Methods and system for optimizing a campaign

• US 6,954,731 B1
• Filed: 06/27/2000
• Issued: 10/11/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 06/27/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Teradata US, Inc. (Teradata Corporation)
• Original Assignee: NCR Corporation
• Inventors: Montague, John E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Jeanty, Romain
• Application Number:
  US09/604,503
• Time in Patent Office: 1,932 Days
• Field of Search: 707/5, 707/6, 707/12, 707/3, 707/102, 706/12, 705/10, 705/1, 705/8, 705/9, 705/14
• US Class Current: 705/7.33
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0204 Market segmentation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0244 Optimization
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0255 based on user history

Abstract

Methods and a system of optimizing campaigns are provided. A campaign is identified and associated with a campaign contact list. Moreover, factors which indicate whether a contact during the campaign is a business success or a failure are provided. Further, each contact is associated with one or more demographic attributes. Each completed contact is maintained in a completed contact list and determined to be associated with the success factor or the failure factor of the campaign. A correlation is determined based on at least one of the success factor or the failure factor and one or more of the demographic attributes. A remaining contact list including non completed contacts from the campaign contact list may be sorted based on the determined correlation or logically retrieved and provided to a Call Service Representative.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for optimizing a campaign, using said computer to perform the steps comprising:

receiving a campaign operable to determine a success factor and a failure factor;

receiving a contact list including a plurality of contacts each contact associated with one or more demographic attributes;

associating a completed contact list with each completed contact in the contact list and a remaining contact list with each non completed contact in the contact list;

determining at configurable contact intervals from the completed contact list if a correlation exists between the completed contacts associated with the factors and one or more demographic attributes, wherein the contact intervals represent elapsed periods of time associated with environmental changes occurring outside a scope of the campaign, and wherein the environmental changes effect the correlation during the elapsed periods of time and the environmental changes are related to current events occurring during the campaign, and wherein success of the campaign is used for dynamically modifying the configurable contact intervals;

retrieving each contact in the remaining contact list based on the determined correlation; and

using said determined correlation for optimizing the campaign.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

removing one or more selective contacts in the remaining contact list based on an unfavorable value of the correlation which is associated with one or more of the selective contacts.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

initiating at one or more intervals the step for determining the correlation.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

dynamically adjusting the contact intervals if no substantial correlation is determined.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

randomly seeding the retrieved remaining contact list with an adjustable percentage of non completed contacts without regard for the determined correlation.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

redetermining the correlation to discover if as a result of randomly seeding a modified correlation is detected; and

retrieving each remaining contact in the remaining contact list based on the modified correlation.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

discarding remaining contacts in the remaining contact list having unfavorable demographics with respect to the determined correlation; and

acquiring one or more new contacts not originally associated with the contact list, each new contact having favorable demographics with respect to the determined correlation and each new contact sorted into the remaining contact list.

8. A computer-implemented system for optimizing campaigns comprising

a campaign optimizer comprising executable instructions operable to communicate with one or more contact data stores, the data stores associated with at least one of one or more completed contacts and one or more non completed contacts, the campaign optimizer operable to receive completed contacts at adjustable time intervals;

a correlator comprising executable instructions operable to communicate with the campaign optimizer, to receive the completed contacts, and to determine if a correlation associated with the completed contacts exist between the completed contacts identified with at least one of a success factor and a failure factor and one or more demographic attributes, and wherein the correlator determines the correlation during each of the adjustable time intervals, the adjustable time intervals representing environmental changes occurring outside a scope of a campaign, and wherein the environmental changes affect the correlation during the adjustable time intervals, the environmental changes related to current events occurring during the campaign, and wherein values associated with the success factor or the failure factor is used for dynamically altering the adjustable time intervals; and

a non completed contact sorter comprising executable instructions operable to communicate with the correlator, one or more of the data stores, and the campaign optimizer, the non completed contacts sorter operable to sort non completed contacts in one or more of the data stores based on the correlation; and

using said determined correlation to for optimizing said campaigns.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the correlator is operable to determine a correlation coefficient for each of the demographic attributes.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein the contacts are associated with an outbound contact campaign.

11. The system of claim 8, further comprising:

an outcome analyzer comprising executable instructions operable to determine upon completion of one or more of the completed contacts if the completed contact is associated with at least one of the success factor and the failure factor.

12. The system of claim 8, further comprising an optimization manager comprising executable instructions operable to randomly seed the non completed contacts in one or more of the data stores with a percentage of non completed contacts without regard to the correlation.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the optimization manager is operable to communicate with the correlator to redetermine a modified correlation based on completed contacts associated with the randomly seeded contacts.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the optimization manager is operable to communicate to the non completed contacts sorter the modified correlation resulting in a resort of the non completed contacts in one or more of the data stores based on the modified correlation.

15. A computer-implemented system for optimizing a contact list during a campaign, using said computer to perform the steps comprising

identifying a contact campaign;

receiving a contact list including completed contacts and non completed contacts, each of the contacts associated with a success factor, a failure factor, and one or more demographic attributes;

determining during the contact campaign at adjustable time intervals a correlation between the factors and one or more of the demographic attributes of the completed contacts, wherein the adjustable time intervals are associated with environmental changes occurring outside a scope of the contact campaign, and wherein the environmental changes affect the correlation during the adjustable time intervals, the environment changes related to current events occurring during the contact campaign, and wherein values associated with the success factor or failure factor is used for dynamically modifying the adjustable time intervals;

reordering during the contact campaign the non completed contacts based on the correlation using said determined correlation for optimizing said contact list during the campaign.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

seeding in random order an adjustable percentage of the non completed contacts without regard for the correlation.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

determining a new correlation by evaluating the factors and one or more of the demographic attributes for completed contacts after the seeding step; and

reordering the non completed contacts based on the new correlation.

18. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

receiving a reference operable to modify and retrieve one or more contact data records from one or more data stores associated with each of the contacts.

19. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

reporting summary data associated with the contact campaign.

20. The method of claim 15, wherein the contact campaign is conducted over at least one of an e-mail channel, an on-line channel, a voice channel, a video channel, an audio channel, a kiosk channel, an ATM channel, and a wireless channel.