Patent Application
20080140510
The present invention relates generally to providing content, services and advertising about services by means of the Internet and, more particularly, to bringing to customers various services, content, advertising about services and affiliate links that are automatically determined to be relevant to the customer's current interest on the Internet.
Two large-scale and complementary problems have emerged in the online world. First, it is increasingly difficult for users to find the online content and services that suit their needs in real time. Second, it is increasingly difficult for online service providers to make it easy for targeted customers to find their offerings that would be useful to the customer at the current moment. Both of these problems are a function of the current size and exploding growth of the Internet. An ideal solution would allow users to focus on what they want, allow service providers to focus on what they offer, and alleviate the effort currently required on both sides to find each other.
A typical company with a presence on the Internet, makes available content or some other service at its web site where it can be accessed automatically or semi-automatically by a group of consumers or users. For example, headline news is a content-based service made available by companies like CNN, NBC, the BBC, the Associated Press, and so on. These are available “online” via traditional web browsers by users who visit the appropriate company's web site. Also book-selling is another service provided by service provider companies like Amazon.com, Barnesandnoble.com, 1BookStreet.com, and so on, which provide for the sale of books, music and electronics. These web sites may also provide professional and customer reviews of the products.
The users interact with the services at a web site via a personal computer running a web browser application (such as Microsoft Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator). This user might also access such services via other means, such as from a personal digital assistant (PDA), wireless digital telephone, a traditional telephone by voice commands, and so on. In addition, service providers can also introduce such services directly, such as through e-mail or instant messaging. Ultimately through any combination of these and other means, the user accesses some such service.
Some service providers aggregate services on their web site to form a “value chain,” i.e., a group of related services and content. This is done in order to capture as much of the user's attention as possible. Such value chains develop because online services are created and evolved with great speed on the Internet, and some of these service providers develop relationships with each other in complex networks based on the applicability of the service of one provider to the services of other provider. The traditional notion of a “value chain” is a path through these related services that brings a collection of items or services of value to a user. One way a user experiences a value chain is through a single trusted service provider that aggregates other relevant services, such that a complete value chain is present at that provider's site. Users can also create their own value chain ad hoc through search engines.
Book search by title, author, subject, ISBN
Book excerpts
Reviews by experts
Reviews by customers
Related books listings
Book pricing and purchase capability
By aggregating these services, Amazon offers to its users that selection of services which it believes will likely be most relevant to its customer's goal in visiting its online bookstore. It also provides links to other web sites that Amazon believes will be of interest to all visitors to its site. This pattern of user-to-services interaction established by the web site is illustrated in the model in
In
However Amazon cannot provide similar value to users in the general case, i.e., when they are not at Amazon, when they are not looking for a product Amazon sells, when they are not shopping for a product at all, and so on. In particular, there is no current notion of a value chain that is not owned and operated by a particular site-based e-business.
As another example, a consumer looking to buy a particular stock at E*Trade.com might want to see charts from BigCharts.com, SEC filings from Edgar.com, discussion forums from Yahoo.com, insider trading from InsiderTrading.com and Press/News Capsules from Bloomberg.com. In this example, no fewer than six different service providers (perhaps each with their own value chain) can add value to a user's purchasing decision or goal. In order for any of these services to add value in that decision, either the user has to know about them in advance or E*Trade has to integrate all of this content on its site. Similarly, in order for E*Trade to get access to this consumer, either the user has to know about E*Trade and decide to visit, or E*Trade has to manage affiliate relationships with the other service providers in this value chain so they will have links on their sites to E*Trade. It is difficult to negotiate, setup and manage on a real time basis such relationships.
