) time-wise analyzing the profile to create a temporal profile for each customer.

10. The process of claim 7, wherein the step of receiving transaction data is performed at a point-of-service terminal.

11. The process of claim 7, wherein the step of receiving transaction data is performed at a web server.

12. The process of claim 7, wherein the temporal information comprises the date and time of the retail transaction.