EP1763831A4 - Procede et appareil de vente par bouche a oreille par le biais d'un reseau de communications - Google Patents

Procede et appareil de vente par bouche a oreille par le biais d'un reseau de communications

Info

Publication number
EP1763831A4
EP1763831A4 EP05738690A EP05738690A EP1763831A4 EP 1763831 A4 EP1763831 A4 EP 1763831A4 EP 05738690 A EP05738690 A EP 05738690A EP 05738690 A EP05738690 A EP 05738690A EP 1763831 A4 EP1763831 A4 EP 1763831A4
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
individuals
service
selling
product
reward
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Withdrawn
Application number
EP05738690A
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
Other versions
EP1763831A2 (fr
Inventor
Jared Morgenstern
Edward Lim
Eoin Matthews
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Buy Com Inc
Original Assignee
Buy Com Inc
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Priority claimed from US10/997,121 external-priority patent/US8762206B2/en
Priority claimed from US11/044,544 external-priority patent/US8032555B2/en
Priority claimed from US11/045,164 external-priority patent/US20050203801A1/en
Application filed by Buy Com Inc filed Critical Buy Com Inc
Publication of EP1763831A2 publication Critical patent/EP1763831A2/fr
Publication of EP1763831A4 publication Critical patent/EP1763831A4/fr
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • G06Q30/00—Commerce
    • G06Q30/02—Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • G06Q30/00—Commerce
    • G06Q30/06—Buying, selling or leasing transactions

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a system and method of facilitating word of mouth selling via a communications network that enables consumers or groups to identify products and services that they have purchased or desire to purchase and include these products and services in an online profile that becomes visible to viewers.
  • Google ® 's Froogle ® service is an example of a search engine that aggregates products from a variety of e-commerce sites and offers them in a single view to the potential customer.
  • the online service provides the listing and handles the transaction.
  • the online service merely provides information, and may receive referral fees from the e-commerce site that completes the transaction.
  • both of these approaches aim to achieve the same goal: to provide a potential buyer with a purchasing path that begins with the buyer's interest in a product or service. Along this purchasing path, the user may encounter product reviews or user feedback, which is, at best, the opinion of a stranger and, at worst, the contrived words of a biased party.
  • an increasingly popular feature on online communities is the ability for a user to express his/herself using a variety of creative tools.
  • a preferred embodiment of this invention would treat a user's previously purchased products and services and desired products and services as a means of self expression, and the web as just another place where we can express our individuality and conduct day-to-day social interaction.
  • U.S. Patent No. 6,175,831 which relates to a networking database containing a plurality of records for different individuals in which individuals are connected to one another in the database by defined relationships.
  • U.S. Patent No. 6,269,369 which relates to a network-computer-based personal contact manager system that enables users of networked clients to maintain and update user infomiation that is stored in a relational database.
  • the system allows each user to specify, on an individual basis, which contacts are permitted to access their user information.
  • the system also allows users to find contacts based on common group affiliations and notifies users when there are coincidences in their data.
  • the present invention alleviates to a great extent the disadvantages of known advertising and content evaluation systems by providing an automated mechanism where brand owners can tap into a network of individuals or groups who are willing to represent their brands via their identities as part of a community.
  • the present invention optionally includes a system whereby e-commerce retailers can benefit from the word of mouth sales referrals of a willing and enthusiastic base of individual or group fans who have identified themselves as willing product or service advocates.
  • word of mouth as used herein encompasses online communication where there is not necessarily an oral component such as uttered via talking, although optionally oral communication such as oral commands and input may be provided.
  • the present invention also optionally includes a method and system for aggregating and importing user purchasing history from multiple retailers within a word of mouth selling framework.
  • the present invention also optionally includes a method and system for providing incentives for users to purchase from their peers as well as for peers to import their purchasing histories and add their product and service desires to an online profile.
  • the present invention also optionally includes a method and system for syndicating word of mouth selling features and retailer networks to partner online communities as a way for them to increase their revenue.
  • a method and system is provided that enables online word of mouth e-commerce whereby individuals or groups expressly decide the products and services that they wish to be associated with as part of their identity within an online community.
  • Partner e-commerce retailers are asked to implement or expose a web service API that conforms to the specifications required for a user importing his or her purchasing history and for dynamically extracting referral links. Partners are also asked to expose a step in their e-commerce check out process that allows a user to add their purchase directly to their word of mouth selling profile. Partner retailers are also required to keep track of referral conversion rates and the dollar value of all referred sales.