This “web” of services as illustrated in
Further, online companies spend vast sums placing advertisements on the Internet, which advertisements have poor responses because they are most often viewed by a person on the Internet at a time when they are not particularly relevant to the mind set of the user at the time, i.e., the goal of the user in being on the Internet in the first place. In order to improve the situation, online retailer utilize performance based marketing methods, e.g., the affiliate marketing programs that compensate the affiliate based on performance, that is, for example the number of customers that are directed to the site from the affiliate site. However, as noted, these companies have to spend vast amounts of money and effort to ensure that the affiliate sites maintain current and up to date links, in order to use the affiliate sites as a vehicle for providing timely promotions to users. The performance of both online advertising and online affiliate marketing would increase significantly if the advertisements and the affiliate links were automatically targeted to the current interest or mind-set of the user.
Much of the online advertising industry attempts to target users based on user demographics or perceived product preference. Certain sites, e.g., major search engine sites, advertisers also attempts to target user by keyword-based targeting. However, this type of marketing does not capture the opportunity to present a product that is in-line with a user's current goal. Just because a particular consumer enjoys rock music, does not mean that at the time when they are looking to buy a computer, they have an interest in seeing an advertisement about a CD for the latest music group. Even if the user is currently searching for information within a particular general subject, that does not mean they have an interest in an advertisement about the subject that does not address their particular interest. For example, Hilton hotels might choose to advertise on an affiliate travel site in order to present their promotions to users who are planning to travel. However, if the promotion is a discount for Hilton hotels in San Francisco, and a particular user is planning to travel to Los Angeles, then there is not an exact match between the promotion and the user's goal and a potential opportunity to make a sale is lost, assuming that Hilton Hotels has a promotion for a stay in Los Angles. Thus there is a need for advertisers and affiliate sites to be able to serve contextually targeted advertisement and affiliate links to users that encompass the complete or detailed mind-set of the customer.
In addition to trying to attract new customers, online service providers also spend much of their marketing dollars in an effort to reach previous customers who like their service, but who later either forget about those services, cannot find them again, or do not appreciate that the service is relevant to their current activity. With the Internet's exploding growth it is extremely frustrating for customers to try to keep track of all the various services that are available to them and to remember which service providers they liked the most. While more modern browsers provide “Favorites” or “Bookmarks” for retaining information that allows quick access to sites, the user must 1) at the time of the visit to the site request the URL of the site to be stored 2) organize those bookmarks in such a way that they are organized optimally. Unless, the user remembers the Bookmark and recalls to use it while making a relevant search, the information can be lost. Thus, the Internet is not designed to provide ways for companies to reach prior customers at points of need and it does not facilitate alerting past customers to new services provided by the company.
As an example, take a consumer who reads a useful review on a particular computer at Cnet.com. At some later date the consumer is interested in purchasing a Compaq computer and goes to Compaq.com. The consumer would like to read a review about the computer. However, if Compaq does not have reviews or the customer does not want to rely on Compaq's reviews, and the consumer does not remember the name of the review site previously visited, Cnet.com loses the opportunity to have a repeat customer and the consumer does not get the value of reading the review. Thus there is a need for a way for companies to provide their customers with contextual, deep-navigated links back to their services when it is most relevant to the customer.
These problems that exist on the Internet also exist as a microcosm within individual organizations and enterprises. For example, many organizations, especially those relatively larger and older companies, own a variety of computer systems each of which performs a set of functions and which communicates with a number of other such computer systems. These systems are often built on heterogeneous technologies, making the collaboration among them more difficult to implement and more brittle to change once implemented. There exists prior art related to the process of creating a homogenous communication infrastructure on which these various systems can more fluidly collaborate, this in the industry is called the space of Enterprise Application Integration (EAI). However the technology solutions in the EAI space still leave an important problem unsolved: how to enable users to navigate among these many services effectively.
An example of this problem is integrating an effective customer relationship management practice into a business, especially on a large scale. Often a customer's order processing takes place in one system, billing in another, customer service in another, and new product promotions and sales calls in yet another system. The first problem is enabling these various systems to communicate, which primarily is the space of EAI technologies. The problem that remains in addition is how, for example, to enable a user entering a customer-service ticket to navigate seamlessly in real time to that customer's order history, bill-paying patterns, responses to sales solicitations, and other appropriate services in the enterprise, without overhauling all those systems as a complete EAI implementation often requires.
