Customer touch point for real time sharing of transaction data between different customer interaction channels

• US 9,659,289 B2
• Filed: 12/27/2012
• Issued: 05/23/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 01/18/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cellco Partnership, Inc. (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cellco Partnership, Inc. (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Inventors: Kadur, Vani R., Anchala, Arvindeep Singh
• Primary Examiner(s): ZURITA, JAMES H
• Application Number:
  US13/728,714
• Publication Number:
  US 20130185196A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,608 Days
• Field of Search: 705 261, 705 271
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/027 involving a payment switch or gateway
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/12 specially adapted for electronic shopping systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/22 Payment schemes or models
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/389 Keeping log of transactions for guaranteeing non-repudiation of a transaction
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/401 Transaction verification

Abstract

Techniques and equipment for enabling a cross-channel real time awareness framework for capturing and sharing transaction data in real time for a user via an interface of a channel of an enterprise are disclosed. The captured transaction data are made accessible to other channels of the enterprise for processing transactions initiated by the user via an interface of the one of the other channels.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

receiving, from a web channel of an enterprise, current transaction data for a current transaction initiated by a user via a graphical user interface of the web channel that is provided for display to the user, the enterprise having multiple channels, each channel providing the user with a different type of interface for accessing a service offered by the enterprise;

identifying the user based on the received current transaction data;

identifying, based on the identified user, prior transaction data that is stored within a centralized database of the enterprise and that corresponds to one or more prior transactions initiated by the user via an interface of an additional channel of the enterprise that includes one of an in-store retail channel, an interactive voice response channel, a call center channel, a live person chat channel, an automated kiosk channel, and an automated chat channel;

determining, based on the received current transaction data and the prior transaction data, that the current transaction is a continuation of a prior transaction included in the one or more prior transactions, the prior transaction initiated and not completed by the user via the interface of the additional channel of the enterprise;

selecting at least a portion of the prior transaction data that corresponds to the prior transaction initiated and not completed by the user via the interface of the additional channel of the enterprise;

converting the selected portion of the prior transaction data from a common data format within the centralized database that is not specific to any one channel included in the multiple channels of the enterprise to a data format that is specific to the web channel of the enterprise;

sending the selected portion of the prior transaction data that was converted from the common data format to the web channel for processing the current transaction for the user; and

directing the web channel to adjust, based on the selected portion of the prior transaction data that corresponds to the prior transaction initiated and not completed by the user via the interface of the additional channel of the enterprise, the processing of the current transaction by continuing the prior transaction in the graphical user interface of the web channel that is provided for display to the user.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the received current transaction data includes a unique identifier associated with the user, the unique identifier identifies the user across the multiple channels of the enterprise, and the method further comprises storing the received current transaction data in the centralized database in association with the prior transaction data stored for the user.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

comparing the prior transaction data with the received current transaction data;

identifying correlations between the prior transaction data and the received current transaction data based on the comparison; and

directing the web channel to adjust the processing of the current transaction based on the identified correlations and the selected portion of the prior transaction data.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

deriving a transaction opportunity for the user based on the identified correlations between the prior transaction data and the received current transaction data; and

directing the web channel to adjust the processing of the current transaction by providing the transaction opportunity to the user via the graphical user interface of the web channel.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the graphical user interface of the web channel of the enterprise includes multiple control elements, each control element is encoded with a unique control element identifier, and the current transaction data received from the web channel includes at least one unique control element identifier associated with one of the multiple control elements of the graphical user interface of the web channel.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the identifying of the correlations comprises:

identifying a user interaction based on the unique control element identifier included within the current transaction data, wherein unique control element identifiers included within the current transaction data received from the web channel of the enterprise track the user'"'"'s interactions with one or more of the multiple control elements of the graphical user interface of the web channel.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the prior transaction data includes a record of the user'"'"'s interactions with the interface of the additional channel of the enterprise.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

converting the current transaction data received from the web channel of the enterprise to the common data format associated with the centralized database; and

