Methods and systems for tracking customer response to a coupon

• US 8,996,401 B2
• Filed: 04/30/2007
• Issued: 03/31/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 04/30/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Li, Jun, Ari, Ismail, Durante, Elsa
• Primary Examiner(s): LI, SUN M
• Application Number:
  US11/742,353
• Publication Number:
  US 20080270231A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,892 Days
• Field of Search: 705 1- 20, 705/22, 705/14.35, 705/14.36, 705/14.37, 707 1- 10
• US Class Current: 705/14.35
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0211 Determining the effectiveness of discounts or incentives

Abstract

Methods, systems and computer readable medium storing computer executable programs for tracking customer response to a coupon are disclosed. A coupon is issued. A first determination is made regarding whether the coupon has been selected for viewing by a customer. A first state is assigned to the coupon based on the first determination. A second determination is made regarding whether the coupon has been redeemed by the customer. A second state is assigned to the coupon based on the second determination.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

outputting, by a processor, personalized coupons based on a customer profile of a customer;

receiving, by the processor through an input device, responses provided by the customer to the personalized coupons being displayed;

tracking, by the processor, the responses to determine which of the personalized coupons are viewed, which of the personalized coupons are saved to an electronic device of the customer, and which of the personalized coupons are printed;

assigning, by the processor, states to each of the personalized coupons comprising, for each of the personalized coupons;

assigning a viewed state to the personalized coupon when it is viewed by the customer,

assigning a printed state to the personalized coupon when it is printed by the customer,

assigning a saved state to the personalized coupon when it is saved by the customer, and

assigning an initial valid state to the personalized coupon that is assigned at least one of the viewed state, the printed state, and the saved state;

updating, by the processor, the customer profile based on the responses provided by the customer to generate an updated customer profile; and

generating, by the processor, additional personalized coupons based on the updated customer profile.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

tracking which of the personalized coupons that are saved and printed are redeemed to purchase products; and

returning, in real time to the processor, information that identifies the personalized coupons that are saved and printed to purchase the products.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

tracking which of the personalized coupons are redeemed to purchase a product and then the product is returned.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the customer profile includes a history of the responses provided by the customer to the personalized coupons being displayed to the customer.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the additional personalized coupons are generated during an access session while the personalized coupons are displayed to the customer.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

transmitting one of the personalized coupons from the electronic device of the customer to a point of sale system to redeem the one of the personalized coupons when the customer purchases a product.

7. The method of claim 6 further comprising:

updating the customer profile based on use of the one of the personalized coupons to make a purchase;

generating additional personalized coupons based on the updated customer profile.

8. The method of claim 6 further comprising:

forming a group of customers;

receiving, from the customer, a designation of other customers to add to the group of customers;

providing the group of customers, including the other customers, with access to the personalized coupons of the customer.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining whether the personalized coupon assigned the initial valid state is redeemed or expired;

in response to determining that the personalized coupon is redeemed or expired, changing the initial valid state to an invalid state;

in response to determining that the personalized coupon is not redeemed and not expired, maintaining the initial valid state; and

receiving a request from a point of sale to validate at least one of the personalized coupons and responding to the request based on a state assigned to the at least one of the personalized coupons, wherein the at least one of the personalized coupons is validated if the initial valid state is maintained and invalidated if it is assigned the invalid.

10. A computer system, comprising:

a memory that stores instructions; and

a processor that executes the instructions to;

display personalized coupons based on a customer profile of a customer;

receive, from the customer, responses to the personalized coupons being displayed;

track, at the computer system, the responses to determine which of the personalized coupons are viewed, and which of the personalized coupons are printed, in which tracking the responses comprises;

assigning states to the personalized coupons comprising, for each of the personalized coupons;

assigning a viewed state to the personalized coupon when it is viewed by the customer,

assigning a printed state to the personalized coupon when it is printed by the customer, and

assign an initial valid state to the personalized coupon when it is assigned the viewed state or the printed state;

update the customer profile based on the responses received from the customer to generate an updated customer profile; and

generate additional personalized coupons based on the updated customer profile, wherein the additional personalized coupons are generated during an access session.

