JP2003203181A - Automatic vending machine system and sale analyzing method using this system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a technology for improving a one's own company commodity occupancy rate in a market by properly promoting sales for respective customer layers on the basis of this information by classifying users of automatic vending machines into several customer layers. <P>SOLUTION: A customer layer discriminating part 1532 acquires information on a user 200-belonging customer layer from a customer layer discriminating database 1503. The direct mail contents suitable for the users 200 are selected by a DM selecting part 1535 on the basis of this information. This direct mail is distributed to a user terminal 1545 via a DM distributing part 1537. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a technique for creating and delivering direct mail based on information acquired from an automatic vending machine, and promoting sales through the direct mail.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In the age of mass marketing and mass production, a large number of products were produced and sold, but in recent years, demand has changed drastically both in terms of quality and quantity, and the fluctuation itself is normal. It is becoming more common. Under these circumstances, it is becoming extremely important for the product sales strategy to shift from a sales strategy targeting an unspecified large number to a sales strategy that thoroughly implements customerism.

In order to practice the customer principle, it is necessary to know the customer's needs promptly and to quickly respond to changes in demand. In order to thoroughly implement the customer principle, the product value and the usage value are required. It is necessary not only to know the customer satisfaction of both parties, but also to consider sales promotion measures for products that emphasize the customer's repeat rate. This is also the case when the product is sold through the vending machine.

On the other hand, in recent years, a method of requesting an authentication act for selling permission in selling a product, a method of selling by way of a money card, and the like have been studied and put into practical use. Under these circumstances, the environment for acquiring information about users of vending machines is being prepared, but regarding technology that can be used for sales promotion measures that effectively utilize that information,
Few cases have been studied so far. Furthermore, in order to improve the share of our products in the market, it is important not only to implement measures to improve the repeat rate of customers, but also to implement more aggressive sales measures in consideration of changes in sales trends. . This is also the case when the product is sold through the vending machine.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and classifies users of vending machines into several customer groups and, based on this information, sells them appropriately to each customer group. The purpose is to provide technology that promotes and improves the market share of own products.

[0006]

According to the present invention, there is provided an information processing device connected to a vending machine via a network, the communication means transmitting and receiving information to and from the vending machine, and the vending machine. A customer segment discrimination information storage unit for storing the past product purchase record of the user received from the customer segment, and a customer segment discrimination unit for discriminating the customer segment to which the user belongs by referring to the customer segment discrimination information storage unit; A direct mail creating means for creating a direct mail to be delivered to the user in consideration of the customer segment to which the user belongs, and a direct mail delivering means for delivering the direct mail to the user. An information processing device that does this is provided.

In the information processing apparatus of the present invention, the direct mail may be configured to include an item for giving an incentive to the user in consideration of a customer segment to which the user belongs.

In the information processing apparatus of the present invention, a user mail receiving means for receiving a reply mail from the user to the distributed direct mail, and an incentive giving an incentive to the responding user in response to the reply mail. Means, and can be configured to further include.

In the information processing apparatus of the present invention, the incentive giving means is configured to give an incentive to the user in consideration of a customer segment to which the user belongs and a customer segment to which the user belongs. You can

In the information processing apparatus of the present invention, the customer segment may be classified into an in-house product customer segment and another company product customer segment.

In the information processing apparatus of the present invention, the customer segment may be classified into a fixed customer segment and a fluid customer segment.

In the information processing apparatus of the present invention, the customer layer discrimination information storage means is a user information storage section for storing subject information including a user's mail address, and a product for storing user's product purchase history information. The configuration may include a purchase history storage unit and a determination reference parameter storage unit that stores determination reference parameters used when determining a customer segment to which a user belongs.

Further, according to the present invention, the vending machine and the information processing device are connected to each other via a network, and the data carrier containing the user information is used to sell the product and to the user. A vending machine system for delivering direct mail, wherein the vending machine is:
The information processing apparatus comprises: a data carrier receiving unit that receives a data carrier presented by a user; and an information extracting unit that extracts user information from the data carrier; and the information processing apparatus; communication for transmitting and receiving information to and from the vending machine. Means and
A customer class determination information storage unit that stores the past product purchase record of the user received from the vending machine, and a customer class determination that determines the customer class to which the user belongs by referring to the customer class determination information storage unit Means, a direct mail creating means for creating a direct mail to be delivered to the user in consideration of the customer class to which the user belongs, and a direct mail delivering means for delivering the direct mail to the user. There is provided a vending machine system characterized by the above.