storing the converted current transaction data within the centralized database in the enterprise in association with a unique identifier assigned to the user.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising directing the web channel to adjust the processing of the current transaction by providing an option, within the graphical user interface of the web channel, for the user to complete the prior transaction in the graphical user interface of the web channel.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining that the current transaction is a continuation of the prior transaction initiated and not completed by the user via the interface of the additional channel of the enterprise comprises identifying that a completion status stored in the centralized database for the prior transaction indicates that the prior transaction is incomplete.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the directing of the web channel to adjust the processing of the current transaction by continuing the prior transaction in the graphical user interface of the web channel of the enterprise comprises directing the web channel to present the selected portion of the prior transaction data that corresponds to the prior transaction initiated and not completed by the user via the interface of the additional channel of the enterprise to the user in the graphical user interface of the web channel.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

converting the prior transaction data from a data format that is specific to the additional channel of the enterprise to the common data format that is not specific to any one channel included in the multiple channels of the enterprise; and

storing, after converting the prior transaction data to the common data format, the prior transaction data within the centralized database in the enterprise in association with a unique identifier assigned to the user.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the common data format corresponds to a first extensible markup language (XML) schema; and

the data format that is specific to the web channel of the enterprise corresponds to a second XML schema different from the first XML schema.

14. A system, comprising:

a network communication device configured to exchange data communications through a communication network of an enterprise having multiple channels, the communication network including a centralized database accessible to the network communication device;

a processor coupled to the network communication device;

a storage device accessible to the processor; and

an application program in the storage device, the application program including a plurality of functions, wherein execution of the application program by the processor configures an application server to exchange data communications related to the plurality of functions with one or more client devices through the communication network,

wherein the processor is configured to perform functions, including functions to;

receive, from a web channel of the enterprise, transaction data for a transaction initiated by a user via a graphical user interface of the web channel that is provided for display to the user, the enterprise having multiple channels, each channel providing the user with a different type of interface for accessing a service offered by the enterprise;

identify the user based on the received transaction data for the transaction initiated in the graphical user interface of the web channel;

identify, based on the identified user, prior transaction data that is stored within the centralized database and that corresponds to one or more prior transactions initiated by the user via an interface of an additional channel of the enterprise that includes one of an in-store retail channel, an interactive voice response channel, a call center channel, a live person chat channel, an automated kiosk channel, and an automated chat channel;

determine, based on the received transaction data for the transaction initiated in the interface of the web channel and the prior transaction data that corresponds to one or more prior transactions initiated in the interface of the additional channel, that the transaction is a continuation of a prior transaction included in the one or more prior transactions, the prior transaction initiated and not completed by the user via the interface of the additional channel of the enterprise;

select a portion of the prior transaction data that corresponds to the prior transaction initiated and not completed by the user via the interface of the additional channel of the enterprise;

convert the selected portion of the prior transaction data from a common data format within the centralized database that is not specific to any one channel included in the multiple channels of the enterprise to a data format that is specific to the web channel of the enterprise;

send the selected portion of the prior transaction data that was converted from the common data format to the web channel for processing the current transaction for the user; and

direct the web channel to adjust, based on the selected portion of the prior transaction data that corresponds to the prior transaction initiated and not completed by the user via the interface of the additional channel of the enterprise, the processing of the transaction by continuing the prior transaction in the graphical user interface of the web channel that is provided for display to the user.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the received transaction data includes a unique identifier associated with the user, and the unique identifier identifies the user across the multiple channels of the enterprise.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein the processor is further configured to perform functions to:

compare the prior transaction data with the transaction data received from the web channel of the enterprise;

identify correlations between the prior transaction data and the received transaction data from the web channel of the enterprise based on the comparison; and

derive a transaction opportunity for the user based on the identified correlations.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the graphical user interface of the web channel of the enterprise includes multiple control elements, each control element is encoded with a unique control element identifier, and the transaction data received from the web channel includes at least one unique control element identifier associated with one of the multiple control elements of the graphical user interface of the web channel.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the function to identify correlations includes functions to:

identify a user interaction based on the unique control element identifier included within the transaction data, wherein unique control element identifiers included within the transaction data received from the web channel of the enterprise are used to track the user'"'"'s interactions with one or more of the multiple control elements of the graphical user interface of the web channel.

19. The system of claim 14, wherein the prior transaction data includes a record of the user'"'"'s interactions with the interface of the additional channel of the enterprise.

20. The system of claim 14, wherein the processor is further configured to perform functions to:

convert the transaction data received from the web channel of the enterprise to the common data format associated with the centralized database; and

store the converted transaction data within the centralized database in the enterprise in association with a unique identifier assigned to the user.