Integrating business constituent interactions into value generating information

• US 8,175,909 B1
• Filed: 11/03/2004
• Issued: 05/08/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 11/03/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Douglas C. Pileri, Paul W. Partridge
• Original Assignee: Douglas C. Pileri, Paul W. Partridge
• Inventors: Pileri, Douglas C., Partridge, Paul W.
• Primary Examiner(s): KARDOS, NEIL R
• Application Number:
  US10/979,805
• Time in Patent Office: 2,743 Days
• Field of Search: 705/7, 705/10, 705/7.29
• US Class Current: 705/7.29
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0201 Market modelling; Market analysis; Collecting market data

Abstract

An integrated, service-based approach to profitable customer loyalty, in which feedback related to an implicated product/process is received from at least two users. The feedback received from the users is aggregated and analyzed to identify the implicated product/process. It is determined whether the aggregated feedback received from the users reaches a threshold level with respect to one or more of the implicated product/process identified. If the threshold level is determined to have been reached, an aspect of the implicated product/process that is related to the aggregated feedback is identified and the identified aspect of the product/process is modified based on the aggregated feedback.

Claims

1. A method of integrating user feedback, comprising:

receiving customer interaction data that describes customer interactions, of at least two users with a business, related to an implicated product/process offered by the business, wherein receiving the customer interaction data comprises receiving warranty claim data generated based on a warranty claim related to the implicated product/process and made by at least one of the users;

storing, in a database, the received customer interaction data that describes customer interactions of the users;

aggregating, by a processor, the customer interaction data that describes customer interactions of the users, wherein aggregating the customer interaction data comprises integrating the warranty claim data with other customer interaction data that is different than warranty claims;

analyzing the aggregated customer interaction data to identify the implicated product/process;

making at least a portion of the aggregated customer interaction data available to inspire changes in multiple, different parts within the business, the multiple, different parts within the business each performing a different business function related to the implicated product/process and including a product documentation part of the business;

determining whether the aggregated customer interaction data that describes customer interactions of the users reaches a threshold level with respect to one or more aspects of the implicated product/process identified;

if the threshold level is determined to have been reached,

identifying an aspect of the implicated product/process that is related to the aggregated customer interaction data, wherein identifying the aspect of the implicated product/process that is related to the aggregated customer interaction data comprises identifying a presentation aspect of an instruction book that is related to the aggregated customer interaction data; and

modifying the identified aspect of the product/process based on the aggregated customer interaction data, wherein modifying the identified aspect of the product/process comprises modifying, by the product documentation part of the business, the presentation aspect of an instruction book that is related to the aggregated customer interaction data; and

handling, through a call center consumer interaction, a product failure covered by warranty, the handling including;

based on a call center interaction related to the product failure covered by warranty, collecting call center interaction information that includes failure cause information, product data, customer data, use and behavior data, user guide feedback, and online use data;

using the collected call center interaction information to perform ongoing business research and to optimize a user guide, a product design, and a user interface related to the product failure covered by warranty;

based on a warranty execution interaction related to the product failure covered by warranty, collecting warranty execution interaction information that includes materials information, average cost to repair, first time resolution, genealogy, design versus manufacturing data, cycle time of repair, technical document quality information, and service quality information;

using the warranty execution interaction information to optimize product costs, to optimize repair and replacement costs, to perform service benchmarking, and to design a lower cost of quality;

based on a post repair service contract sale and cross sell interaction related to the product failure covered by warranty, collecting post repair service contract sale and cross sell interaction information that includes risk management versus feature data, consumer behavior data, and complementary product data;

using the post repair service contract sale and cross sell interaction information to generate new revenue, to perform margin portfolio optimization, and to perform ongoing business research;

based on a satisfaction survey interaction related to the product failure covered by warranty, collecting satisfaction survey interaction information that includes process effectiveness information, feature benefit information, and future marketing opt-in information; and

