System, method and computer program product for tracking and correlating online user activities with sales of physical goods

• US 9,811,847 B2
• Filed: 12/20/2013
• Issued: 11/07/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 12/21/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: TrueCar, Inc.
• Original Assignee: TrueCar, Inc.
• Inventors: Berger, James Francis, LaCivita, Jacob Michael, Nguyen, James Thai, Ramanuja, Meghashyam Grama, Swinson, Michael D., Taira, Thomas
• Primary Examiner(s): Obaid, Fateh M
• Application Number:
  US14/137,178
• Publication Number:
  US 20140180882A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,418 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0214 Referral reward systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions

Abstract

A vehicle sales matching system may include a vehicle sales lead data database, a vehicle sales information database, and a sales matching system embodied on a non-transitory computer readable medium and communicatively connected to the vehicle sales lead data database and the vehicle sales information database. The vehicle sales lead data may include validated customer data and third party customer data. The vehicle sales information may include sales data from vehicle dealers, third party data extract services, and third party sales data sources. The sales matching system may be configured for applying one or more matching rules for matching a vehicle sales lead from the vehicle sales lead database to a vehicle sale from the vehicle sales information database.

Claims

1. A system for accurately matching user activities tracked on the Internet to sales of vehicles occurred at dealerships of one or more dealers, comprising:

one or more computers operating in an enterprise computing environment;

a lead database residing in the enterprise computing environment;

a web site hosted on the one or more computers operating in the enterprise computing environment, the web site accessible by a client device that is associated with a user and that allows the user to browse the website;

a control logic communicatively connected to at least one third-party validation server providing a validating service over a network, the control logic embodied on non-transitory computer memory including instructions executable by the one or more computers to perform, in the computing environment;

receiving over a network customer data provided through the web site by a user visiting the web site, wherein the customer data provided by the user comprises at least one of;

a first name of the user, a last name of the user, a home address of the user, a work address of the user, mobile telephone number of the user, a home telephone number of the user, a work telephone number of the user, a city of residence of the user, a state of residence of the user, a ZIP code associated with an address of the user, a desired vehicle category, a desired vehicle make, a desired vehicle model, a desired vehicle trim level, a desired vehicle year, a desired vehicle drivetrain type, a desired vehicle body type, a desired vehicle engine size or capacity, a desired vehicle engine design type, a desired vehicle engine cylinder number, a desired vehicle mileage or mileage range, a desired vehicle condition, a desired vehicle exterior color, a desired vehicle interior color, the user'"'"'s income or income range, the user'"'"'s credit score, information regarding a checking or savings account owned by the user, the user'"'"'s debt-to-income ratio, the user'"'"'s vehicle loan approval status, the user'"'"'s vehicle loan approval amount, the user'"'"'s vehicle loan interest rate, the user'"'"'s vehicle loan originator'"'"'s name, the user'"'"'s automobile insurance policy carrier'"'"'s name, the user'"'"'s automobile insured status, the user'"'"'s driver'"'"'s license state, the user'"'"'s driver'"'"'s license number, the user'"'"'s current vehicle make, the user'"'"'s current vehicle model, the user'"'"'s current vehicle trim level, the user'"'"'s current vehicle condition, the user'"'"'s current vehicle mileage, the user'"'"'s current vehicle exterior color, the user'"'"'s current vehicle interior color, one or more names of other individuals residing in the user'"'"'s home, a date of birth of the user or of other individuals in the user'"'"'s home, a social security number of the user or other individuals in the user'"'"'s home, or an IP address associated with the client device used to browse the website;

determining, in real time and while the user is browsing the website, if the customer data is valid customer data, the determining using data received over the network via the validation service and comprising at least one of;

removing duplicate data items from the provided customer data;

removing unnecessary spaces, hyphenation, dashes or other distracting characters from one or more of the data items within the provided customer data;

comparing the provided customer data with known data formats for at least one of;

a first or last name, an honorific, a title, an email address, a telephone number, the IP address associated with the client device used to browse the website, a street address, a unit number, a suite number, an apartment number, a city name, a state name, a vehicle make, a vehicle model, a vehicle trim level, a vehicle mileage, a vehicle condition, a vehicle interior color, a vehicle exterior color, a vehicle engine type, a vehicle drivetrain type, or a vehicle body type;

removing duplicate data items from the provided customer data when compared to similar customer data provided by the validation service with a recent timestamp;

or

determining if the provided customer data is valid or invalid;

wherein the provided customer data is determined to be invalid if;

a telephone number from a data item within the provided customer data matches a telephone number from a lead previously determined to be invalid;

