Customer relationship management system for physical locations

• US 7,962,361 B2
• Filed: 11/07/2002
• Issued: 06/14/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 11/07/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Maplebear Inc.
• Original Assignee: Novitaz, Inc.
• Inventors: Ramchandani, Jayant, Ghias, Asif
• Primary Examiner(s): VAN BRAMER, JOHN W
• Application Number:
  US10/290,008
• Publication Number:
  US 20040093265A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,141 Days
• Field of Search: 705/14.25, 705/14.23, 705/14.53, 705/14.58, 705/14.64, 705/14.67, 705/26
• US Class Current: 705/14.25
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0222 During e-commerce, i.e. online transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0224 based on user history
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0235 constrained by time limit or expiration date
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0238 at point-of-sale [POS]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0255 based on user history
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0261 based on user location
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0267 Wireless devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0269 based on user profile or attribute
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0271 Personalized advertisement
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 2011/02 related to amusement parks
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/28 the pass enabling tracking or indicating presence

Abstract

A method for outputting information about a person includes identifying the person utilizing a wireless system upon entry into a physical location, and also includes locating the person within the physical structure. An engagement plan is retrieved based on the identification of the person and output. The engagement plan has information useful for interacting with the person. The engagement plan is created based at least in part on personal information of the person, the preferences of the person, and the past transactions of the person. A system for outputting information about a person, such as a customer, includes an object carried by the person, which is capable of being identified by a wireless system. A wireless interface communicates with the object. A computing device correlates the identification of the object with the person. An output device outputs information relating to the person.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method of engaging a customer of a business establishment, the method comprising:

detecting an interaction of the customer with a website associated with the business establishment, and storing a website event based on the detected interaction;

wirelessly detecting within the business establishment a wireless device carried by the customer;

determining an identity of the customer based on the customer'"'"'s wireless device;

wirelessly detecting the customer'"'"'s interaction with at least one product, the product located within the business establishment remote from a point of sale device;

storing a plurality of wirelessly tracked events of the customer within the business establishment including the detected customer interaction with the at least one product, the plurality of tracked events occurring before a purchase transaction by the customer at the point of sale device;

determining prior to the purchase transaction an engagement plan specific to the identified customer and based at least on the tracked and stored events of the customer including the wirelessly tracked events and the stored website event; and

providing the engagement plan to an employee of the business establishment prior to the purchase transaction of the customer in order to facilitate an interaction between the employee of the business establishment and the customer.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining for each wirelessly tracked event a time and location of the event within the business establishment; and

determining the engagement plan in response to the time and location of at least one wirelessly tracked event.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein wirelessly detecting the customer'"'"'s interaction with the at least one product includes detecting at least one of:

the customer'"'"'s wireless device being proximate to a wireless reader near the product;

the customer viewing the product; and

the customer trying the product.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the wirelessly tracked events include:

a customer entry to a predetermined area of the business establishment; and

a customer exit from a predetermined area of the business establishment.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the wirelessly tracked events include:

a customer entry to the business establishment; and

a customer exit from the business establishment.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein determining an engagement plan comprises:

determining a history of the stored events of the customer; and

determining the engagement plan in part based on the history of the customer.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein determining an engagement plan comprises:

determining the engagement plan based in part on customer preferences of the customer.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein determining an engagement plan comprises:

determining an incentive to provide to the customer prior to the purchase transaction based in part on a profile of the customer, the profile including the stored website event.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

wirelessly detecting the customer at the point of sale device based the presence of the wireless device carried by the customer being proximate to the point of sale device; and

providing the incentive to the customer at the point of sale device.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein determining an engagement plan comprises:

determining the engagement plan based in part on a preference of the customer, wherein the preference of the customer is stored in a customer profile.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the preference of the customer is a preferred employee for servicing the customer.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the preference of the customer is a preferred product type.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein the preference of the customer is a preferred product characteristic.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein the preference of the customer is a preferred level of service.

15. The method of claim 10, wherein the preference of the customer is a preferred engagement level.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein determining an engagement plan comprises retrieving a customer profile.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the customer profile includes a status of the customer and the status of the customer is based on both the stored wirelessly tracked events and the website event.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the customer profile includes an average amount of time the customer spends in the business establishment, based upon the wirelessly tracked events.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein the customer profile includes a department of the business establishment that the customer is most likely to visit, based upon the wirelessly tracked events.