using the satisfaction survey interaction information to optimize warranty costs, to perform ongoing business research, and to maintain a dynamic targeted promotion database.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving customer interaction data includes receiving customer interaction data that describes interactions with a customer call center, receiving customer interaction data that describes interactions with a computer interface based on customer manipulation of a web page, and receiving electronic mail generated by the customers.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the customer interaction data is received using a telephone interface at a customer call center.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the customer interaction data is received using a computer interface based on customer manipulation of a web page.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein:

receiving the customer interaction data includes receiving customer manipulation of an online resource library.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the online resource library is a help utility, manipulation by the customer of the help utility to obtain information concerning a product/process being received as customer feedback and analyzed to infer a need for modification to the product/process or documentation supporting the product/process.

7. The method of claim 2, wherein the customer interaction data includes electronic mail generated by the customers.

8. The method of claim 2, wherein the customer interaction data includes more than one of feedback received using a telephone interface at a customer call center, feedback received using a computer interface based on customer manipulation of a web page, and electronic mail generated by the customers.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the customer interaction data includes information related to one or more of sales force feedback, competitive analysis, and training feedback.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the competitive analysis includes analysis of competitor service or product manuals.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the customer interaction data includes information related to sales force feedback, competitive analysis, and training feedback.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the customer interaction data is received by a party who buys, makes, and/or sells the implicated product/process commercially available to the customers.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the customer interaction data is received by a party other than the party who makes the implicated product/process commercially available to the customers.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the customer interaction data includes feedback that is critical of the implicated product/process.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the customer interaction data includes feedback that is complementary of the implicated product/process.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein modifying the presentation aspect of the instruction book comprises removing, from the instruction book, terminology identified by the customer interaction data.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein modifying the presentation aspect of the instruction book comprises changing presentation of topics or ideas in the instruction book.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein changing presentation of topics or ideas in the instruction book comprises changing an order of presentation.

19. The method of claim 1, wherein the instruction book includes a printed or electronic manual.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the instruction book includes an electronic manual that is accessible using the Internet.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the electronic manual includes an online help utility.

22. The method of claim 1, wherein the instruction book includes an online troubleshooting utility.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the instruction book includes a service manual.

24. The method of claim 1, wherein modifying the presentation aspect of the instruction book comprises removing, from the instruction book, terminology identified by the customer interaction data.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein modifying the presentation aspect of the instruction book comprises changing presentation of topics or ideas in the instruction book.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein changing presentation of topics or ideas in the instruction book comprises changing an order of presentation.

27. The method of claim 1, wherein the implicated product/process with respect to which customer interaction data is received is a superset that includes the aspect that is identified as being related to the customer interaction data and that is modified based on the customer interaction data.

28. The method of claim 1, wherein the identified aspect includes a product user interface for the implicated product/process with respect to which customer interaction data is received.

29. The method of claim 1, wherein the implicated product/process with respect to which customer interaction data is received includes a manufacturing process.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein the customer interaction data includes feedback generated at least in part from materials data.

31. The method of claim 1, wherein one or more feature sets of the implicated product/process are identified as aspects related to the aggregated customer interaction data, and wherein the identified feature sets are modified based on the aggregated customer interaction data.

32. The method of claim 1, wherein new feature sets of the implicated product/process are identified as aspects related to the aggregated customer interaction data, and wherein the identified new feature sets are added based on the aggregated customer interaction data.

33. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

aggregating feedback received from the users with respect to more than one type of related product/process and comparing the aggregated feedback against the threshold level to determine whether the threshold level is reached, and

identifying a feature common to the more than one type of related product/process as the aspect of the implicated product/process related to the aggregated feedback.

34. The method of claim 33, wherein the feature includes a single instruction book common to the more than one type of related product/process.

35. The method of claim 33, wherein the feature includes a portion of an instruction book that is common among the instruction books for each of the product/process.

36. The method of claim 33, wherein the feature includes a component that is common among each of the related types of product/process.