In the vending machine system of the present invention, the direct mail may be configured to include an item for giving an incentive to the user in consideration of a customer segment to which the user belongs.

In the vending machine system of the present invention, a user mail receiving means for receiving a reply mail from the user for the distributed direct mail, and an incentive for giving an incentive to the responding user in response to the reply mail. It is possible to adopt a configuration including an applying unit.

In the vending machine system of the present invention, the incentive giving means may be configured to give an incentive to the user in consideration of the customer class to which the user belongs.

In the vending machine system of the present invention, the customer segment may be classified into an in-house product customer segment and another company's product customer segment.

In the vending machine system of the present invention, the customer segment may be classified into a fixed customer segment and a fluid customer segment.

In the vending machine system of the present invention, the customer layer discrimination information storage means stores a user information storage section for storing subject information including a user's mail address, and a user's product purchase history information. A product purchase history storage unit,
A discrimination criterion parameter storage unit that stores discrimination criterion parameters used when discriminating the customer class to which the user belongs,
Can be configured to include.

As a market research method when selling products,
It has often been done to analyze product tastes and consumption trends by stratified by age and gender. However, since this analysis does not classify the customer segment in relation to the product, it does not go beyond the category of mass marketing targeting an unspecified large number of customers, and it has a certain value to be linked to an effective sales strategy. There was a limit. On the other hand, the present invention utilizes not only static information such as age and sex but also dynamic information such as product purchase history, and thereby determines the customer segment to which the user belongs. As a result, it becomes possible to develop appropriate sales activities according to the customer segment.

On the other hand, in recent years, the use of authentication cards and money cards is being put to practical use in the sale of merchandise by vending machines, and it is becoming possible to specify the contact address such as the mail address of the person who purchases the merchandise. is there. In the present invention, information such as an email address is used to promote sales of products by customer segment.

As described above, the present invention is intended to promote the sales of products for each customer group, so that the own product occupancy rate in the market can be effectively increased. In order to increase our own product share, we first classify customers into fixed customers and current customers, in-house product customers and third-party product customers, and then
While conducting sales activities that actively promote sales to customers of other companies' products and current customers, we will also develop defensive sales activities so that our fixed customers can continue to purchase our products. It becomes important. The purpose of each of these sales activities is different, and the content should be different according to the difference in such purpose, but since it was difficult to classify the customer segment in conventional sales activities, It was rare for sales activities with appropriate content to be made for each customer segment. According to the present invention, the customer segment can be accurately specified based on the product purchase record, so that the most effective sales activity can be developed for the customer, thereby effectively increasing the occupancy rate of the own product in the market. be able to.

In the present invention, the customer segment can be classified from the following viewpoints. (i) In-house product customer segment and other-company product customer segment For example, the entity that distributes direct mail or the direct mail creation requester is "in-house", and other companies are "other companies"
And Judging which company the user usually purchases from the purchase record. (ii) Fixed Customer Group and Floating Customer Class For example, customers whose purchase products are fixed to a certain period and customers who have a plurality of purchase brands and are not fixed to a specific product are classified.

These classifications may be used alone or in combination of both. For example, it is possible to adopt a method of dividing the customer segment of the in-house product and the customer segment of the other company and further classifying each layer into the fixed customer segment and the liquid customer segment. The layer thus obtained may be further subdivided. By using the classification as described above, it is possible to provide an appropriate direct mail according to the sales strategy.

For example, for a customer group who purchases products from other companies, paying attention to the degree of customer satisfaction with products from other companies, a survey and analysis are conducted from both aspects of product value and use value. As a result, it is possible to understand why the customer purchases another company's product, and according to this, it is possible to deliver a direct mail giving an appropriate incentive.