20. The method of claim 1, wherein the engagement plan includes a description of a product which was part of a previous interaction of the customer with the website associated with the business establishment.

21. The method of claim 1, wherein the engagement plan includes at least one product or service to cross-sell to the customer.

22. The method of claim 1, wherein the engagement plan includes an instruction to the employee to attempt to cross-sell to the customer the product with which the customer interacted.

23. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining, based upon the wirelessly tracked events, an area of the business establishment in which the customer was present;

determining at least one product associated with the determined area; and

including in the engagement plan the at least one product to cross-sell to the customer.

24. The method of claim 1, wherein providing the engagement plan to an employee of the business establishment further comprises:

providing the engagement plan within a predetermined amount of time from wirelessly detecting the customer'"'"'s wireless device.

25. The method of claim 1, wherein wirelessly detecting within a business establishment a wireless device carried by a customer further comprises:

wirelessly detecting the wireless device within an entrance area of the business establishment.

26. The method of claim 1, wherein wirelessly detecting the customer'"'"'s interactions with at least one product comprises:

wirelessly detecting the customer'"'"'s wireless device within predetermined locations within the business establishment.

27. The method of claim 1, wherein wirelessly detecting the customer'"'"'s interactions with at least one product comprises:

determining a particular department of the business establishment that the customer is in based upon a location of a wireless reader in the particular department reading the customer'"'"'s wireless device.

28. The method of claim 1, wherein wirelessly detecting the customer'"'"'s interactions with at least one product comprises:

determining an amount of time spent by the customer in a single area of the business establishment based upon an amount of time the customer'"'"'s wireless device is proximate to at least one wireless reader within the single area; and

responsive to the amount of time exceeding a threshold, notifying a customer service agent to assist the customer.

29. The method of claim 1, wherein wirelessly detecting the customer'"'"'s interactions with at least one product comprises:

determining an average amount of time spent by the customer in the business establishment based upon an amount of time the customer'"'"'s wireless device is present within the business establishment; and

responsive an amount of time of a current visit of the customer to the business establishment exceeding a predetermined percentage of the average time, notifying an employee of the business establishment to assist the customer.

30. The method of claim 1, wherein wirelessly detecting the customer'"'"'s interactions with at least one product comprises:

determining whether the customer is near the point of sale device, based upon the customer'"'"'s wireless device being proximate a wireless reader at the point of sale device.

31. The method of claim 1, wherein the customer'"'"'s wireless device is a financial institution card carried by the customer.

32. The method of claim 1, wherein the customer'"'"'s wireless device is a smart card carried by the customer.

33. The method of claim 1, wherein the customer'"'"'s wireless device is an RFID tag carried by the customer.

34. The method of claim 1, wherein the customer'"'"'s wireless device is an RFID tag, and the RFID tag can be read in a vicinity of 2 to 10 feet.

35. The method of claim 1, wherein the customer'"'"'s wireless device is an RFID tag, and the RFID tag can be read using a 13.56 MHz range.

36. The method of claim 1, wherein the customer'"'"'s wireless device is an RFID tag, and the RFID tag can be read using a UHF range.

37. The method of claim 1, wherein wirelessly detecting the customer'"'"'s interactions with at least one product occurs without requiring a line of sight between a wireless system and the customer'"'"'s wireless device.

38. The method of claim 1, wherein determining an identity of the customer further comprises:

determining a status of the customer on a tiered scale, and

wherein the engagement plan is determined based at least in part on the status of the customer, and the status is based upon at least the website event.

39. The method of claim 38, wherein wirelessly detecting the customer'"'"'s interactions with at least one product comprises:

wirelessly detecting the customer'"'"'s wireless device using a wireless reader proximate to the at least one product.

40. The method of claim 1, wherein the engagement plan includes an image of the customer.

41. The method of claim 1, wherein the engagement plan includes a probable location of the customer based on the wirelessly tracked events associated with the customer.

42. The method of claim 41, wherein the engagement plan includes an indicator of a physical location of the customer within the business establishment.