  • the system and method of the present invention provides a framework for achieving word of mouth selling on the Internet such that when a user views a product or service, he or she may associate it with the individual or group who has elected to include it as part of their online presence, even though that user may receive no direct monetary benefit for doing so.
  • a strong framework for word of mouth selling on the web can be created. This framework allows businesses to penetrate social groups where individuals have a higher probability of common interests.
  • ADLDAS ® footwear is incorporated into a user's online presence, and a friend notices this, it can have more value than if he or she saw the ADIDAS ® footwear advertised on CNN ® or even on an ADIDAS ® e-commerce site.
  • Users may browse profiles to obtain word of mouth referrals of products or services. Additionally, users may select to purchase the products or services identified in the profiles. If a user selects to purchase a product or service identified in a profile, the user whose profile identifies the product or service may receive a reward.
  • the reward may be a commission from the sale, a discount for a future purchase or any other type of monetary or non-monetary reward.
  • a service provider may have an agreement with individuals or groups of individuals that advocate products and services in exchange for a service, as part of an online service, or for some reward, monetary or otherwise.
  • the service provider may also have an agreement with e-commerce retailers to share revenue with the service provider for this type of referral based selling. This touches on the field of online communities and social networking, as these are the areas where such a selling campaign would be most successful because of the value of the association of a product or service with the advocating individual or group combined with the credibility an individual or group is likely to receive as a member of such a community.
  • FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a word of mouth selling system via a communications network (WMSSVCN) in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention
  • FIG 2 is a flow chart depicting the high level functionality of a word of mouth selling system (WMSS) via a communications network
  • Figure 3 is a flow chart showing the client-server functionality from when content is requested to when content and associated products and services are returned as in Figure 2
  • Figure 4 is a block diagram of a viewer client for a WMSS
  • Figure 5 is an illustration of an example viewer client display prior to invoking the functionality of Figure 3
  • Figure 6 is an illustration of an example viewer client display after invoking the functionality of Figure 3
  • Figure 7 is a block diagram of an product or service association system (PSAS) for having agents associate the products or services that they will be associated with in the WMSS
  • PSAS product or service association system
  • the WMSSVCN 1.0 includes a plurality of client devices 1.1, each of which is coupled to a network 1.2, and, in turn, to a word of mouth selling system (WMSS) 1.3.
  • Each client device 1.1 of which one is shown in some detail and three others are represented in block form, is typically a personal computer, such as a Windows-based personal computer. It should be understood that client devices may also be laptops, PDA's, workstations, mobile phones, Internet enabled TV, or the like.
  • Each client device 1.1 has an input device such as a keyboard and/or mouse and a display for communication with a user.
  • the client device has communications software and a modem (or some other form of Internet connectivity, such as a digital subscriber line (DSL) modem, cable modem, T-l line, integrated services digital network (ISDN) line, or the like).
  • Communications software may be any software suitable for telecommunications, and is preferably browser software.
  • the communications software is for communication over network 1.2 with a WMSS 1.3.
  • Network 1.2 may be, for example, the internet.
  • the WMSS 1.3 includes a Word of Mouth Selling Service Provider (WMSSP) 1.4. and a Content Service Provider (CSP) 1.5 connected by a communication channel (i.e. the Internet).
  • WMSSP Word of Mouth Selling Service Provider
  • CSP Content Service Provider
  • the CSP 1.5 is preferably a web application that displays contents authored by agents, where agents are individuals or groups, and an agent can also be a user or client as defined herein.
  • the CSP 1.5 and the WMSSP 1.4 may be a wholly integrated web application such as a web log and social networking web site that allows users to decorate themselves with products and services from their purchasing history and that shares the same web server, database provider, and server side scripts. It should also be understood that the CSP 1.5 maybe a third party subscriber to the WMSSP 1.4 or vice versa.
  • the WMSSP 1.4 typically includes a web server, which is characteristically a programmed computer, preferably one which supports a HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP), that handles document requests and provides other services, returning information to the requestor.
  • HTTP HyperText Transfer Protocol
  • the web server may communicate by exposing web services which communicate XML, or the like. It should be clear that the web server could be replaced by an application that functions as a server, such as a program that listens to a specific port for incoming request.
  • WMSSP 1.4 in addition to a web server 1.8, includes a server side scripting engine 1.6, preferably PHP, available from php.net, connected to the web server 1.8 for pre-processing an output from the web server before it is returned via the communications network 1.2.
  • the server side scripting engine 1.6 also allows communication with a database server 1.7, preferably Mysql, available from mysql.com, using the Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) protocol.
  • ODBC Open Database Connectivity
  • Other similar server side scripting products could be used, such as Cold Fusion, ASP.NET technology.