one or more of a first and last name data items from the provided customer data matches a first or last name from a lead previously determined to be invalid;

one or more of a first and last name data items from the provided customer data contains either six consecutive consonants or three consecutive periods or dashes;

one or more of a first and last name data items from the provided customer data are less than five characters each;

or

a street address data item from the provided customer data matches a street address from a lead previously determined to be invalid;

wherein the provided customer data is determined to be valid if;

the vehicle type, dealer name, and customer email address data items from the provided customer data match a lead previously determined to be valid;

or

the vehicle make, dealer name, customer phone number, and customer last name data items from the provided customer data match a lead previously determined to be valid;

if the customer data is valid customer data, generating appended data associated with the user, the generating comprising at least one of;

determining the user'"'"'s potential first or last name based upon a provided user street address in the provided customer data;

determining the user'"'"'s potential first or last name based upon a provided user telephone number in the provided customer data;

determining the user'"'"'s potential city name based upon a provided user street address in the provided customer data;

determining the user'"'"'s potential city name based upon a provided user phone number in the provided customer data;

determining the user'"'"'s potential state name based upon a provided user street address in the provided customer data;

determining the user'"'"'s potential state name based upon a provided user phone number in the provided customer data;

determining the user'"'"'s potential ZIP code based upon a provided user street address in the provided customer data;

determining the user'"'"'s potential ZIP code based upon a provided user telephone number in the provided customer data;

determining whether one or more of the user'"'"'s telephone numbers corresponds to a cellular phone based upon digits comprising the one or more telephone numbers in the provided customer data;

verifying a telephone number in the provided customer data by cross referencing the telephone number with a telephone directory;

verifying a street address in the provided customer data by cross referencing the street address with an address directory;

determining the active status of a telephone number in the provided customer data by cross referencing the telephone number with a telephone company;

determining the do-not-call registration status of a phone number in the provided customer data by cross referencing the telephone number with the do-not-call registry;

determining whether a telephone number and a street address in the provided customer data are geographically proximate by cross referencing the telephone number and the street address using a telephone directory that includes street address information;

or

determining the telephone carrier associated with a provider telephone number in the provided customer data;

generating customer lead data including the valid customer data and the appended data associated with the user;

selecting one or more dealers based at least in part on the customer lead data;

displaying the one or more dealers through the web site on the client device associated with the user;

automatically tracking user interaction with the web site displaying the one or more dealers;

tagging and recording in the lead database activities of the user relating to vehicle research tracked on the web site displaying the one or more dealers, the tagged and recorded user activities tracked on the web site including at least one of;

one or more searches submitted by the user through the web site, navigation of the web site by the user, products or services selected or viewed by the user, or changes in desired vehicle attributes made by the user;

supplying the customer lead data to the one or more dealers;

receiving sales data including information on sales of vehicles by the one or more dealers;

determining, based at least in part on the tagged and recorded activities of the user relating to vehicle research that have been tracked on the web site and stored in the lead database, that the user visited a first dealership and that a first sale of the sales of vehicles by a first dealer of the one or more dealers occurred at the first dealership of the first dealer and is associated with the user; and

generating an invoice to the first dealer for supplying the customer lead data associated with the user to the first dealer.

2. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

wherein the lead database stores information associated with the user at a household level, the user having a first name, the information including a second name of a person in a household with the user.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the first sale is between the person having the second name and the first dealer and wherein the first sale is matched to the household.

4. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

a sales database storing sales records received from third party data services.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the sales database further stores insurance files received from insurance companies, loan origination files from vehicle loan companies, incentive redemption codes from original equipment manufacturers, or a combination thereof.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the customer lead data further comprises a vehicle configuration that the user has selected via the web site.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the customer lead data further comprises one or more referral sources from where the user enters the web site.

8. A method for accurately matching user activities tracked on the Internet to sales of vehicles occurred at dealerships of one or more dealers, comprising:

receiving over a network, by a control logic embodied on non-transitory computer memory, customer data provided through a web site by a user visiting the web site, the control logic communicatively connected to at least one third-party validation server providing a validating service, the web site hosted on one or more computers operating in an enterprise computing environment, the web site accessible by a client device that is associated with the user and that allows the user to browse the website, wherein the customer data provided by the user comprises at least one of;

