Systems and methods for promoting customer loyalty on the Internet

• US 20040215512A1
• Filed: 06/19/2003
• Published: 10/28/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 12/20/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Maximiles
• Original Assignee: Maximiles
• Inventors: Farat, Jean-Luc
• Granted Patent: US 7,359,866 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/14
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0226 Incentive systems for frequent usage, e.g. frequent flyer miles programs or point systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0236 Incentive or reward received by requiring registration or ID from user
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0269 based on user profile or attribute

Abstract

A method for promoting customer loyalty including recording digital identification data regarding a visitor to sites in a first database including a registration table on a customer loyalty server of unique identifiers of registered visitors and selected data, registering on equipment of the visitor of a digital file containing an identifier assigned to the visitor, recording on a server of an affiliated merchant site a digital file producing a display of an active pictogram including a link to a point management computer program, the file including a unique identifier of the affiliated merchant, allocating reward points by recording in a database a table including an identifier of the visitor and a counter of the allocated points, preparing a response to an activation by a user of the link appearing on the page of the merchant'"'"'s site, a file including at least the digital identifier of the merchant and an identifier of the visitor, transmitting this file to the customer loyalty server, performing a search for the visitor'"'"'s identifier, incrementing the point counter in relation to the information contained in the digital file in the case in which the visitor is already registered, and transmitting a digital registration form in the contrary case.

Claims

1. A method for promoting customer loyalty comprising:

recording digital identification data regarding a visitor to sites in a first database comprising a registration table on a customer loyalty server of unique identifiers of registered visitors and selected data,

registering on equipment of the visitor a digital file containing an identifier assigned to the visitor,

recording on a server of an affiliated merchant site a digital file producing a display of an active pictogram comprising a link to a point management computer program, said file comprising a unique identifier of the affiliated merchant,

allocating reward points by recording in a database a table comprising an identifier of the visitor and a counter of the allocated points,

preparing in response to an activation by a user of said link appearing on the page of the merchant'"'"'s site, a file comprising at least the identifier of the merchant and an identifier of the visitor,

transmitting the file to the customer loyalty server,

performing a search for the visitor'"'"'s identifier,

incrementing the point counter in relation to the information contained in the digital file in the case in which the visitor is already registered, and

transmitting a digital registration form in the contrary case.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising comparing the digital file transmitted by the visitor'"'"'s equipment with a digital file of anomalies recorded on the server, and

incrementing the visitor'"'"'s counter only when said comparison is positive.

3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising transmission to the visitor'"'"'s equipment by the server a file producing a display of an information message regarding the visitor'"'"'s counter status.

4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising personalizing the reward allocation rules by selecting at least one parameter from the merchant station and registering in a server table containing the merchant'"'"'s identifier and the reward allocation parameters.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the data transmitted by electronic message from the affiliate to the server is encrypted with a public key of the server and signed by a private key of the affiliate.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the affiliated site incorporates in the page causing a win a CGI request to the server in the form of a relocated image (<

IMG SRC=“

xxxx”

>

), the image transmitted by the server being dependent on the satisfaction (or not) of the win condition.

7. The method according to claim 1, further comprising a subscription step on the server site of a new visitor consisting of transmitting a digital file (cookie) indicating a visitor number (ID).

8. The method according to claim 1, further comprising a step of specifying the conditions for allocations of points by the affiliate by providing the server with a list of win conditions in the form of a table provided to the affiliated site by the server.