[0026] Further, for customers who once purchased their own products, but now purchase other companies' products, sales promotion that promotes a return to their own products when the purchased products are converted and the days are shallow. It becomes possible to do. Specifically, it is possible to deliver a direct mail for investigating and analyzing in-house products before conversion and products of other companies after conversion.
Measures such as giving an incentive when there is a response to this direct mail and further giving a larger incentive when there is a change in purchase trends from other companies' products to their own products are effective. Since customers who have just changed their purchased products are likely to convert their purchased products again, the above sales measures are important for increasing the market share of their own products.

Further, for the in-house merchandise customer, in addition to the merchandise promotion so that the in-house merchandise purchase can be continuously maintained, the sales measure for promoting the conversion to the purchase of the higher priced merchandise is effective.

In the present invention, in addition to the above-mentioned stratified analysis, information such as the place of sale and the date and time of sale is acquired from the vending machine, and a direct mail is created in consideration of the information, so that more appropriate sales can be achieved. Can carry out promotional measures.

The direct mail in the present invention may include an item for giving an incentive to the user in consideration of the customer class to which the user belongs. Here, incentives are points, prizes, prizes, etc. for promoting the sale of our products, and items for giving incentives are (i) you can get prizes by lottery by answering the questionnaire, (ii) An item whose contents are such that points are added when an advertisement site is accessed, and prizes can be received when certain points are accumulated.

The configuration and operation of the present invention have been described above. However, any combination of these configurations, or the expression of the present invention converted between a method, a device, a system, a recording medium, a computer program, and the like. It is also effective as an aspect of the present invention.

[0031]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The "commodity" in the present invention is not limited to the form of an article, but includes services and information.

The "user" in the present invention means a person who purchases a product using the vending machine in the present invention.

The "direct mail" in the present invention is a URL of a product introduction, a questionnaire, or a product introduction site that is distributed to a vending machine user by e-mail or the like.
Etc. are included.

The data carrier according to the present invention includes both contact type and non-contact type, and various forms such as an IC card, an IC tag, an IC chip housed in a mobile phone or the like can be adopted. .

When the contactless data carrier is used as the data carrier in the present invention, a device equipped with a power source may be used, but it is rectified by receiving a radio wave from a predetermined part of the vending machine, and temporarily rectifying it. It is also possible to use a power supply having a configuration to be used as a power source. Further, when the contactless data carrier is used, the memory unit for storing user information and the like is provided. The memory unit is, for example, EEPRO.
M (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only M
A non-volatile memory such as an emory) can be used.

As the data carrier in the present invention, various types can be used as long as they include a user's ID and the like. For example, those having a personal authentication function or storing electronic money can be used. You can The form of providing a personal authentication function is effective, for example, in selling cigarettes or alcoholic beverages, when determining whether or not the user is an adult. When the data carrier is also used as the authentication carrier for the sales approval / disapproval judgment, the sales approval / disapproval judgment may be made in consideration of factors other than the user information. For example, even when it is determined that the product can be sold based on the data acquired from the user information, it can be configured to determine that the product cannot be sold when the product purchase request is made within a certain period of time.

The terms "network" and "communication network" in the present invention are used synonymously, and connect a plurality of information processing devices via a communication circuit, cable, radio, etc., such as the Internet and WAN. (World Are
a Network), LAN (Local Area Network), and the like.

The present invention will be described below with reference to an example of selling tobacco by an automatic vending machine. This vending machine is configured to perform an authentication action using an adult authentication IC card in order to prohibit the sale of cigarettes for minors.

(First Embodiment) FIG. 1 shows an example of a system including an automatic vending machine according to the present invention. When selling cigarettes, this vending machine sells cigarettes to adults by requesting the presentation of a user IC card, reading the personal information stored in the card. Before describing this system, an IC card and a vending machine will be described.

The IC card 150 in FIG. 1 is composed of an IC chip for storing and controlling data and an antenna for transmitting and receiving data to and from the vending machine. I
The internal structure of the C chip 151 is as shown in FIG. 14, and the control unit 153, the ROM 154, the RAM 155, and the EE.
The PROM 156 and the communication unit 157 are connected by a bus 158. The ROM 154 stores a storage circuit and the like for storing various processing programs and data. RAM 155 and EEPROM 156
Various data are stored in.