  • the database server 1.7 is generally configured as an SQL database, and, besides Mysql, other database systems could be used such as those available from Oracle, Informix, Microsoft ® , or Sybase.
  • the WMSSP 1.4 may also be a multi-server system, such as a web farm.
  • the database server 1.7 is in communication with a database 1.9 in which the database server 1.7 stores content. Referring to Figure 2, there is generally shown the high level flow by which a viewer 2.1 (also called a user or client) may view and purchase a word of mouth recommended product or service from a WMSSS 1.3 (Word of Mouth Selling Server System).
  • viewer is a "user” who is viewing another user's content, such as via a client device 1.1. At other times or simultaneously a “viewer” can be making his/her own content available to viewing by other viewers.
  • a preferred example of this flow involves a user 2.1 viewing content in a web browser, the web browser acting as the Viewer Client for Word of Mouth Selling System 4.1, which displays a set of friends of a particular user and an option to view their associated web logs, for example. If the user clicks to view the web log of an Agent A, a request for Agent A's content is sent to the WMSS 1.3, as illustrated with reference number 2.4.
  • the rendering includes links to purchase the associated product and services which, if clicked, communicate with the WMSS 4.1 to either begin purchasing the product on the WMSS 4.1 servers or to be redirected to a third party partner to complete the transaction, as illustrated with reference number 2.6.
  • the WMSS 4.1 is informed and may trigger a reward mechanism to reward the referring individual, as illustrated with reference number 2.7.
  • Figure 4 depicts the typical components required for a Viewer Client for a Word of Mouth Selling System (VCWMSS) 4.1. There are displays for two types of information, content 4.2 and products/services 4.4.
  • an action component 4.3 may be activated by the viewer 4.1 to indicate a desire for an agent's content (the viewer 4.1 requests an agent's content as illustrated with reference number 2.4 in Figure 2). This is typically the method that a web browser supports for interaction, such as keyboard input, mouse input, or the like, but extends to other methods of interaction such as the utterance of a sound or the touching of a screen or the sending of an e-mail.
  • VCWMSS 4.1 requires a method for communication with a server system 4.5, typically this is TCP/IP used by the web browser.
  • TCP/IP used by the web browser.
  • a viewing user 2.1 activates a component in a VCWMSS 4.1 that indicates a request for an agent's content (305) (note: for the remainder of the present disclosure herein, an agent may be an individual or a group as illustrated with reference number 310 in Figure 3 and similarly with reference number 2.4 in Figure 2).
  • This action is typically the clicking of a hyperlink in a browser, but may be the selection of an icon using web TV or, the accessing of an individual's music collection in a networked file sharing client via a touch screen system, the accessing of a group's store on an e-commerce site via form submission, or the sending of an email to a server with instructions that enable the server to automatically return content, or the like.
  • the client 1.1 or 4.1 has an associated identifier that represents the content that is being requested as well as the agent 2.2 that the content 2.3 is associated with.
  • this identifier takes the form of two identifiers, a content identifier 2.3 and an agent identifier 2.2, that was delivered to the web browser via the returned HTML that the client rendered as a currently displayed page and is embedded into the link that indicates content by a user.
  • the link may encode the URL to visit Jon's web log.
  • the Client Viewer 4.1 sends a request to the WMAS 1.3 identifying desired content and agent, such as in the exemplary web page request (illustrated with reference number 310).
  • Figure 5 shows a client display for accessing an agent's content.
  • a user can indicate a request if the user selects one of the hyperlinks 510 associated with a person's picture or on the picture itself 520.
  • the WMSSS 1.3 which includes a CSP 1.5 and a WMSSP 1.4 typically has the
  • CSP 1.5 as the starting point for the processing of the request 315.
  • the CSP 1.5 and the WMSSP 1.4 are run on the same server as part of single application, and inter-server communications are not required.
  • the web server of CSP 1.5 receives the client request in the form of a GET document request and parameters, it runs the PHP server side engine on the document requested and the parameters get passed to the PHP engine (for the remainder of the present document herein, when PHP is referenced, it is either called by the web server using a GET or POST command).
  • the step of commencing assembling of the requested content is illustrated with reference number 320 and other steps of the process are illustrated with numbers 325, 330, 335 and 340.
  • the CSP 1.5 creates a request that combines the list of advertisements and related information from the processing loop (such as steps 325, 330, 335, 340), the identifier (such as discussed above) sent by client viewer 4.1, as well as any additional information that may be desired to be used by the WMSSP 1.4 (for example agent popularity, agent- viewer credibility, etc.).
