System and method for providing sales leads based on-demand software trial usage
First Claim
1. A method of using on-demand software application trials to provide sales leads, said method comprising:
- providing a user one or more software products as part of an on-demand trial issued over a network using a computational device;
starting the on-demand software trial on a computational device, the starting including;
providing access to the one or more software products for trial by the user, andforwarding a client side control to the user for installation on a computational device of the user;
receiving usage information from the client side control, the usage information being obtained by tracking, using the client side control, usage of the one or more software products provided as part of the on-demand trial by the user, the usage information including information related to a product feature used by the user, any demo reviewed by the user, and time spent on the on-demand software trial;
determining, based on the received usage information, a usage metric for the user using the computational device;
assigning a score to the user according to the usage metric using the computational device, wherein the score indicates interest of the user to purchase at least one of the one or more software products included in the trial and the score is adjusted at least in part based on a user profile;
determining, based on the usage metric, additional products that the user might be interested in using, wherein the user does not try the additional products during the on-demand trial;
generating a sales lead notification including at least an identification of the user, the additional products and the score assigned to the user; and
using the sales lead notification as a basis to contact the user.
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Abstract
Business management methods for on-demand trial based marketing and sales are introduced. Using on-demand trial technology, usage metrics can be automatically generated by tracking the usage of specific products and corresponding duration. Usage metrics and other data are automatically processed to qualify and channel leads to pertinent categories in sales and marketing. The present invention facilitates a more directed effort to investigate leads and makes the information of customers available for follow-up that has higher prospective sales potential. The present invention may also be used to dispatch pre-release reports automatically to a vendor.
99 Citations
23 Claims
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1. A method of using on-demand software application trials to provide sales leads, said method comprising:
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providing a user one or more software products as part of an on-demand trial issued over a network using a computational device; starting the on-demand software trial on a computational device, the starting including; providing access to the one or more software products for trial by the user, and forwarding a client side control to the user for installation on a computational device of the user; receiving usage information from the client side control, the usage information being obtained by tracking, using the client side control, usage of the one or more software products provided as part of the on-demand trial by the user, the usage information including information related to a product feature used by the user, any demo reviewed by the user, and time spent on the on-demand software trial; determining, based on the received usage information, a usage metric for the user using the computational device; assigning a score to the user according to the usage metric using the computational device, wherein the score indicates interest of the user to purchase at least one of the one or more software products included in the trial and the score is adjusted at least in part based on a user profile; determining, based on the usage metric, additional products that the user might be interested in using, wherein the user does not try the additional products during the on-demand trial; generating a sales lead notification including at least an identification of the user, the additional products and the score assigned to the user; and using the sales lead notification as a basis to contact the user. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A computer-readable storage medium storing instructions for execution on a processor to use an on-demand software application trials to provide sales leads, the medium storing instructions for:
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providing a user one or more software products as part of an on-demand trial issued over a network; starting the on-demand software trial on a computational device, the starting including; providing access to the one or more software products for trial by the user, and forwarding a client side control to the user for installation on a computational device of the user; receiving usage information from the client side control, the usage information being obtained by tracking, using the client side control, usage of the one or more software products provided as part of the on-demand trial by the user, the usage information including information related to a product feature is used by the user, any demo reviewed by the user and time spent on the on-demand software trial; determining, based on the received usage information, a usage metric for the user; assigning a score to the user according to the usage metric, wherein the score indicates interest of the user to purchase at least one of the one or more software products included in the trial and the score is adjusted at least in part based on a user profile; determining, based on the usage metric, additional products that the user might be interested in using, wherein the user does not try the additional products during the on-demand trial; generating a sales lead notification including at least an identification of the use, the additional products and the score assigned to the user; and using the sales lead notification as a basis to contact the user. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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Specification