System and method of removing duplicate leads

• US 9,110,916 B1
• Filed: 03/31/2014
• Issued: 08/18/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 11/28/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LMB Mortgage Services, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Lower My Bills, Inc.
• Inventors: Semprevivo, Stephen, Wells, Matt
• Primary Examiner(s): LEROUX, ETIENNE PIERRE
• Application Number:
  US14/231,484
• Time in Patent Office: 505 Days
• Field of Search: 707/2, 707/3, 707/758, 709204-206, 379/201.02
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/1748 De-duplication implemented within the file system, e.g. based on file segments de-duplication techniques in storage systems for the management of data blocks G06F3/0641
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2365 Ensuring data consistency and integrity
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/24556 Aggregation; Duplicate elimination
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99948 Application of database or data structure, e.g. distributed, multimedia, or image

Abstract

A duplicate lead removal system comprises a matching engine, a vendor duplicates database, and a conflict engine. The matching engine is configured to determine at least one vendor to receive a lead. The vendor duplicates database is configured to store duplicate lead information that is at least partly created by and received from vendors outside of the duplicate lead removal system. The conflict engine is configured to compare information that is at least derived from the lead with information stored in the vendor duplicates database in order to determine if the lead is a duplicate lead for the vendor such that the system can prevent transmission of duplicate leads to the vendor.

Claims

1. A conflict removal system for a consumer lead distribution system comprising:

at least one computer-readable medium configured to store data and computer-executable instructions;

computer hardware comprising at least one computer processor in communication with the computer-readable medium and configured to access the data and computer-executable instructions stored in the computer-readable medium and to cause the computer hardware to perform operations defined by the computer-executable instructions;

a matching engine comprising a plurality of computer-executable instructions stored in the computer-readable medium and configured, when the instructions are executed by the computer processor, to cause the computer hardware to match a consumer lead with at least one matched vendor that is eligible to receive the lead;

an interface that is configured to access at least one vendor duplicates database that is maintained by a vendor outside of the consumer lead distribution system and that stores duplicate lead information for that vendor, wherein a duplicate lead is a lead that has already been received by the vendor and the vendor duplicate lead information identifies duplicate leads that have already been received by the vendor;

a conflict engine comprising a plurality of computer-executable instructions stored in the computer-readable medium and configured, when the instructions are executed by the computer processor, to cause the computer hardware to execute a series of conflict rules for each matched vendor to determine whether a circumstance defined by the conflict rule exists in which the matched vendor should not receive the lead, and, if such circumstance exists, to cause the system to exclude the matched vendor such that the lead will not be transmitted to the matched vendor, wherein one of the circumstances in which the matched vendor is excluded is that the lead is determined, based upon a query of the vendor duplicates database, to be a duplicate lead, and wherein another of the circumstances in which the matched vendor is excluded is that the lead has also been matched with another entity that is part of a common organization with the matched vendor;

a transmission interface that transmits the lead to a plurality of matched vendors that have not been excluded by the conflict engine; and

wherein the conflict engine detects when a lead has been matched to both a parent entity and a subsidiary entity.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the duplicate lead information stored in the vendor duplicates database relates to leads that vendors outside of the system generated or received from a lead generation entity different from the system.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the vendor duplicates database stores, for each duplicate lead, incomplete information that is insufficient to contact a consumer, and wherein the incomplete information includes at least a zip code and a portion of a street address for each duplicate lead.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the vendor duplicates database stores, for each duplicate lead, incomplete information that is insufficient to contact a consumer, and wherein the incomplete information comprises at least a zip code and at least eight positions of a street address for each duplicate lead.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the vendor duplicates database stores enough information to identify duplicate leads to a desired degree of accuracy but not enough information to generate complete leads.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein, once the conflict engine has completed execution of the conflict rules on a pre-set threshold of matched vendors that have not been excluded, the conflict engine stops executing conflict rules, and the transmission interface transmits the lead.