The vending machine 100 shown in FIG.
The one having an appearance like No. 3 is used. In this vending machine, a sample sample 301 is provided on the front panel and product samples are displayed. I on the front panel
A C card reading unit 305, a bill slot 302, a change return lever 303, a change slot 308, and a coin slot 304 are provided. The purchased product is taken out from the product outlet 309. In the present embodiment, since the product is a cigarette, adult authentication using an IC card is performed in order to prohibit sales to minors. The user of the vending machine presents the IC card to the IC card reading unit 305 according to the usage procedure navigated by the liquid crystal display unit 306,
Purchase a product after obtaining a sales permit.

Next, an outline of the exchange of information in the vending machine system shown in FIG. 1 when a product purchase request is received from the user will be described with reference to FIG. First, the user 200 presents the IC card 150 to the vending machine 100 for adult authentication (S101). The vending machine 100 extracts predetermined information from the IC card 150 (S102). Next, the user 200 selects a desired product and presses the product selection button provided on the vending machine 100 (S103). In response to this, the vending machine 100 recognizes the product for which the purchase request is made (S
104), the product is paid out on the condition that the sales authorization is made by the adult authentication (S105). User 2
00 receives the product (S106). On the other hand, after selling the product, sales information including the brand of the sold product, the quantity, the selling date and time, the selling place, etc. is created in the vending machine 100 (S107), and this is transmitted to the information processing apparatus 1500. The information processing apparatus 1500 acquires this product sales information (S108) and then stores it in the storage unit (S10).
9).

The accumulated product sales information serves as a basic material for distributing a direct mail as shown in FIG. The information processing apparatus 1500 determines the customer segment to which the user 200 belongs based on the accumulated product sales information, and creates a direct mail based on this (S120). The created direct mail is appropriately transmitted from the information processing device 1500 to the terminal of the user 200 (S121, S12).
2). In this direct mail, the URL of the homepage is described so that the homepage including the direct mail of the company's product and the questionnaire can be accessed. When the user 200 accesses this URL (S1
23), the management server of the homepage recognizes this and gives points to this user 200 (S124). When the points are given, the information processing apparatus 1500 transmits a confirmation mail to that effect (S
125). The user 200 receives the mail (S126) and knows that the points have been given. In this way, appropriate incentives are given to the users belonging to each customer segment, and conversion and establishment of own products can be achieved.

Next, the information processing apparatus and the vending machine system including the same according to the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIG. In terms of hardware, the illustrated configuration is the CPU, memory, and other L of any computer.
It can be realized by SI, and in terms of software, it is realized by a program having a reservation management function loaded in a memory, but here, the functional blocks realized by the cooperation thereof are drawn. Therefore, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that these functional blocks can be realized in various forms by only hardware, only software, or a combination thereof.

First, the user 200 makes the IC card 150
Is presented to the card reading unit 101. Card reading unit 101
Reads the information stored in the IC card 150 and sends the data to the card information extraction unit 121. The card information extraction unit 121 extracts the user information stored in the IC card 150. The extracted information is the sales availability determination unit 122.
The product is sent to and the sale is judged. Here, it is configured to determine whether or not the user is an adult, and regulate the sale of tobacco in the case of a minor.

Thereafter, the user information is sent to the control unit 125. The control unit 125 considers the product purchase request received by the product purchase receiving unit 103 and the result of the sale approval / disapproval determination, and when the sale is permitted, pays out the product through the payout unit 104. On the other hand, the user information and the information relating to the sold product and the sales status are associated with each other to generate sales information, and the sales information is processed through the communication unit 128, the relay server 940, and the communication network 950. It is transmitted to the internal information acquisition unit 1530.

The transmitted sales information is stored in the information acquisition unit 153.
It is sent from 0 to the user information database 1515 and stored in the transaction. User information database 15
15 is composed of a user main subject information database 1510 and a product purchase information database 1511, and the acquired sales information is stored in each database according to its contents.