a first name of the user, a last name of the user, a home address of the user, a work address of the user, mobile telephone number of the user, a home telephone number of the user, a work telephone number of the user, a city of residence of the user, a state of residence of the user, a ZIP code associated with an address of the user, a desired vehicle category, a desired vehicle make, a desired vehicle model, a desired vehicle trim level, a desired vehicle year, a desired vehicle drivetrain type, a desired vehicle body type, a desired vehicle engine size or capacity, a desired vehicle engine design type, a desired vehicle engine cylinder number, a desired vehicle mileage or mileage range, a desired vehicle condition, a desired vehicle exterior color, a desired vehicle interior color, the user'"'"'s income or income range, the user'"'"'s credit score, information regarding a checking or savings account owned by the user, the user'"'"'s debt-to-income ratio, the user'"'"'s vehicle loan approval status, the user'"'"'s vehicle loan approval amount, the user'"'"'s vehicle loan interest rate, the user'"'"'s vehicle loan originator'"'"'s name, the user'"'"'s automobile insurance policy carrier'"'"'s name, the user'"'"'s automobile insured status, the user'"'"'s driver'"'"'s license state, the user'"'"'s driver'"'"'s license number, the user'"'"'s current vehicle make, the user'"'"'s current vehicle model, the user'"'"'s current vehicle trim level, the user'"'"'s current vehicle condition, the user'"'"'s current vehicle mileage, the user'"'"'s current vehicle exterior color, the user'"'"'s current vehicle interior color, one or more names of other individuals residing in the user'"'"'s home, a date of birth of the user or of other individuals in the user'"'"'s home, a social security number of the user or other individuals in the user'"'"'s home, or an IP address associated with the client device used to browse the website;

the control logic determining, in real time and while the user is browsing the website, if the customer data is valid customer data, the determining using data received over the network via the validation service and comprising at least one of;

removing duplicate data items from the provided customer data;

removing unnecessary spaces, hyphenation, dashes or other distracting characters from one or more of the data items within the provided customer data;

comparing the provided customer data with known data formats for at least one of;

a first or last name, an honorific, a title, an email address, a telephone number, the IP address associated with the client device used to browse the website, a street address, a unit number, a suite number, an apartment number, a city name, a state name, a vehicle make, a vehicle model, a vehicle trim level, a vehicle mileage, a vehicle condition, a vehicle interior color, a vehicle exterior color, a vehicle engine type, a vehicle drivetrain type, or a vehicle body type;

removing duplicate data items from the provided customer data when compared to similar customer data provided by the validation service with a recent timestamp;

or

determining if the provided customer data is valid or invalid;

wherein the provided customer data is determined to be invalid if;

a telephone number from a data item within the provided customer data matches a telephone number from a lead previously determined to be invalid;

one or more of a first and last name data items from the provided customer data matches a first or last name from a lead previously determined to be invalid;

one or more of a first and last name data items from the provided customer data contains either six consecutive consonants or three consecutive periods or dashes;

one or more of a first and last name data items from the provided customer data are less than five characters each;

or

a street address data item from the provided customer data matches a street address from a lead previously determined to be invalid;

wherein the provided customer data is determined to be valid if;

the vehicle type, dealer name, and customer email address data items from the provided customer data match a lead previously determined to be valid;

or

the vehicle make, dealer name, customer phone number, and customer last name data items from the provided customer data match a lead previously determined to be valid;

if the customer data is valid customer data, the control logic generating appended data associated with the user, the generating comprising at least one of;

determining the user'"'"'s potential first or last name based upon a provided user street address in the provided customer data;

determining the user'"'"'s potential first or last name based upon a provided user telephone number in the provided customer data;

determining the user'"'"'s potential city name based upon a provided user street address in the provided customer data;

determining the user'"'"'s potential city name based upon a provided user phone number in the provided customer data;

determining the user'"'"'s potential state name based upon a provided user street address in the provided customer data

determining the user'"'"'s potential state name based upon a provided user phone number in the provided customer data;

determining the user'"'"'s potential ZIP code based upon a provided user street address in the provided customer data;

determining the user'"'"'s potential ZIP code based upon a provided user telephone number in the provided customer data;

determining whether one or more of the user'"'"'s telephone numbers corresponds to a cellular phone based upon digits comprising the one or more telephone numbers in the provided customer data;

verifying a telephone number in the provided customer data by cross referencing the telephone number with a telephone directory;

verifying a street address in the provided customer data by cross referencing the street address with an address directory;

determining the active status of a telephone number in the provided customer data by cross referencing the telephone number with a telephone company;

determining the do-not-call registration status of a phone number in the provided customer data by cross referencing the telephone number with the do-not-call registry;

determining whether a telephone number and a street address in the provided customer data are geographically proximate by cross referencing the telephone number and the street address using a telephone directory that includes street address information;