37. The method of claim 1, further comprising

aggregating feedback received from the users in different but related product segments with respect to more than one related product/process and comparing the aggregated feedback against the threshold level to determine whether the threshold level is reached, and

identifying a feature common to the more than one related product/process as the aspect of the implicated product/process related to the aggregated feedback.

38. The method of claim 37, wherein feedback received from users in one segment is used as a basis for modifying features of product/process offered to users in a related but different segment.

39. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining which of several different threshold levels are reached by the aggregated feedback received from the users, and modifying the identified aspect of the product/process differently based on the threshold level determined to have been reached.

40. The method of claim 39, wherein satisfaction of the different threshold levels is at least partially dependent upon context.

41. The method of claim 40, wherein the context is used to attribute significance to particular users relative to other users.

42. The method of claim 1, wherein the product/process has at least two versions, the feedback being received with respect to a relatively early or immature version and the modifications being made to a later or more mature version.

43. The method of claim 1, wherein the product/process is a process with linear subcomponents, where feedback with respect to a downstream subcomponent of the process is used as a basis for modifying an upstream subcomponent of the process.

44. The method of claim 1, wherein feedback from users of one demographic or market segment is used as a basis for modifying the product/process used by or sold to users of other demographics or market segments.

45. The method of claim 1 wherein the implicated product/process is an implicated product and making at least a portion of the aggregated customer interaction data available to inspire changes in multiple, different parts within the business comprises making at least a portion of the aggregated customer interaction data available to inspire changes in a research and development/engineering part of the business that creates technology required to produce the implicated product, a purchasing and supply chain part of the business that is related to demand and quality performance of the implicated product, a manufacturing part of the business that is focused on feature performance and quality of their activities related to the implicated product, a product design part of the business that is related to performance, safety, and consumer feature preference of the implicated product, a product documentation part of the business that evaluates consumer understanding of the implicated product'"'"'s use and care, a marketing and advertising part of the business related to product performance against consumer expectations, impact of communication campaigns, and product awareness for the implicated product, a finance part of the business that monitors business performance and demand/sales trends, and market liabilities for the implicated product, a product management part of the business that has responsibility for future growth of the business, and a legal part of the business that considers market liabilities, safety concerns, and class action issues related to the implicated product.

46. The method of claim 1 wherein integrating the warranty claim data with other customer interaction data that is different than warranty claims comprises integrating the warranty claim data with other direct customer interaction data that describes other direct user interactions with the business receiving the warranty claim data that are not related to warranty claims.

47. The method of claim 1

wherein receiving warranty claim data generated based on a warranty claim related to the implicated product/process and made by at least one of the users comprises receiving the warranty claim data through a first singular mechanism that is related to only a warranty claim business function;

wherein receiving customer interaction data further comprises receiving the other customer interaction data through a second singular mechanism that is related to only a second business function, the first singular mechanism being different than the second singular mechanism and the warranty claim business function being different than the second business function; and

wherein integrating the warranty claim data with the other customer interaction data that is different than warranty claims comprises integrating the warranty claim data received through the first singular mechanism with the other customer interaction data received through the second singular mechanism to combine fragmented data into connected opportunities.

48. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

based on call center interactions related to warranty claims for the implicated product/process, collecting call center interaction information that includes failure cause information, product data, customer data, use and behavior data, user guide feedback, and online use data; and

integrating the call center interaction information with the aggregated customer interaction data;

determining whether the aggregated customer interaction data reaches a threshold level with respect to a user guide for the implicated product/process; and

based on a determination that the aggregated customer interaction data reaches a threshold level with respect to the user guide for the implicated product/process, triggering a process to optimize the user guide for the implicated product/process.

49. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

based on warranty execution related to warranty claims for the implicated product/process, collecting warranty execution interaction information that includes materials information, average cost to repair, first time resolution, genealogy, design versus manufacturing data, cycle time of repair, technical document quality information, and service quality information; and

integrating the warranty execution interaction information with the aggregated customer interaction data;

determining whether the aggregated customer interaction data reaches a threshold level with respect to at least one cost for the implicated product/process; and

based on a determination that the aggregated customer interaction data reaches a threshold level with respect to the at least one cost for the implicated product/process;

triggering a product group part of the business to perform a process to optimize product costs and repair and replacement costs for the implicated product/process; and

triggering an engineering and marketing part of the business to perform a process to lower cost of quality for the implicated product/process.

50. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

based on post repair service contract sale and cross sell interactions related to warranty claims for the implicated product/process, collecting post repair service contract sale and cross sell interaction information that includes risk management versus feature data, consumer behavior data, and complementary product data; and

integrating the post repair service contract sale and cross sell interaction information with the aggregated customer interaction data;

determining whether the aggregated customer interaction data reaches a threshold level with respect to potential new revenue for the implicated product/process; and

based on a determination that the aggregated customer interaction data reaches a threshold level with respect to potential new revenue for the implicated product/process, triggering a process to generate new revenue for the implicated product/process.

51. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

based on satisfaction survey interactions related to warranty claims for the implicated product/process, collecting satisfaction survey interaction information that includes process effectiveness information, feature benefit information, and future marketing opt-in information; and

integrating the satisfaction survey interaction information with the aggregated customer interaction data;

determining whether the aggregated customer interaction data reaches a threshold level with respect to warranty costs for the implicated product/process;

based on a determination that the aggregated customer interaction data reaches a threshold level with respect to the warranty costs for the implicated product/process, triggering a product group part of the business to perform a process to optimize warranty costs for the implicated product/process; and

storing the satisfaction survey interaction information in a dynamic targeted promotion database maintained by a marketing part of the business.

52. A method of integrating user feedback, comprising:

receiving customer interaction data that describes customer interactions, of at least two users with a business, related to an implicated product/process offered by the business, wherein receiving the customer interaction data comprises receiving customer interaction data related to quality performance for the implicated product/process and receiving customer interaction data related to competitive performance for the implicated product/process;

storing, in a database, the received customer interaction data that describes customer interactions of the users;

aggregating, by a processor, the customer interaction data that describes customer interactions of the users, wherein aggregating the customer interaction data comprises integrating the customer interaction data related to quality performance for the implicated product/process with the customer interaction data related to competitive performance for the implicated product/process;

analyzing the aggregated customer interaction data to identify a trend for the implicated product/process;

determining whether the identified trend for the implicated product/process is above or below expected levels with respect to one or more aspects of the implicated product/process;

if the identified trend for the implicated product/process is determined to be below expected levels,

modifying at least one aspect of the product/process to correct for poor performance based on the aggregated customer interaction data; and

if the identified trend for the implicated product/process is determined to be above expected levels, modifying at least one aspect of the product/process to accelerate unexpected gains based on the aggregated customer interaction data; and

handling, through a call center consumer interaction, a product failure covered by warranty, the handling including;

based on a call center interaction related to the product failure covered by warranty, collecting call center interaction information that includes failure cause information, product data, customer data, use and behavior data, user guide feedback, and online use data;

using the collected call center interaction information to perform ongoing business research and to optimize a user guide, a product design, and a user interface related to the product failure covered by warranty;

based on a warranty execution interaction related to the product failure covered by warranty, collecting warranty execution interaction information that includes materials information, average cost to repair, first time resolution, genealogy, design versus manufacturing data, cycle time of repair, technical document quality information, and service quality information;

using the warranty execution interaction information to optimize product costs, to optimize repair and replacement costs, to perform service benchmarking, and to design a lower cost of quality;

based on a post repair service contract sale and cross sell interaction related to the product failure covered by warranty, collecting post repair service contract sale and cross sell interaction information that includes risk management versus feature data, consumer behavior data, and complementary product data;

using the post repair service contract sale and cross sell interaction information to generate new revenue, to perform margin portfolio optimization, and to perform ongoing business research;

based on a satisfaction survey interaction related to the product failure covered by warranty, collecting satisfaction survey interaction information that includes process effectiveness information, feature benefit information, and future marketing opt-in information; and

using the satisfaction survey interaction information to optimize warranty costs, to perform ongoing business research, and to maintain a dynamic targeted promotion database.