Sales information is accumulated in the user information database 1515 as described above. When the sales information is accumulated, a direct mail is created and transmitted to the user 200. Hereinafter, this procedure will be described. In the following explanation, direct mail is "DM"
Is abbreviated.

When the DM creation request acceptance unit 1541 accepts the DM creation request, the information acquisition unit 1530 extracts the DM distribution destination from the user main subject information database 1510 via the DM distribution destination extraction unit 1531. Also, the user information database 1515 is passed through the customer class determination unit 1532.
The customer segment of the destination user is determined by accessing the. These pieces of information are sent to the DM creating unit 1533,
How to give an incentive to the user, what kind of contents the DM is distributed, and the like are determined. The DM creating unit 1533 is the incentive providing unit 1.
534 and DM selection unit 1535.
The incentive giving unit 1534 refers to the customer class determination database 1503 and gives an appropriate incentive to each customer class. On the other hand, the DM selection unit 1535
Appropriate information is selected from various information stored in the DM information database 1540 to create a DM. The created DM is distributed from the DM distribution unit 1537 to the user terminal 1545 via the communication network 950.

In the delivered DM, for example, how to access the advertisement mail site of the company's product is described, and it is described that points are added by accessing this site. Corresponding to this DM,
When the user 200 sends a mail, the mail is sent to the point granting unit 1539 via the communication network 950 and the user mail sending / receiving unit 1538. Then, a predetermined point is added to the user 200. If points are accumulated, it is possible to exchange for a predetermined prize or prize. The fact that points have been given means that a confirmation mail is transmitted from the point giving unit 1539 to the user terminal 1545.

Here, the DM in which the points are added by accessing the advertisement mail site has been described as an example, but various contents of the DM are selected according to the customer segment. This will be described later.

Also, the points are given not when the purchased product is changed to the own product but through the mail. In FIG. 1, the product purchase information database 1511 stores the product purchase history of the user. By referring to the data in this database, the consumption trend of each user can be grasped, and it can be grasped that the user who has conventionally purchased the product of another company has changed to purchase the in-house product. In the present embodiment, points are also given to such users so that they can be fixed to the company's own products.

According to the configuration of this embodiment, the user 200
Appropriate DM is provided according to the customer base to which the company belongs, and effective sales promotion is made.

Next, details of the customer class determination flow by the customer class determination unit 1532 will be described. Customer class determination unit 1532
Determines the customer segment to which the user belongs, and uses this as the user ID
In the table in the customer class discrimination DB 1503 in relation to the customer class assigning section, a customer class updating section that updates the customer class data and writes the table, and a user advertisement when selecting a display advertisement. A customer layer reading unit for reading out customer layer data is included. Hereinafter, the step of giving a customer segment will be described.

Here, as shown in FIG. 16, customers are classified into four layers. Customer demographic database 1 in Figure 1
The product purchase history is stored in 503 for each user ID, and the customer segment is specified based on this information. First, during the application period (parameter A), it is determined whether or not the company-specific product has been purchased in a predetermined ratio or more. Customers who satisfy this condition are positioned as "customers who own fixed products". In addition, if the company's products are purchased within the period of the parameter A, but the brands have variations, the customer is positioned as a "company product flowing customer".

Next, if the above customer class is not met,
Further, the following steps are performed. First, the parameter B
If the user purchases only other company's products for the applicable period defined in, it is regarded as a “other company's product fixed customer”.
Further, during the application period defined by the parameter C, the customer who has made a purchase conversion from the in-house product to the other company's product is positioned as a “other company product moving customer”. As described above, the customers are classified into four customer groups as shown in FIG.

The classification of the customer segment thus sold is stored in the table in the customer segment discrimination DB 1503. At the time of selecting the display advertisement, when the customer layer data of the user is read, the customer layer determination unit 1532 acquires the customer layer information using the user ID as a key.

Next, the details of the flow of creating and distributing a DM based on the information of the customer class classified as described above will be described.

DM to be distributed to the user 200 in FIG.
Is stored in the DM information database 1540 with the DM identification ID added. DM information database 1
Data as shown in FIGS. 10, 11 and 12 is stored in the 540. DM is roughly classified into the following four types. A: Product-specific information (holding brand group code) B: New product information C: Customer satisfaction: Product value survey D: Customer satisfaction: Usage value survey In case of DM related to survey, reply response address is posted. On the other hand, regarding the DM related to the incentive giving such as points and prizes, the address of the confirmation site is presented.

