Customer profiling engine

• US 8,195,474 B2
• Filed: 01/27/2005
• Issued: 06/05/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 01/27/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Xerox Corporation (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Xerox Corporation (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Inventors: Fedele, Samuel A.
• Primary Examiner(s): BORISSOV, IGOR N
• Application Number:
  US11/044,501
• Publication Number:
  US 20060167759A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,686 Days
• Field of Search: 705/14, 705/26, 705/27, 705/1, 705/1.1, 705/7.11, 705/7.12, 705/14.4, 705/14.49, 705/14.51, 705/14.53, 705/14.58, 705/18, 705/26.1, 705/29, 705/30, 705/37, 705/400, 707705-708, 707/713, 707/999.001, 707/999.002, 707/999.009, 707/999.01, 707E17107-E17109, 709217-219, 709/212, 709238-244
• US Class Current: 705/1.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]

Abstract

A method and apparatus are provided in a computer network to present marketing and other pertinent information to clients from a host. The client environment is interrogated locally using a profiling engine. A customer class generated by a profiling engine on the customer server controls a URL behind an inquiry tab presented in a client user interface. When the user clicks on the tab they are taken to a portal designed by a host marketing team specifically designed for customers belonging to the customer class designated by the profiling engine. Using the method and apparatus of the present application, direct, cost effective marketing materials are delivered to customers without sending any customer information through the customer firewall back to the host.

Claims

1. In a network, a customer profiling system comprising:

a first client server being configured;

to implement a first customer account,

to perform a profiling algorithm on a set of predefined customer parameters, and

to assign said first customer account to a first one of a plurality of predefined account classes; and

,

a host server at a vendor facility, said host server separated from said first client server by a customer firewall and being configured;

to present an inquiry tab to said first customer account and,

when said tab is selected, to port a user at said first customer account to a first portal in accordance with said first one of said plurality of predefined account classes assigned to said first customer account;

wherein said first client server includes a device database storing information relating networked devices at said first customer account;

wherein said profiling algorithm is configured to generate profile attributes and said first one of said plurality of defined account classes based on said device database; and

wherein said device database is not directly accessed by said host server.

2. The customer profiling system according to claim 1 wherein said first client server includes a device database storing information relating to imaging and document devices at said first customer account.

3. The customer profiling system according to claim 1 wherein:

said profiling algorithm is configured to

i) create a criteria vector from said device database, and

ii) perform logical operations on vector values of said criteria vector to generate said profile attributes.

4. The customer profiling system according to claim 3 wherein:

said host server is configured to port said user at said first customer account to said first portal by associating said first customer account class with a URL.

5. The customer profiling system according to claim 4 wherein said first portal includes at least one of marketing and maintenance information useful to said user at said first customer account based on said assigned first account class.

6. The customer profiling system according to claim 5 wherein said first portal includes at least one of white paper information, office efficiency information, and cost reduction information relevant to said first customer account.

7. The customer profiling system according to claim 4 wherein said profiling algorithm is configured to generate said profile attributes as said first one of said plurality of predefined account classes based on parameters stored in said device database including:

hardware device mix data, printed page volume data, fault history data, usage information, and page cost information.

8. The customer profiling system according to claim 1 wherein the host server presents the inquiry tab to said first customer account and ports the user to the first portal in accordance with the assigned class without any access to said customer parameters.

9. In a computer network, including a client server and a host server, a method of directing a user of the client server to a site at the host server without transferring client data/information from the client server to the host server, the method comprising:

providing a database on said client server, said database storing client data;

preventing the host server from directly accessing the database;

providing a profiling engine as a software component on said client server;

searching selected parameters stored in the database using said profiling engine;

using the profiling engine, assigning a first customer class to said client server from among a plurality of customer classes based on the searched parameters, each of said plurality of customer classes being associated with a plurality of URLs, said first customer class being associated with a first URL;

using said first URL associated with said first customer class, pointing to a first portal in said host server; and

,

in response to an input from a user at said client server, directing said user to a first site at said host server based on said first URL pointing to said first site.

10. A network system comprising:

a first client server configured to execute a profiling algorithm on a set of predefined customer parameters and to assign a first customer account to a first one of a plurality of predefined account classes;

a host server configured to execute a client user interface presenting an inquiry tab to said first customer account and, when said tab is selected, to port a user at said first customer account to a first portal in accordance with said first one of said plurality of predefined account classes assigned to said first customer account by said first client server; and

a firewall separating the first client server from the host server;

wherein said first client server includes a device database storing information relating networked devices at said first customer account;

wherein said profiling algorithm is configured to generate profile attributes and said first one of said plurality of defined account classes based on said device database; and

wherein said firewall is configured to prevent direct access to the device database by the host server.

11. The network system according to claim 10 wherein said first client server includes a device database storing information relating to imaging and document devices at said first customer account.

12. The network system according to claim 10 wherein:

said profiling algorithm is configured to i) create a criteria vector from said device database, and ii) perform logical operations on vector values of said criteria vector to generate said profile attributes.

13. The network system according to claim 12 wherein:

said host server is configured to port said user at said first customer account to said first portal by associating said first customer account class with a URL.

14. The network system according to claim 13 wherein said first portal includes at least one of marketing and maintenance information useful to said user at said first customer account based on said assigned first account class.

15. The network system according to claim 14 wherein said first portal includes at least one of white paper information, office efficiency information, and cost reduction information relevant to said first customer account.

16. The network system according to claim 13 wherein said profiling algorithm is configured to generate said profile attributes as said first one of said plurality of predefined account classes based on parameters stored in said device database including:

hardware device mix data, printed page volume data, fault history data, usage information, and page cost information.

17. A computer network comprising:

a client server; and

a host server;

said client server being configured to interrogate selected parameters stored in a database on said client server and to assign a first customer class to said client server from among a plurality of customer classes based on the interrogation, each of said plurality of customer classes being associated with a plurality of URLs, said first customer class being associated with a first URL; and

said host server being configured to point to a first portal in said host server using said first URL, and to direct said user to a first site at said host server based on said first URL pointing to said first site in response to an input from a user at said client server;

wherein the host server points to the first portal and directs said user to the first site at said host server based on said first URL without any access to the database on said client server.

18. The computer network of claim 17, further comprising a firewall separating the client server and the host server.