System and method for correlating user call response to electronic messages
First Claim
1. A method of correlating real-time communications with received electronic messages, the method including:
- sending an electronic message associated with a second party to a first party;
subsequently receiving a real-time communication from the first party by the second party;
automatically determining whether the real-time communication resulted from the electronic message, based on electronically stored information about the sending of the electronic message and about the subsequently received real-time communication; and
if it is determined that the real-time communication resulted from the electronic message, flagging the real-time communication to have a different status from real-time communications not determined to have resulted from an electronic message.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A method of correlating voice calls with received electronic messages includes sending an electronic message associated with a second party to a first party; subsequently receiving a voice call from the first party by the second party; automatically determining whether the voice call resulted from the electronic message, based on electronically stored information about the sending of the electronic message and about the subsequently received voice call; and if it is determined that the voice call resulted from the electronic message, flagging the voice call to have a different status from voice calls not determined to have resulted from an electronic message.
22 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method of correlating real-time communications with received electronic messages, the method including:
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sending an electronic message associated with a second party to a first party; subsequently receiving a real-time communication from the first party by the second party; automatically determining whether the real-time communication resulted from the electronic message, based on electronically stored information about the sending of the electronic message and about the subsequently received real-time communication; and if it is determined that the real-time communication resulted from the electronic message, flagging the real-time communication to have a different status from real-time communications not determined to have resulted from an electronic message. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method of charging a merchant for received real-time communications, the method comprising:
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maintaining a database that stores a record of sent electronic advertisements, indications of users who receive the electronic advertisements, and information indicating a time at which the users receive the electronic advertisements; automatically storing, in the database, records of real-time communications made to the advertisers by the users who received the electronic advertisements; using the database, for each real-time communication to a merchant from a user, automatically determining whether the real-time communication was made within a predetermined time period T from a time at which the user received an electronic advertisement for the merchant; and based on the determination, selecting an amount and/or rate to charge the merchant for the real-time communication. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A method for receiving voice calls by recipient parties, the method including:
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sending electronic messages to potential callers, the electronic messages indicating a method for calling the recipient parties; maintaining a database that stores a list of the sent electronic messages, indications of potential callers who received the electronic messages, and information indicating a time at which the users received the electronic messages; automatically storing in the database records of voice calls made to the recipient parties by the potential callers who received the electronic messages; using the database, for each voice call to a recipient party from a potential caller, automatically determining whether the voice call was made within a predetermined time period T from a time at which the potential caller received an electronic message indicating a method for calling the recipient party; and based on the determination, selecting an amount and/or rate to charge the recipient party for the voice call.
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19. A method for determining how much to bill a merchant for a voice call received by a caller, the method comprising:
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storing, in a database, a list of calls made by the caller from at least two calling sources including a first calling source and a second calling source, the list including a time at which each call was made; storing, in the database, a list of advertisements received by the first calling source, the list including an indication of a time at which each advertisement was received and/or displayed at the first calling source; automatically determining, based on the list of calls made and the list of advertisements received, whether any of the calls were calls made to the merchant within a predetermined time period T of the first calling source receiving and/or displaying an advertisement for the merchant; when it is determined that a call was made to the merchant within a predetermined time period T of the first calling source receiving and/or displaying an advertisement for the merchant, charging the merchant for the call based on a first billing scheme; and when it is determined that a call was made to the merchant after the predetermined time period T of the first calling source receiving and/or displaying an advertisement for the merchant, charging the merchant for the call based on a second billing scheme different from the first billing scheme. - View Dependent Claims (20)
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Specification