Systems and methods for transaction-based profiling of customer behavior
First Claim
1. A method for transaction-based profiling of a customer, the method comprising:
- preparing a transaction data file comprising transaction data for transactions performed by a customer with merchants in a predetermined time period;
obtaining a profile of said customer, said profile comprising a time-sensitive variable having a numerical value;
periodically calculating an updated numerical value based on the numerical value of said time-sensitive variable obtained from said profile, a time function, and said transaction data;
assigning using a specially programmed processor said updated numerical value to said time-sensitive variable;
using said updated numerical value to identify at least one target customer having a predetermined characteristic; and
transmitting a marketing communication to said at least one target customer, wherein said time function comprises an exponential decay time function defined as;
x=xe−
kδ
+y wherein x is said time-sensitive variable, k is an aging constant, δ
is a time variable based on a last qualifying transaction performed by the customer, and y is an incrementing variable.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method is provided for updating customer profiles based on current information on merchant transactions performed by the customers. The customer profiles, which include data fields for customer attributes, are stored in a profile data base. The customer profiles may be updated when a batch of merchant-customer transaction reports in a given time period becomes available. The information in the batch of merchant-customer transaction reports, which may be supplemented with additional known information on the merchants and/or customers, is sorted by customer account number. The customer profiles then are updated, one customer account number at time, using the sorted information. Profiling models which relate transaction types or characteristics to customer attributes are used to assign updated values to the customer attribute data fields.
48 Citations
29 Claims
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1. A method for transaction-based profiling of a customer, the method comprising:
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preparing a transaction data file comprising transaction data for transactions performed by a customer with merchants in a predetermined time period; obtaining a profile of said customer, said profile comprising a time-sensitive variable having a numerical value; periodically calculating an updated numerical value based on the numerical value of said time-sensitive variable obtained from said profile, a time function, and said transaction data; assigning using a specially programmed processor said updated numerical value to said time-sensitive variable; using said updated numerical value to identify at least one target customer having a predetermined characteristic; and transmitting a marketing communication to said at least one target customer, wherein said time function comprises an exponential decay time function defined as;
x=xe−
kδ
+ywherein x is said time-sensitive variable, k is an aging constant, δ
is a time variable based on a last qualifying transaction performed by the customer, and y is an incrementing variable. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A system for updating a profile of a customer of a business in a batch process, said system comprising:
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one or more processors configured to prepare a transaction data file comprising transaction data for transactions performed by a customer with merchants in a predetermined time period; said one or more processors further configured to obtain a profile of said customer, said profile comprising a time-sensitive variable having a numerical value; said one or more processors further configured to periodically calculate an updated numerical value based on the numerical value of said time-sensitive variable obtained from said profile, a time function, and said transaction data; and said one or more processors further configured to assign said updated numerical value to said time-sensitive variable, wherein said time function comprises an exponential decay time function defined as;
x=xe−
kδ
+ywherein x is said time-sensitive variable, k is an aging constant, δ
is a time variable based on a last qualifying transaction performed by the customer, and y is an incrementing variable.- View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A non-transitory computer readable medium encoded with a computer program that includes computer executable instructions for updating a profile of a customer of a business in a batch process, which when executed causes a processing system to perform the steps of:
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preparing a transaction data file comprising transaction data for transactions performed by a customer with merchants in a predetermined time period; obtaining a profile of said customer, said profile comprising a time-sensitive variable having a numerical value; periodically calculating an updated numerical value based on the numerical value of said time-sensitive variable obtained from said profile, a time function, and said transaction data; and assigning using a specially programmed processor said updated numerical value to said time-sensitive variable, wherein said time function comprises an exponential decay time function defined as;
x=xe−
kδ
+ywherein x is said time-sensitive variable, k is an aging constant, δ
is a time variable based on a last qualifying transaction performed by the customer, and y is an incrementing variable.- View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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28. A method for transaction-based profiling of a customer, the method comprising:
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preparing a transaction data file comprising transaction data for transactions performed by a customer with merchants in a predetermined time period; obtaining a profile of said customer, said profile comprising a time-sensitive variable having a stored value; periodically calculating an updated value based on the stored value of said time-sensitive variable obtained from said profile, a time function, and said transaction data; assigning using a specially programmed processor said updated value to said time-sensitive variable; using said updated value to identify at least one target customer having a predetermined characteristic; and transmitting a marketing communication to said at least one target customer, wherein the time function comprises an exponential decay function defined as;
x=xe−
kδ
+ywherein x is said time-sensitive variable, k is an aging constant, δ
is a time variable based on a last qualifying transaction performed by the customer, and y is an incrementing variable. - View Dependent Claims (29)
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Specification