or

determining the telephone carrier associated with a provider telephone number in the provided customer data;

the control logic generating customer lead data including the valid customer data and the appended data associated with the user;

the control logic selecting one or more dealers based at least in part on the customer lead data;

the control logic displaying the one or more dealers through the web site on the client device associated with the user;

the control logic automatically tracking user interaction with the web site displaying the one or more dealers;

the control logic tagging and recording in a lead database activities of the user relating to vehicle research tracked on the web site displaying the one or more dealers, the tagged and recorded user activities tracked on the web site including at least one of;

one or more searches submitted by the user through the web site, navigation of the web site by the user, products or services selected or viewed by the user, or changes in desired vehicle attributes made by the user;

the control logic supplying the customer lead data to the one or more dealers;

the control logic receiving sales data including information on sales of vehicles by the one or more dealers;

the control logic determining, based at least in part on the tagged and recorded activities of the user relating to vehicle research that have been tracked on the web site and stored in the lead database, that the user visited a first dealership and that a first sale of the sales of vehicles by a first dealer of the one or more dealers occurred at the first dealership of the first dealer and is associated with the user; and

the control logic generating an invoice to the first dealer for supplying the customer lead data associated with the user to the first dealer.

9. The method according to claim 8, further comprising:

storing in the lead database information associated with the user at a household level, the user having a first name, the information including a second name of a person in a household with the user.

10. The method according to claim 9, further comprising:

matching the first sale to the household, wherein the first sale is between the person having the second name and the first dealer.

11. The method according to claim 8, further comprising:

receiving sales records from third party data services; and

storing the sales records received from the third party data services in a sales database.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the sales database further stores insurance files received from insurance companies, loan origination files from vehicle loan companies, incentive redemption codes from original equipment manufacturers, or a combination thereof.

13. The method according to claim 8, wherein the customer lead data further comprises a vehicle configuration that the user has selected via the web site.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein the customer lead data further comprises one or more referral sources from where the user enters the web site.

15. The method according to claim 8, further comprising:

determining a lead score for the user based at least in part on the valid customer data and the appended data associated with the user.

16. A computer program product for accurately matching user activities tracked on the Internet to sales of vehicles occurred at dealerships of one or more dealers, the computer program product comprising at least one non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions translatable by at least one processor to perform:

receiving over a network customer data provided through a web site by a user visiting the web site, the web site accessible by a client device that is associated with the user and that allows the user to browse the website, wherein the customer data provided by the user comprises at least one of;

a first name of the user, a last name of the user, a home address of the user, a work address of the user, mobile telephone number of the user, a home telephone number of the user, a work telephone number of the user, a city of residence of the user, a state of residence of the user, a ZIP code associated with an address of the user, a desired vehicle category, a desired vehicle make, a desired vehicle model, a desired vehicle trim level, a desired vehicle year, a desired vehicle drivetrain type, a desired vehicle body type, a desired vehicle engine size or capacity, a desired vehicle engine design type, a desired vehicle engine cylinder number, a desired vehicle mileage or mileage range, a desired vehicle condition, a desired vehicle exterior color, a desired vehicle interior color, the user'"'"'s income or income range, the user'"'"'s credit score, information regarding a checking or savings account owned by the user, the user'"'"'s debt-to-income ratio, the user'"'"'s vehicle loan approval status, the user'"'"'s vehicle loan approval amount, the user'"'"'s vehicle loan interest rate, the user'"'"'s vehicle loan originator'"'"'s name, the user'"'"'s automobile insurance policy carrier'"'"'s name, the user'"'"'s automobile insured status, the user'"'"'s driver'"'"'s license state, the user'"'"'s driver'"'"'s license number, the user'"'"'s current vehicle make, the user'"'"'s current vehicle model, the user'"'"'s current vehicle trim level, the user'"'"'s current vehicle condition, the user'"'"'s current vehicle mileage, the user'"'"'s current vehicle exterior color, the user'"'"'s current vehicle interior color, one or more names of other individuals residing in the user'"'"'s home, a date of birth of the user or of other individuals in the user'"'"'s home, a social security number of the user or other individuals in the user'"'"'s home, or an IP address associated with the client device used to browse the website;

determining, in real time and while the user is browsing the website, if the customer data is valid customer data, the determining using data received over the network via the validation service and comprising at least one of;

removing duplicate data items from the provided customer data;

removing unnecessary spaces, hyphenation, dashes or other distracting characters from one or more of the data items within the provided customer data;

comparing the provided customer data with known data formats for at least one of;