43. The method of claim 1, further comprising updating a history of the customer based on the wirelessly tracked events of the customer within the business establishment.

44. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

selecting product information based at least on a customer history of the customer;

determining a location of the customer within the business establishment; and

outputting the product information on an output device near the location of the customer.

45. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining a location of the customer within the business establishment;

selecting product information based at least on the location of the customer within the business establishment and a tracked event of the customer; and

outputting the product information on an output device near the location of the customer.

46. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining at least one product potentially viewed by the customer within the business establishment; and

associating the customer with the determined products.

47. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving feedback from the customer; and

storing the feedback in association with a customer history of the customer, for use in creating a future engagement plan.

48. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining a frequency of transactions of the customer with the business establishment for at least one of a type of product, or a specific product.

49. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining a monetary score of the customer based on prior transactions of the customer with the business establishment.

50. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining an average length of a visit of the customer to the business establishment based on the tracked events.

51. A computer implemented method of managing a business establishment, the method comprising:

detecting a transaction of a customer with a website associated with the business establishment, and storing a website event based on the detected transaction;

wirelessly detecting within the business establishment a wireless device carried by the customer;

wirelessly tracking locations of the customer within the business establishment by tracking the customer'"'"'s wireless device;

determining, prior to a purchase transaction by the customer, an identity of the customer based on the wireless device carried by the customer;

identifying, prior to the purchase transaction, the customer as having a preferred status with the business establishment, the preferred status based on at least the website event of the customer and prior transactions of the customer within the business establishment;

determining, prior to the purchase transaction, an engagement plan specific to the identified customer for use by an employee in engaging the customer, the engagement plan including information about the customer including the customer'"'"'s preferred status; and

providing the engagement plan to the employee of the business establishment prior to the purchase transaction to inform the employee of the identified customer'"'"'s preferred status and to facilitate an interaction between the employee and the identified customer having the preferred status.

52. The method of claim 51, further comprising:

displaying a graphical representation of the location of the preferred status customer within the business establishment.

53. A method for customer marketing, comprising:

detecting a purchase of a customer from a website associated with the business establishment;

determining a status level of the customer based at least on the customer'"'"'s purchase from the website;

identifying the customer within the business establishment utilizing a wireless system that detects a wireless device carried by the customer;

retrieving customer information of the identified customer including the status level of the identified customer;

determining a physical location of the customer within the business establishment by wirelessly tracking movement of the customer'"'"'s wireless device;

determining an engagement plan for the customer, the engagement plan including the status level of the customer; and

outputting, prior to a purchase transaction by the customer at a point of sale device, the engagement plan to an employee of the business establishment for use in engaging the customer.

54. The method of claim 53, wherein the engagement plan is determined based at least in part on the physical location of the customer.

55. The method of claim 53, wherein the engagement plan is determined based at least in part on products positioned near the physical location of the customer.

56. The method of claim 53, further comprising outputting an indicator of the physical location of the customer for assisting r the employee in identifying the customer.

57. The method of claim 53, further comprising:

outputting product information on an output device near the physical location of the customer, wherein the product information includes an incentive to the customer to purchase a product near the physical location of the customer.

58. The method of claim 53, wherein the engagement plan is determined based at least in part on customer information of the customer.

59. A method for using information about a prior interaction relating to a product provided by a business establishment, the method comprising:

identifying prior to a customer entering the business establishment, the customer performing an interaction with a website associated with the business establishment;

storing, prior to the customer entering the business establishment, information about the detected interaction in a customer history;

wirelessly detecting within the business establishment a wireless device carried by the customer;

determining an identity of the customer based on the customer'"'"'s wireless device, and retrieving the customer history;

determining an engagement plan specific to the customer that is based upon the stored information about customer'"'"'s prior interaction with the website; and

providing the engagement plan to an employee of the business establishment prior to a purchase transaction of the customer to facilitate an interaction between the employee of the business establishment and the customer.

60. The method of claim 59, wherein the engagement plan includes a description of the product information viewed by the customer during the interaction of the customer with the website.