This invention, pertaining to a contextual communication system in general, is just as applicable to private Intranets and other proprietary technology system integrations as it is to the Internet on the whole.
The present invention is directed to a system and method that connects relevant services, content, advertising and affiliate links around the user's navigational goal in navigating the Internet. The navigational scheme of the present invention is content based.
In an illustrative embodiment, the system is an electronic companion, manifested as a browser plug-in or as a complete web-browser application, adapted to understand or infer the user's current goal based on his navigation of the Internet (or of his private intranet) with the browser, also known as content-based navigation. It can dynamically bring together links to many other services relevant to achieving that goal. As a result, these other services are one click away from the user's current web location. The system then facilitates the user's interaction with these other services in order to allow the user to progress toward his goal. By virtue of being goal-oriented, the invention simultaneously provides a powerful new way for service providers to reach targeted users, i.e., a single place to reach users based on their mind set rather than location on the Internet.
The browser plug-in or other implementation of the system of the present invention is set up with contextual value chains that are not site specific. Instead, they are collections of logical service that the system operator has determined are related to a wide variety of Internet navigational goals as well as an understanding of the many sites that provide each such service. This determination may be based on the system manager's independent assessment or on affiliate relationships. The contextual value chain is supported by “context inference” which allows the browser to infer the goal of the user from the URL from keywords that appear in the content of web pages and the structural relationship of these keywords, and/or from search terms that the user plugs in, and to suggest that goal to the user for selection. If the user selects one of the suggested goals, they are diverted to the value chain which has been established in the system. In addition, the system can generate income for its operator based on “context marketing” in which the opportunity to market products and services may be directed to users based on the goal of their Internet navigation as inferred by the context of their activity.
The present invention allows companies to provide contextually targeted advertisements and affiliate links to Internet and Intranet users. Because the invention enables a contextual understanding of a customer's current online activities and of the objects on the page the customer is currently viewing, a company participating in the system can pick the most contextually relevant advertisement or affiliate link to present to the user. As a result, companies that use the present invention will profit from significantly increasing revenues and click-through rates by establishing a high correlation between the advertisement or affiliate links being served and the user's current mind set. Furthermore, these advertisements and affiliate links can be targeted to the actual product and product characteristics mentioned on the user's browser or the web page the user is currently viewing. This detailed understanding can also enable companies to realize revenues from cross sell and up sell opportunities.
In addition, the technological infrastructure of the present invention creates channels for service providers to reach existing customers at the time and place where they most need the service(s). In particular, the technological infrastructure not only enables a contextual understanding of a customer's current online activities and of the objects on the page the customer is currently viewing, but it has the ability to automatically link previously visited sites to the relevant value chains. This allows the system to inform the customer of relevant services that the customer has used in the past from a particular service provider, thus improving the service provider's ability to generate repeat consumption of their services by previous online customers.
Companies that utilize the system of the present invention will profit from strengthening their relationships with existing customers by reminding them of their relevant services that have been used in the past. These companies will also increase brand awareness and loyalty by being accessible one click away from anywhere on the Internet. Further, by understanding the context of the customer's Web navigation, these companies can automatically alert customers to new services and changes in existing services when those services would be most useful to the customer's current use of the Internet.
The foregoing and other features of the present invention will be more readily apparent from the following detailed description and drawings of an illustrative embodiment of the invention in which:
The Contextual Value Chain provided by the system and method of the present invention is designed for offering users a high-value suite of contextual services independent of the site on the Internet they are visiting. Once it has been set up, providing, the contextual services burdens neither users nor service providers with the maintenance and application of these value chains. The value chain of services may be constructed in real time and/or it can be carried out prior to use.
The present invention may be embodied in part or in whole as a plug-in to the user's web browser; but, it can also have other manifestations. It is made complementary to, or to facilitate the user's current online goal or objective (e.g., a navigational path for information about and the purchase of a product) and as such supports a content-based navigation paradigm.