53. The method of claim 52:

wherein receiving customer interaction data comprises;

receiving customer survey data related to the implicated product/process and made by at least one of the users; and

receiving customer service data that describes customer service interactions related to the implicated product/process for at least one of the users;

wherein integrating the customer interaction data related to quality performance for the implicated product/process with the customer interaction data related to competitive performance for the implicated product/process comprises integrating warranty claim data with the customer survey data and the customer service data;

wherein analyzing the aggregated customer interaction data to identify a trend for the implicated product/process comprises analyzing the integrated warranty claim, customer survey, and customer service data; and

wherein determining whether the identified trend for the implicated product/process is above or below expected levels with respect to one or more aspects of the implicated product/process comprises determining whether the integrated warranty claim, customer survey, and customer service data reaches a threshold level with respect to one or more aspects of the implicated product/process.

54. The method of claim 52:

wherein receiving customer interaction data comprises receiving call center data that describes call center interactions related to the implicated product/process for at least one of the users;

wherein integrating the customer interaction data related to quality performance for the implicated product/process with the customer interaction data related to competitive performance for the implicated product/process comprises integrating warranty claim data with the call center data;

wherein analyzing the aggregated customer interaction data to identify a trend for the implicated product/process comprises analyzing the integrated warranty claim and call center data; and

wherein determining whether the identified trend for the implicated product/process is above or below expected levels with respect to one or more aspects of the implicated product/process comprises determining whether the integrated warranty claim and call center data reaches a threshold level with respect to one or more aspects of the implicated product/process.

55. The method of claim 52, further comprising tracking an impact of modifications made to the implicated product/process using an integration mechanism used to integrate the customer interaction data related to quality performance for the implicated product/process with the customer interaction data related to competitive performance for the implicated product/process.

56. A method of integrating user feedback, comprising:

receiving customer interaction data that describes customer interactions, of at least two users with a business, related to an implicated product/process offered by the business;

storing, in a database, the received customer interaction data that describes customer interactions of the users;

aggregating, by a processor, the customer interaction data that describes customer interactions of the users;

analyzing the aggregated customer interaction data to identify the implicated product/process;

determining whether the aggregated customer interaction data that describes customer interactions of the users reaches a threshold level with respect to one or more aspects of the implicated product/process identified; and

if the threshold level is determined to have been reached,

identifying an aspect of the implicated product/process that is related to the aggregated customer interaction data; and

modifying the identified aspect of the product/process based on the aggregated customer interaction data,

wherein receiving customer interaction data comprises handling, through a contact center consumer interaction, a product failure covered by warranty, the handling including;

based on a contact center interaction related to the product failure covered by warranty, collecting contact center interaction information that includes failure cause information, product data, customer data, use and behavior data, user guide feedback, and online use data;

using the collected contact center interaction information to perform ongoing business research and to optimize a user guide, a product design, and a user interface related to the product failure covered by warranty;

based on a warranty execution interaction related to the product failure covered by warranty, collecting warranty execution interaction information that includes materials information, average cost to repair, first time resolution, genealogy, design versus manufacturing data, cycle time of repair, technical document quality information, and service quality information;

using the warranty execution interaction information to optimize product costs, to optimize repair and replacement costs, to perform service benchmarking, and to design a lower cost of quality;

based on a post repair service contract sale and cross sell interaction related to the product failure covered by warranty, collecting post repair service contract sale and cross sell interaction information that includes risk management versus feature data, consumer behavior data, and complementary product data;

using the post repair service contract sale and cross sell interaction information to generate new revenue, to perform margin portfolio optimization, and to perform ongoing business research;

based on a satisfaction survey interaction related to the product failure covered by warranty, collecting satisfaction survey interaction information that includes process effectiveness information, feature benefit information, and future marketing opt-in information; and

using the satisfaction survey interaction information to optimize warranty costs, to perform ongoing business research, and to maintain a dynamic targeted promotion database.