The relationship between the customer class described in FIG. 16 and the DMs A to D is as follows, for example.

Information A for each product is edited and distributed to the customer segment 1 (fixed customer of own product). For example, PR of purchased fixed products is performed. This is because the emphasis is placed on continuation (repeat rate) of favorite products. In addition, it is possible to target a lottery such as a prize and to confirm the winning on a predetermined advertisement site. By taking such measures, it is possible to establish the company's own products.

The following measures will be taken for the customer segment 2 (customer merchandise flowing customers). (i) Editing / delivering information B of new product (ii) Editing / delivery of information A for each product corresponding to high-price product code (iii) High-priced products in a price group higher than the unit price before conversion Editing / Distribution of Information A on (i) The above-mentioned (i) aims to announce and permeate new products. (ii) and (iii) aim to improve profitability by converting to high-priced products.

The following measures are taken for the customer segment 3 (fixed customers of other companies' products). (i) Editing / Distribution of Customer Satisfaction (Product Value) Survey C (ii) Editing / Distribution of Customer Satisfaction (Use Value) Survey D Thereby analyzing customer satisfaction from both product value and use value Can clarify the reason for purchasing other company's products and obtain basic materials for effective marketing strategy formulation.

The following measures are taken for the customer segment 4 (commercial product flow customers). (i) Distribution of new product information B (ii) Distribution of information A regarding products corresponding to the pre-conversion product code Actively publicizing pre-conversion products and new products, and surveying customer satisfaction with pre-conversion products To do. With this, it is possible to obtain a guideline for promoting the conversion to the own product.

In the above-mentioned editing for each customer segment, it is assumed that the editing is carried out in order from 1 and if the 1 editing condition is not satisfied, the 2 condition is proceeded to.

Next, the response to the response from the user to the DM will be described for each customer segment.

For the customer segment 1 (customer who owns the product), the site access is used for lottery such as prizes.

No particular support is given to the customer segment 2 (customer product flow customers).

The following measures will be taken for the customer segment 3 (fixed customers of other companies' products). (i) Incentives (prize /
Point) (ii) At the same time, the following measures will be taken for the product PR customer group 4 (commercial product current customers of other companies) on the site such as winning confirmation and point confirmation. (i) Give incentives (prize / points) to the response of survey C (ii) At the same time, PR of products on the site such as winning confirmation / point confirmation Next, users who have purchased other companies' products in the past The method of giving incentives when changing to purchase is explained. As described above, the consumption trend of the user is grasped by referring to the product purchase information database 1511 in FIG.

First, no particular support is given to the customer segment 1 (customers who own fixed products).

Points are given to those who convert the customer class 2 (customers who sell products in-house) to high-priced products.

Significant points are given to those who convert the customer segment 3 (fixed customers of other companies' products) into their own products.

Significant points are given to the customers who are re-converted to the in-house products of the customer segment 4 (commercial product liquid customers).

With the above measures, an appropriate incentive is given to each customer segment, and the market share of the in-house product can be improved.

Next, the direct mail creation flow will be described focusing mainly on the exchange of data between databases.

FIG. 4 shows the structure of each database and
It is a figure for demonstrating the flow until DM is delivered based on the data stored in the database. The user-based information database 1510 and the product purchase information database 1511 form a user information database 1515. The user information database 1515 constitutes a customer layer discrimination database 1503 together with the customer layer discrimination parameter database 1512. Then, the customer class discrimination database 1503 and the DM information database 1
DM is created and distributed based on 540.

Customer class determination parameter database 151
2 has data as shown in FIG. The customer segment is determined based on such parameters. The user information database 1515 holds data as shown in FIGS. 6, 7, 8 and 9. The data shown in the drawing is composed of a plurality of data associated by the user ID. 6 to 9, the purchased product information represents the product purchase history of the user, and the information of the products purchased so far is stored as repeated items.