The system requires a Services Registry, which is a data store that identifies a set of unique services known or identified as part of a typical user goal. The registry maps each service to a representative set of known providers of that service. For example, below is a simplified illustration of the concept of a Services Registry:
The system further requires a Mind-set Registry, which is a data store that records unique mind set categories—or goals—into which users tend to fall while they are using the services. These mind set categories are derived from the notion that users seek out and use services in order to accomplish a goal; the mind sets of looking to accomplish these goals are what are categorized and recorded in this registry. This registry also maps each goal to a super set of services that tend to be relevant to users looking to accomplish that goal. For example the following is a simplified illustration of the concept of this registry:
Note that the Mind-set Registry is also intended to be, but does not need to be, the following:
Further, the system requires a Registry Editor that has the ability to create, read, update, and delete listings in a registry (either the Mind-set Registry or the Services Registry). Note that a Registry Editor may be either a person or an automated tool, or a combination.
Finally, the system needs a Match Maker, which is responsible for matching user mind sets (goals) with a collection of services and service providers. In order to do this, it communicates with users, a Services Registry, and a Mind-set Registry. Note also that the Match Maker is intended to take the form of automated software, though it might also take other forms such as one or more people, or a combination of people and automated technology tools. It is also intended to have, but need not have, the following capabilities:
The process of constructing a Contextual Value Chain (“CVC”) requires interaction between a single user and the Match Maker, between the Match Maker and the two Registries, and also private work done by the Match Maker itself as illustrated in
The databases and application software that make up the Match Maker 30, the Mind set Registry 34 and the Services Registry 38 may be in the form of a plug-in to the User's browser. Periodically database contents can be updated by having the browser connect to an Internet site of a company managing the system. During this connection the site provides the system with current versions of the data. The current versions may include new rules, new goals or mind sets and new services and service providers. As an alternative, the databases may be maintained at the system manager web site and the browser is directed to it for access to the latest data whenever the browser is used.
In order to create CVC's that are accurate and take maximal advantage of the services and providers that exist, there must be processes to keep the Registries current and also to grow their size to accommodate new services and providers over time. The maintenance is accomplished by a collection of independent processes involving the Mind-set Registry, the Services Registry, one or more Registry Editors, and the community of users and service providers. The following is a description of these processes as illustrated in
Mind-set Registry maintenance is managed by one or more Mind set Registry Editors 40 (either person(s) 42 or automated tools 43 or a combination). These mind set editors 40 interact with the user community to discover new mind sets (goals) that should be added to the Mind set Registry 34, and also which services should be associated with that mind-set. An example of an automated tool 43 acting as a Mind set Registry Editor is one that collects recommended new goals offered by users, applies some rules (filtering or otherwise), and then adds them into the Registry. Mind set Registry Editors may also be people 42 who read, update, and delete listings in the Mind-set Registry on their own without interaction with users or other entities.
Services Registry maintenance is also managed by Service Registry Editors 44 (either person(s) 45 or automated tools 46 or a combination). Each service provider has the ability to communicate with a Service Registry Editor 46 in order to suggest that:
a. it is a provider of a registered service; and
b. a new service, which is not yet listed in the Services Registry, should be added (possibly also suggesting that it is a provider of that service).
Service Registry Editors 45 may also read, update, and delete listings in the Services Registry on their own without interaction with service providers or other entities. These editors are typically persons hired by the system manager to perform this function. However, these independent editors 45, as well as Mind set Registry Editors 42, may be wholly or partially automated through the use of web spider technology.
In carrying out this update function with independent editors, some inputs may be the result of independent searches of the Internet by the editors. However, some input may be by way of contractual relationships between the system's administrator and service providers. Such relationships may be based on an agreement by which the service provider pays to be listed in value chains of various sorts. This may be an up front payment or a payment for each user directed to the provider's web site by the present invention.