11. The computer system of claim 10, wherein the additional personalized coupons are generated on a real time basis as the customer provides the responses to the personalized coupons being displayed.

12. The computer system of claim 10, wherein the processor further executes the instructions to track which of the personalized coupons are redeemed to purchase a product and then the product is returned.

13. The computer system of claim 10 further comprising:

a point of sale system in communication with the electronic device of the customer, wherein one of the personalized coupons is transmitted from the electronic device to the point of sale system to redeem the one of the personalized coupons when the customer purchases a product.

14. The computer system of claim 10 wherein the processor further executes the instructions to:

determine whether the personalized coupon assigned the initial valid state is redeemed or expired;

in response to determining that the personalized coupon is redeemed or expired, change the initial valid state to an invalid state;

in response to determining that the personalized coupon is not redeemed and not expired, maintain the initial valid state; and

receive a request from a point of sale to validate at least one of the personalized coupons and respond to the request based on a state assigned to the at least one of the personalized coupons, wherein the at least one of the personalized coupons is validated if the initial valid state is maintained and invalidated if it is assigned the invalid state.

15. A computer system, comprising:

a memory that stores instructions; and

a processor that executes the instructions to;

output personalized coupons to a customer based on a customer profile of that customer;

receive, from the customer, responses to the personalized coupons;

assign a state to each of the personalized coupons based on the customer responses to the coupons, comprising, for each of the personalized coupons;

assigning a viewed state to the personalized coupon when that coupon is viewed by the customer after being issued,

assigning a printed state to the personalized coupon when that coupon is printed by the customer,

assigning a saved state to the personalized coupon when that coupon is saved by the customer, and

assigning an initial valid state to the personalized coupon that is assigned at least one of the viewed state, the printed state, and the saved state;

receive a request from a point of sale to validate at least one of the personalized coupons and respond to the request based on a state assigned to the at least one of the personalized coupons.

16. The computer system of claim 15, wherein the processor further executes the instructions to:

update the customer profile based on states assigned to the personalized coupons issued to the corresponding customer to generate an updated customer profile; and

generate additional personalized coupons for the customer based on the updated customer profile.

17. The computer system of claim 15, wherein:

the processor further executes the instructions to assign a destroyed state to the personalized coupon when that personalized coupon is issued but not subsequently viewed by the customer; and

the processor further executes the instructions to return an invalid status to any subsequent request from the point of sale regarding personalized coupons assigned the destroyed state.

18. The computer system of claim 15, wherein the processor further executes the instructions to issue an alert to the customer based on an expiration date for the personalized coupon when that personalized coupon is assigned the printed state or the saved state.

19. The computer system of claim 15, wherein:

the processor further executes the instructions to receive customer input indicating a product the customer is interested in potentially purchasing; and

the processor further executes the instructions to update the customer profile with the input indicating a product the customer is interested in potentially purchasing.

20. The computer system of claim 15, wherein the processor further executes the instructions to receive customer input designating at least one other customer who is allowed to access the personalized coupons with a stored state that have been stored by the customer.

21. The computer system of claim 20, wherein the processor further executes the instructions to provide the at least one other customer with access to a portion of the customer profile for the customer that indicates a product the customer is interested in potentially purchasing.

22. The computer system of claim 20, wherein the processor further executes the instructions to notify the at least one other customer that the customer has shared the personalized coupons with that at least one other customer.

23. The computer system of claim 15, wherein the processor further executes the instructions to:

determine whether the personalized coupon assigned the initial valid state is redeemed or expired;

in response to determining that the personalized coupon is redeemed or expired, change the initial valid state to an invalid state;

in response to determining that the personalized coupon is not redeemed and not expired, maintain the initial valid state,

wherein the at least one of the personalized coupons is validated at the point of sale if the initial valid state is maintained and invalidated if it is assigned the invalid state.

24. The computer system of claim 23, wherein:

the processor further executes the instructions to assign a returned state to the personalized coupon when that personalized coupon has been redeemed and, subsequently, a product purchased with that personalized coupon is returned to a corresponding point of sale; and

the processor further executes the instructions to return a valid status to any subsequent request from the point of sale regarding personalized coupons assigned the returned state.