The customer segment discrimination unit 1532 refers to the customer segment discrimination database 1503 with the user ID as a key to identify which customer segment the user belongs to. The customer segment can be classified into the following four types, for example. (I) In-house product fixed customers Customers who always buy in-house products (ii) In-house product flow customers Among customers who buy in-house products, customers who have fluctuations in the purchase brand (iii) Other-company product fixed customers Always buy in-company products Customer (iv) Conversion to other company's product Customers Customers who once purchased their own products, but now start to purchase other company's products, have the DM information database 1540 shown in FIGS. 10, 11 and 12. Such data is stored. The contents of DM include PR of new products and existing products, questionnaires, and the like. These contents are decided in consideration of the customer segment to which the user belongs. That is, a DM is created according to the data stored in the customer class determination database 1503 and the DM information database 1540. When there is a response from the user to this DM, the incentive giving process 1 is performed, and points, products, etc. are sent to the user. On the other hand, even if there is no direct response from the user to the DM, the product purchase history data stored in the customer class determination database 1503 and the product purchase information database 1511 can be used to convert other companies' products to own products. If it is confirmed that the action has been taken, an incentive giving process is performed on the user. By doing this, the users immediately after conversion will be able to establish themselves in their own products.

In the present embodiment, in addition to the above, it is also possible to adopt a configuration provided with a brand management database used when urging the conversion to purchase of high-priced products. This database stores information on products by price, and ranks by price are held for each product.

The present invention has been described above based on the embodiments. It is understood by those skilled in the art that this embodiment is an exemplification and various applications are possible.

For example, in the above-described embodiment, the cigarette vending machine is used as an example, but it goes without saying that the invention can be applied to the sale of other products. Further, the data carrier may be one having a function such as a money card or a debit card, in addition to the one for authentication for sales permission.

Also, the method of classifying the customer segment is not limited to the above-mentioned method, and various methods can be used as long as they are defined by the relationship with the product in consideration of the product purchase record.

Further, in selecting an advertisement, various sales information such as the type, quantity, sale time, place of sale, etc. of the product selected by the user through the vending machine is taken into consideration in addition to the customer demographic information. Can be selected.

[0084]

As described above, according to the present invention, the direct mail content to be distributed to the user is selected in consideration of the customer segment to which the user belongs. Therefore, direct mail with a high sales promotion effect is provided to the user.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a system including an information processing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the flow of processing using the vending machine system according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the flow of processing using the vending machine system according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the flow of processing using the vending machine system according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of data stored in a database in the information processing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of data stored in a database in the information processing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of data stored in a database in the information processing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of data stored in a database in the information processing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of data stored in a database in the information processing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of data stored in a database in the information processing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of data stored in a database in the information processing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of data stored in a database in the information processing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 13 is an external view of an example of a vending machine used in the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a diagram for explaining the structure of an IC card.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of data stored in a database in the information processing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an example of a customer segment in the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

100 vending machines 101 card reader 103 Product Purchase Reception Department 104 Disbursement Department 121 Card Information Extraction Unit 122 Sales approval / disapproval department 125 control unit 128 Communication unit 150 IC card 151 IC chip 153 Control unit 154 ROM 155 RAM 157 Communications Department 156 EEPROM 158 bus 200 users 301 sample sample 302 bill slot 303 Change return lever 304 coin slot 305 IC card reader 306 LCD display 308 Change account 309 product outlet 940 Relay server 950 communication network 1500 information processing device 1503 Customer classification database 1510 User-based information database 1511 Product Purchase Information Database 1512 Customer demographic parameter database 1515 User information database 1530 Information acquisition unit 1531 DM distribution destination extraction unit 1532 Customer demographic division 1533 DM creation unit 1534 Incentive giving department 1535 DM selection section 1537 DM Distribution Department 1538 User mail sending / receiving unit 1539 points awarding section 1540 DM Information Database 1541 DM creation request reception unit 1545 User terminal

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ───

[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] April 8, 2003 (2003.4.8)

[Procedure Amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Name of item to be corrected] 0083

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

Furthermore, in selecting an advertisement, various sales information such as the type, quantity, sale time, place of sale, etc. of the product selected by the user through the vending machine are taken into consideration in addition to the customer demographic information. Can be selected. In addition, according to the present invention
Equipment and systems for direct mail and product purchase
It is a legal acquisition of achievements.