a first or last name, an honorific, a title, an email address, a telephone number, the IP address associated with the client device used to browse the website, a street address, a unit number, a suite number, an apartment number, a city name, a state name, a vehicle make, a vehicle model, a vehicle trim level, a vehicle mileage, a vehicle condition, a vehicle interior color, a vehicle exterior color, a vehicle engine type, a vehicle drivetrain type, or a vehicle body type;

removing duplicate data items from the provided customer data when compared to similar customer data provided by the validation service with a recent timestamp;

or

determining if the provided customer data is valid or invalid;

wherein the provided customer data is determined to be invalid if;

a telephone number from a data item within the provided customer data matches a telephone number from a lead previously determined to be invalid;

one or more of a first and last name data items from the provided customer data matches a first or last name from a lead previously determined to be invalid;

one or more of a first and last name data items from the provided customer data contains either six consecutive consonants or three consecutive periods or dashes;

one or more of a first and last name data items from the provided customer data are less than five characters each;

or

a street address data item from the provided customer data matches a street address from a lead previously determined to be invalid;

wherein the provided customer data is determined to be valid if;

the vehicle type, dealer name, and customer email address data items from the provided customer data match a lead previously determined to be valid;

or

the vehicle make, dealer name, customer phone number, and customer last name data items from the provided customer data match a lead previously determined to be valid;

if the customer data is valid customer data, generating appended data associated with the user, the generating comprising at least one of;

determining the user'"'"'s potential first or last name based upon a provided user street address in the provided customer data;

determining the user'"'"'s potential first or last name based upon a provided user telephone number in the provided customer data;

determining the user'"'"'s potential city name based upon a provided user street address in the provided customer data;

determining the user'"'"'s potential city name based upon a provided user phone number in the provided customer data;

determining the user'"'"'s potential state name based upon a provided user street address in the provided customer data;

determining the user'"'"'s potential state name based upon a provided user phone number in the provided customer data;

determining the user'"'"'s potential ZIP code based upon a provided user street address in the provided customer data;

determining the user'"'"'s potential ZIP code based upon a provided user telephone number in the provided customer data;

determining whether one or more of the user'"'"'s telephone numbers corresponds to a cellular phone based upon digits comprising the one or more telephone numbers in the provided customer data;

verifying a telephone number in the provided customer data by cross referencing the telephone number with a telephone directory;

verifying a street address in the provided customer data by cross referencing the street address with an address directory;

determining the active status of a telephone number in the provided customer data by cross referencing the telephone number with a telephone company;

determining the do-not-call registration status of a phone number in the provided customer data by cross referencing the telephone number with the do-not-call registry;

determining whether a telephone number and a street address in the provided customer data are geographically proximate by cross referencing the telephone number and the street address using a telephone directory that includes street address information;

or

determining the telephone carrier associated with a provider telephone number in the provided customer data;

generating customer lead data including the valid customer data and the appended data associated with the user;

selecting one or more dealers based at least in part on the customer lead data;

displaying the one or more dealers through the web site on the client device associated with the user;

tagging and recording in a lead database one or more searches relating to vehicle research submitted by the user through the web site displaying the one or more dealers, the tagged and recorded user activities tracked on the web site including at least one of;

one or more searches submitted by the user through the web site, navigation of the web site by the user, products or services selected or viewed by the user, or changes in desired vehicle attributes made by the user;

supplying the customer lead data to the one or more dealers;

receiving sales data including information on sales of vehicles by the one or more dealers;

determining, based at least in part on the tagged and recorded activities of the user relating to vehicle research that have been tracked on the web site and stored in the lead database, that the user visited a first dealership and that a first sale of the sales by a first dealer of the one or more dealers occurred at the first dealership of the first dealer and is associated with the user; and

generating an invoice to the first dealer for supplying the customer lead data associated with the user to the first dealer.

17. The computer program product of claim 16, wherein the at least one non-transitory computer readable medium further stores instructions translatable by the at least one processor to perform:

matching the first sale to a household, wherein the first sale is between a person and the first dealer, the person in the household with the user.

18. The computer program product of claim 16, wherein the at least one non-transitory computer readable medium further stores instructions translatable by the at least one processor to perform:

receiving sales records from third party data services; and

storing the sales records received from the third party data services in a sales database.

19. The computer program product of claim 16, wherein the customer lead data further comprises a vehicle configuration that the user has selected via the web site.

20. The computer program product of claim 16, wherein the at least one non-transitory computer readable medium further stores instructions translatable by the at least one processor to perform:

determining a lead score for the user based at least in part on the valid customer data and the appended data associated with the user.