The process of ongoing registry maintenance as illustrated in
In use, the software defining the present invention is installed as a plug-in to the user's web browser. Then, as an example, if the user has the goal of purchasing a computer, the user may insert the URL “Sony.com” into his or her browser in order to look for computers. (
If the user selects the “Buy a computer” tab 51 and also selects a particular computer in the pick list as the computer to focus on, e.g., the “Sony VAIO J100,” a Contextual Value Chain 60 is shown to the user in the Context Bar 50 as illustrated in
Further, a promotion 74 appears from Compaq in the space at the left side of the Context Bar 50. In
Next the user may click on the “Search Auction” service which looks for computers with similar specifications at an auction site. The browser page for this is shown in
Finally, the user may consider another similar computer, e.g., the user may selects the VAIO PCV-R532DS from the pick list in the Context Bar. Then he clicks the “Reviews” service to see reviews of this model. This causes the browser to jump back to CNET, again deep navigating to the appropriate page containing a review for that computer (
Anyone who uses electronic media, such as the Internet through desktop or personal computers, web-enabled phones, personal digital assistants (“PDAs”) or other wireless or voice-based digital platforms, and pagers are in a position to benefit from the present invention. Moreover, a provider of such media and services is able to leverage the infrastructure to bring targeted users to them at just the right place in the value chain, opening new capacities for traditional up-sales and cross-sales.
The revenue streams that the system can generate include:
As noted previously, there is value in the system of the present invention to both users and service provider. In particular, users get the benefits of targeted services anywhere on the web by means of a single mouse click. This relieves the user of having to remember particular URLs. The system also provides the user with easy access to relevant information and services at a given site through one mouse click, instead of having to surf through a site to find the relevant information. Thus, there is reduced repetition as users move from site to site, since they do not need to restate again and again what they are seeking (for example, entering a stock symbol at E*Trade, then entering it again at Edgar, and so on).
Similarly, service providers receive significant benefits from the system. They can target users anywhere on the web by a single mouse click. This provides powerful new opportunities for cross-sales and other cross-functional services, even to users who are not vising the service-provider's site (for example, allowing Amazon.com to sell overstocked computer books to someone shopping for a computer at Dell or Gateway). In addition, the service providers get expanded reach to current customers, affording a new dimension of customer retention for that service provider. For example, Epinions.com might become the default or exclusive opinion provider for all users to whom it distributes the system software, e.g., the browser plug-in. The provider also gets relief from spending huge sums to aggregate services so that users are more likely to complete transactions at that site. As an example, CNET by adding product reviews from customerreviews.com or epinions.com may cause more users to make purchasing decisions at CNET.
As noted in
The contextual advertisement and contextual affiliate designation system of the present invention is illustrated in
The system also requires a Rules Registry 100, which is a data store that identifies a set of unique rules for when an advertisement or an affiliate link should be shown to a particular user. These rules are defined by the Service Provider 16 to indicate when a particular advertisement or affiliate link would be most relevant to a user. In the example of a Service Provider that sells computer memory, it will define a particular rule (such as “object=computer & memory<=32 MB”) and map that to a particular advertisement (such as “Upgrade your computer to 64 MB). Note that an advertisement or affiliate link can be mapped to more than one rule.
Below is a simplified illustration of the concept of a Rules Registry:
Note that the Rules Registry is also intended to be, but does not need to be, the following:
Further, as shown in
Returning to
The process of constructing contextual advertisements or affiliate links requires interaction between a single user 10 and the Advertisement Server or Affiliate Site 122, between the Advertisement Server or Affiliate Site and the Match Maker 30′, between the Match Maker 30′ and the Rules Registry 100, and also private work done by the Match Maker 30′ itself. The process begins when the user browses the Internet and completes when the Advertisement Server or Affiliate Site (“A/A Site”) 122 delivers the contextual advertisement or affiliate link back to the user. In particular, the process is as follows:
In order to present the user with the most appropriate advertisement or affiliate link, there must be processes to keep the Rules Registry current and up to date. The maintenance is accomplished by processes involving the Rules Registry 100, the Registry Editors 110 and the Service Provider 16. As noted above, this maintenance process is illustrated in
In use the contextual advertisement and the contextual affiliate link software and hardware provides an infrastructure that provides contextual presentation of the advertisements and links. As an example, if Hewlett-Packard (“HP”) is the Service Provider 16 which is using contextual advertisement, HP will define the rules for when its advertisement should be shown. If HP defines a rule that targets the selling of HP printers with Compaq computers, then when a user looks at a page with Compaq computers, the appropriate HP advertisement 128 will be shown as illustrated in
As these examples show, the contextual advertisement and contextual affiliate link tools are very effective and powerful ways for companies to improve the performance of their advertising efforts and their affiliate marketing efforts by providing contextual advertisements and affiliate links. There is value in the system of the present invention to both users and service providers. Users get the benefit of contextual advertisements and links targeted to their mind set. Service providers who use this technology get the benefit of greatly increasing their revenue and click-through rates by establishing a high correlation between the advertisements or affiliate links being served, and the user's current mind set.