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) G06K 17/00 G06K 17/00 L G07F 5/18 G07F 5/18 5/22 5/22 C 9/00 9/00 L (72) Inventor Eiichi Kiyokawa 2-2-1 Toranomon, Minato-ku, Tokyo Within Japan Tobacco Inc. (72) Inventor Koichi Miyake 2-2-1 Toranomon, Minato-ku, Tokyo Japan Tobacco Industry Co., Ltd. F-term (reference) 3E044 AA01 BA01 BA02 BA04 CA02 CA06 DA05 DB02 DB05 DC02 DC06 DE01 DE02 DE10 EA12 5B058 CA17 KA02 KA04 KA40

Claims (14)

[Claims] 1. An information processing device connected to a vending machine via a network, the communication means transmitting and receiving information to and from the vending machine, and the user's past purchase of goods received from the vending machine. In consideration of the customer demographic information storage means for storing the results, the customer demographic discrimination means for discriminating the customer demographic to which the user belongs, and the customer demographic belonging to the user by referring to the customer demographic discrimination information storage means. An information processing apparatus comprising: a direct mail creating means for creating a direct mail to be delivered to the user; and a direct mail delivering means for delivering the direct mail to the user. 2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the direct mail includes an item for giving an incentive to the user in consideration of a customer segment to which the user belongs. Information processing equipment. 3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a user mail accepting means for receiving a reply mail from the user to the distributed direct mail, and a use responding in response to the reply mail An information processing apparatus, further comprising: an incentive giving unit that gives an incentive to a person. 4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the incentive giving unit gives an incentive to the user in consideration of a customer segment to which the user belongs. 5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the customer segment is classified into an in-house product customer segment and another company's product customer segment. 6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the customer segment is classified into a fixed customer segment and a floating customer segment. 7. The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the customer layer discrimination information storage means includes a user information storage unit that stores subject information including a user's mail address, and a user. A product purchase history storage unit that stores the product purchase history information, and a determination reference parameter storage unit that stores a determination reference parameter used when determining the customer class to which the user belongs,
An information processing device comprising: 8. A vending machine and an information processing device are connected to each other via a network, sell a product using a data carrier including user information, and deliver a direct mail to the user. A vending machine system, comprising: a data carrier receiving means for receiving a data carrier presented by a user, and an information extracting means for extracting user information from the data carrier, wherein: The processing device includes; a communication unit that transmits and receives information to and from the vending machine, a customer layer determination information storage unit that stores the past product purchase record of the user received from the vending machine, and the customer layer determination information storage unit. Referring to, a customer segment discrimination means for discriminating a customer segment to which a user belongs, and a directory segment for delivering to the user in consideration of the customer segment to which the user belongs. Vending machine system, characterized in that it comprises a direct mail creating means for creating an e-mail, and a direct mail distribution means for distributing the direct mail to the user. 9. The vending machine system according to claim 8, wherein the direct mail includes an item for giving an incentive to the user in consideration of a customer segment to which the user belongs. Vending machine system. 10. The vending machine system according to claim 8 or 9, wherein a user mail accepting means for receiving a reply mail from the user to the distributed direct mail, and a response corresponding to the reply mail. An incentive giving means for giving an incentive to a user, and a vending machine system characterized by the above-mentioned. 11. The vending machine system according to claim 10, wherein the incentive giving means gives an incentive to the user in consideration of a customer segment to which the user belongs. . 12. The vending machine system according to claim 8, wherein the customer segment is classified into an in-house product customer segment and another product customer segment. . 13. The vending machine system according to claim 8, wherein the customer segment is classified into a fixed customer segment and a liquid customer segment. 14. The vending machine system according to claim 8, wherein the customer segment discrimination information storage unit stores a user information storage unit that stores subject information including a mail address of the user. Purchase history storage unit that stores the purchase history information of a user, a determination reference parameter storage unit that stores determination reference parameters used when determining the customer class to which a user belongs,
A vending machine system characterized by including.