Method and system for initiating an outbound communication from a service provider responsive to a user activity with respect to a network resource

• US 6,708,215 B1
• Filed: 08/02/2000
• Issued: 03/16/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 01/16/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Aspect Communications Corporation (Alvaria Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Aspect Communications Corporation (Alvaria Incorporated)
• Inventors: Barnett, Gary, Hingorani, Satyen
• Primary Examiner(s): Breene, John
• Assistant Examiner(s): LEWIS, CHERYL RENEA
• Application Number:
  US09/632,095
• Time in Patent Office: 1,322 Days
• Field of Search: 709/223, 709/224, 709/225, 709/226, 709/203, 709/227, 709/228, 709/229, 707/2, 707/9, 707/10, 370/351, 370/352, 370/355, 370/356, 370/357
• US Class Current: 709/229
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/323 Visualisation of programs or trace data
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3495 for systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/954 Navigation, e.g. using categorised browsing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/87 Monitoring of transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/875 Monitoring of systems including the internet
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99932 Access augmentation or optimizing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing

Abstract

A method of facilitating an outbound customer interaction involves monitoring user access activity, and automatically accumulating access data concerning such user access activity, with respect to a resource retrieved from one or more network locations (e.g., identified by URLs). The user access to the one or more network locations typically occurs via a user device coupled to a network to facilitate the access to the network locations. A trigger event is then detected based on the user access activity as reflected by the accumulated access data.

Claims

1. A method of facilitating an outbound customer interaction, the method including:

automatically obtaining access data concerning user access activity with respect to a resource retrieved from at least one network location, the resource being retrieved via a user device coupled to a network so as to provide access to the user to the at least one network location;

detecting a trigger event based on user access activity with respect to the resource retrieved from the at least one network location and as recorded in the access data; and

initiating a communication from a service provider to the user responsive to the trigger event, wherein the user access activity is monitored at a location remote from the user device.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the user access activity is monitored at the at least one network location.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the user access activity is monitored at the user device.

4. The method of claim 3 including providing an access monitoring application to the user device via the network, the access monitoring application monitoring the user access activity with respect to the resource retrieved from the at least one network location.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein the access monitoring application communicates data concerning the user access activity to the service provider via the network.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the access data is automatically obtained regarding the user access activity with respect to resources retrieved from a plurality of network locations.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the resource comprises at least one markup language document.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein the at least one markup language document is retrieved from a single network domain.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the resource comprises a plurality of markup language documents retrieved from a plurality of network domains.

10. The method of claim 9 where each of the plurality of network domains comprises a website.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein the access data indicates viewing time with respect to the resource from the at least one network location.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the detecting of the trigger event comprises detecting exceeding of a time threshold by the viewing time.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein the resource comprises a number of documents, and the access data indicates a total number of documents viewed within a time interval.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein the detecting of the trigger event comprises detecting exceeding of a threshold number of documents viewed within a predetermined time interval.

15. The method of claim 13 wherein each of the documents comprises a markup language document.

16. The method of claim 1 wherein the access data indicates an access pattern with respect to the resource.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein the detection of the trigger event comprises detecting a predetermined access pattern with respect to the resource.

18. The method of claim 1 wherein the initiation of the communication comprises including a contact identifier within an outbound customer interaction campaign.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein the contact identifier comprises any one of a group including a telephone number, an e-mail address, a network address, a page number and a fax number.

20. The method of claim 1 wherein the initiation of the communication comprises attempting to establish a switched-circuit connection between the service provider and the user, the attempt being performed responsive to a request by the service provider.

21. The method of claim 1 wherein the initiation of the communication comprises establishing a packet-switched communication session between the service provider and the customer, the packet-switched communication session being initiated by the service provider.

22. A system to facilitate an outbound customer interaction, the system including:

a monitor automatically to obtain access data concerning user access activity with respect to a resource retrieved from at least one network location, the resource being retrieved via a user device coupled to a network so as to provide access to the user to the at least one network location;

a detector to detect a trigger event based on user access activity with respect to the resource retrieved from the at least one network location and as recorded in the access data; and

a communicator to initiate a communication from a service provider to the user responsive to the trigger event, wherein the monitor is installed at a location remote from the user device, and the monitor is to monitor the user access activity from the location remote from the user device.

23. The system of claim 22 wherein the user access activity is monitored at the at least one network location by the monitor.

24. The system of claim 22 wherein the monitor is installed on the user device, and the monitor is to monitor the user access activity at the user device.

25. The system of claim 24 wherein the monitor comprises an access monitoring application that is supplied to the user device via the network, the access monitoring application monitoring the user access activity with respect to the resource retrieved from the at least one network location.

26. The system of claim 25 wherein the access monitoring application communicates data concerning the user access activity to the service provider via the network.

27. The system of claim 22 wherein the monitor automatically obtains the access data regarding the user access activity with respect to resources retrieved from a plurality of network locations.

28. The system of claim 22 wherein the resource comprises at least one markup language document.

29. The system of claim 28 wherein the at least one markup language document is retrieved from a single network domain.

30. The system of claim 22 wherein the resource comprises a plurality of markup language documents retrieved from a plurality of network domains.

31. The system of claim 30 where each of the plurality of network domains comprises a website.

32. The system of claim 22 wherein the access data indicates viewing time with respect to the resource from the at least one network location.

33. The system of claim 32 wherein the detector is to detect exceeding of a time threshold by the viewing time.

34. The system of claim 22 wherein the resource comprises a number of documents, and the access data indicates a total number of documents viewed within a time interval.

35. The system of claim 34 wherein the detector is to detect exceeding of a threshold number of documents viewed within a predetermined time interval.

36. The system of claim 34 wherein each of the documents comprises a markup language document.

37. The system of claim 22 wherein the access data indicates an access pattern with respect to the resource.

38. The system of claim 37 wherein the detector is to detect a predetermined access pattern with respect to the resource.

39. The system of claim 22 wherein the communicator is to include a contact identifier within an outbound customer interaction campaign.

40. The system of claim 39 wherein the contact identifier comprises any one of a group including a telephone number, an e-mail address, a network address, a page number and a fax number.

41. The system of claim 22 wherein the communicator comprises an outbound dialer system to establish a circuit-switched connection between the service provider and the user, the establishing of the circuit-witched connection being performed by the outbound dialer system responsive to a request by the service provider.

42. The system of claim 22 wherein the communicator comprises a network device to establish a packet-switched communication session between the service provider and the customer, the packet-switched communication session being initiated by the service provider.

43. A machine-readable medium storing a sequence of instructions that, when executed by a machine, cause the machine to:

automatically obtain access data concerning user access activity with respect to a resource retrieved from at least one network location, the resource being retrieved via a user device coupled to a network so as to provide access to the user to the at least one network location;

detect a trigger event based on user access activity with respect to the resource retrieved from the at least one network location and as recorded in the access data; and

initiate a communication from a service provider to the user responsive to the trigger event, wherein the user access activity is monitored at a location remote from the user device.

44. A system to facilitate an outbound customer interaction, the system including:

first means for automatically obtaining access data concerning user access activity with respect to a resource retrieved from at least one network location, the resource being retrieved via a user device coupled to a network so as to provide access to the user to the at least one network location;

second means for detecting a trigger event based on user access activity with respect to the resource retrieved from the at least one network location and as recorded in the access data; and

third means for initiating a communication from a service provider to the user responsive to the trigger event, wherein the first means is installed at a location remote from the user device, and the first means is for monitoring the user access activity from the location remote from the user device.