As a further means for leveraging the contextual technology of the present invention, a Service Provider using the system can improve customer retention through the use of a Contextual Icon. This icon is provided by the system and designed to enable companies to improve their customer retention by presenting their customers with contextual services anywhere on the Web. The contextual services may be constructed real time or they may be constructed prior to use. As with the basic contextual functionality, this additional functionality may be implemented via a plug-in for the user's web browser, but it can also be implemented in other ways.
A Context Service Provider is a company that implements the Contextual Icon by providing it to companies, e.g., Service Providers, who are interested in using it to improve their customer retention. The Contextual Icon is customized to feature the services that are offered by the Service Provider using the Contextual Icon. The Service Provider will provide the user with the Contextual Icon so that the Customer has access to the Service Provider's services from anywhere on the Web.
As shown in
Below is a simplified illustration of the concept of an Object Registry:
Note that the Object Registry is also intended to be, but does not need to be, the following:
Finally, the system of
The process of constructing contextual services requires interaction between a single customer or user 10 and the Internet, between the Internet and the Match Maker system's administrator, between the Match Maker system's administrator and the Object Registry 140, and also private work done by the Match Maker itself as illustrated in
In order to create a set of contextual services that are accurate and take maximum advantage of the services provided by the Service Provider, processes are necessary to keep the Object Registry current and up to date. This maintenance is accomplished by processes involving the Object Registry 140, the Registry Editors 150 and the Service Provider 16. This maintenance process is illustrated in
As an example of use of the Contextual Icon, if the Service Provider 16 using the Contextual Icon is a coupon provider called E-centives, the Contextual Icon 160 will appear on the customer's browser as shown in
If the Customer with the Contextual Icon downloaded to his browser starts browsing the Internet, goes to Amazon.com and looks at the “Black and Blue” album by the “Back Street Boys” as shown in
As the example shows, the Contextual Icon tool is a very effective and powerful way for companies to provide their services to their customers when and where it makes sense. There is value in the system of the present invention to both customers and service providers. Customers get the benefit of targeted services anywhere on the web by means of a single mouse click. This relieves the user or customer from having to remember particular URLs and names of services that they liked in the past. Service providers who use this technology get the benefit of greatly increasing their customer retention by strengthening their ties with their customers.
While a preferred embodiment of the present invention is described herein, it is to be understood, of course, that changes and modifications may be made in the embodiment without departing from the true scope and spirit of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.
This application claims the benefit of provisional U.S. Patent Application Ser. No. 60/244,725 entitled “INTERNET NAVIGATION TOOL,” filed Oct. 31, 2000, provisional U.S. Patent Application Ser. No. 60/296,599 entitled “CONTEXTUAL ADVERTISING AND AFFILIATE MARKETING” filed on Jun. 7, 2001, and provisional U.S. Patent Application Ser. No. 60/296,590 entitled “CONTEXTUAL CUSTOMER-RETENTION TOOL & NETWORK” filed on Jun. 7, 2001, the disclosure of all of which are incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60244725 | Oct 2000 | US | |
| 60296599 | Jun 2001 | US | |
| 60296590 | Jun 2001 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 10380379 | Nov 2003 | US |
| Child | 11929519 | US |