61. A method for managing a customer in a business establishment, the method comprising:

detecting an interaction of the customer with a website associated with the business establishment;

storing an event based on the detected interaction in a profile of the customer in a customer relationship management system;

identifying the customer upon entry into a predefined area of a business establishment by wirelessly detecting a wireless device carried by the customer;

initiating in the customer relationship management system a session upon identifying the customer;

wirelessly tracking a location of the customer within the predefined area by tracking movement of the customer'"'"'s wireless device;

providing to an employee of the business establishment information about;

the location of the customer in the predefined area,

the profile of the customer,

the stored event based on the interaction of the customer with the website associated with the business establishment, and

a past transaction of the customer that occurred during a prior visit of the customer to the business establishment;

storing in the customer'"'"'s profile in the customer relationship management system events descriptive of the customer'"'"'s actions within the business establishment during the session; and

terminating in the customer relationship management system the session upon detecting that the customer exits from the business establishment.

62. A system for management customer interactions in a business establishment, the system comprising:

a wireless device capable of being identified by a wireless system, the wireless device configured for being carried by a customer;

a wireless system operating in the business establishment, for wirelessly detecting the wireless device within the business establishment, and providing location information of the wireless device within the business establishment and an identity of the wireless device;

a computing system configured to store a customer profile, the customer profile including for at least one customer a status level of the customer that is based at least upon revenues generated from purchases by the customer at

(i) a website associated with the business establishment and

(ii) a physical business establishment location,

the computing system further coupled to the wireless system for receiving the location information and identity of the wireless device, retrieving the customer profile associated with the identity of the wireless device, tracking the locations of the wireless device, and updating the customer profile with events related to the tracked locations of the wireless device;

a profiler for generating an engagement plan based on the customer profile including the status level of the customer; and

an output system for outputting the engagement plan and the status level of the customer to an employee of the business establishment to assist the employee in an interaction with the customer prior to a purchase transaction by the customer.

63. The system of claim 62, wherein the wireless device is a smart card carried by the customer.

64. The system of claim 62, wherein the wireless device is an RFID tag carried by the customer.

65. The system of claim 62, wherein the output system outputs an image of the customer for identifying the customer.

66. The system of claim 62, wherein the wireless system comprises a plurality of wireless readers distributed throughout the business establishment, the wireless readers for tracking physical movement of the wireless device.

67. The system of claim 62, wherein the output system further outputs product information, the product information based at least in part on the engagement plan.

68. The system of claim 62, further comprising a point of sale device, coupled to the computing system, for outputting an incentive for the customer in response to the computing system determining that the customer is in the proximity of the point of sale device.

69. A computer implemented method of engaging a customer of a business establishment, the method comprising:

storing a customer profile for the customer, the customer profile comprising session information from;

at least one prior customer session including a record of tracked events of the customer with products or locations within the business establishment, the tracked events including events that are independent of a purchase of a product, and

at least one prior customer session of the customer on a website associated with the business establishment;

wirelessly detecting within a business establishment the customer'"'"'s wireless device carried by the customer;

determining an identity of the customer based on the customer'"'"'s wireless device;

retrieving the customer profile for the customer based on the identity of the customer;

determining, prior to a purchase transaction by the customer at a point of sale device within the business establishment, an engagement plan for the customer based at least on the customer sessions in the customer profile; and

providing the engagement plan to an employee of the business establishment prior to the purchase transaction.

70. The computer implemented method of claim 69, wherein determining the engagement plan for the customer, comprises:

determining from the customer profile a list of products that the customer interacted with during at least one prior customer session; and

determining preferred product types of the customer based in part on the products interacted with by the customer.

71. The computer implemented method of claim 69, wherein determining the engagement plan for the customer comprises:

determining from the customer profile a length of time the customer spent in a predetermined area of the business establishment; and

determining from the customer profile an area of the business establishment that the customer is most likely to visit based in part on the length of time.

72. The computer implemented method of claim 69, wherein determining the engagement plan for the customer comprises:

determining from the customer profile an average amount of time the customer spent in the business establishment during prior customer sessions; and

determining a status of the customer based in part on the average amount of time the customer spent in the business establishment.

73. The computer implemented method of claim 69, wherein determining the engagement plan for the customer comprises:

determining a preferred employee for servicing the customer based on the at least one prior customer session within the business establishment.