  • the WMSSP 1.4 receives the request 350 and begins processing 355 whereby it is called upon with this list as well as the agent identifier to select the associated products/services (in this example, this requires only a PHP function call).
  • server side scripting such as in the WMSSP 1.4 interacts with the database server that access database 1.9, selecting products and services that have been associated with the agent and that match the additional information in the request.
  • the viewer 4.1 would be logged into the system (i.e. using a cookie/server login authentication scheme) so that the server is aware of his/her identity and may be able to deduce a relationship of the viewer to the agent (i.e. using a networking database) so that these parameters may be passed to the WMSSP 1.4 and word of mouth impression record keeping can be performed.
  • a record keeping module and procedure is illustrated with reference number 3.1 in the box labeled 365.
  • Additional information may also be passed to the WMSSP 1.4, such as the content being requested and the viewer accessing the content.
  • the WMSSP 1.4 uses the information it receives to return products/services in a display size/form that match the criteria of the CSP 1.5 as illustrated by way of example with reference numbers 345 through 380.
  • PHP 1.6 interfaces with the Mysql database 1.7 by making SQL queries to locate appropriate data.
  • PHP 1.6 constructs a query that selects all product/service identifiers associated with the agent from a database table that has previously been populated with rows of product/service identifiers and agent identifiers, where a row grouping a product/service identifier and an agent identifier indicates that the agent has expressly elected to be associated with that item.
  • PHP 1.6 can then run additional, more restrictive queries on this set of product/service identifiers by looking them up in an display form table that lists other features such as size, or the like. If required, the WMSSP 1.4 may even call external web services to get up-to-date retailer information about the product.
  • the CSP 1.5 retrieves the package of associated products/services information and merges it with the requested content before sending it back to the client 4.1 as HTML.
  • the web browser client then renders the returned HTML as illustrated in the illustrated portion of the examples with reference numbers 375 and 380.
  • the web browser client then renders the returned HTML.
  • a viewing user 2.1 activates a component in a VCWMSS 4.1 that indicates a request for purchasing associated products or services as illustrated diagrammatically as reference number 385.
  • the WMSSP 1.4 receives and records the request indicating the viewer's desire to purchase the associated products or services as illustrated with reference number 390.
  • the WMSSP 1.4 stores information regarding the user that initiated the purchase request and from whom the purchase was initiated.
  • the WMSSP may access a database 1.9 when recording the request and storing the user information.
  • a determination is then made regarding whether a point of sale is being managed by the WMSSP 1.4 as illustrated diagrammatically with reference number 400. If a determination is made that the WMSSP 1.4 is managing the point of sale, the WMSSP 1.4 completes the sales responsibilities as illustrated with reference number 405. The WMSSP 1.4 may then invoke a reward mechanism, if applicable, and update any corresponding records as illustrated with reference number 410.
  • the WMSSP 1.4 may access a database 1.9 as necessary.
  • FIG. 7 there is generally shown a product/service association system via a communications network (PSASVCN 7.0) in accordance with the present invention.
  • PSASVCN 7.0 includes a plurality of client devices 7.1, each of which is coupled to a network 7.2, and, in turn, to a Word of Mouth Selling Service Provider (WMSSP) 1.4.
  • WMSSP Word of Mouth Selling Service Provider
  • Each client device 7.1 of which one is shown in some detail and three others are represented in block form, is typically a personal computer, such as a Windows-based personal computer.
  • Each partner retailer 7.3 is typically a server system housing an e-commerce site.
  • Figures 7, 8, 9, and 10 illustrate how the WMSSP 1.4 populates its storage device with the advertisements that are associated with agents.
  • the partner e-commerce retailer 7.3 may include a server side scripting engine 7.6 (e.g., a PHP), a database server (e.g., Mysql server), a web server (e.g., an Apache server), and a database 1.9 as described in further detail above.
  • a server side scripting engine 7.6 e.g., a PHP
  • database server e.g., Mysql server
  • a web server e.g., an Apache server
  • a preferred example of this flow involves an agent 2.2 viewing content in a web browser, the web browser acting as the Agent Product/Service Association Client (APS AC) 8.1, which is used as the interface between the agent and the WMSSP 1.4 which returns to the browser HTML documents that provide the agent with a number of separate services, depending on how the agent interacts with them.
  • APS AC Agent Product/Service Association Client
  • an agent is logged in to the system, with the WMSSP 1.4 maintaining the logged in session of the agent during this interaction.
  • an agent is logged in to the system, with the WMSSP 1.4 such as for example via the illustrated client system 7.1, the APSAC 8.1 operated on the system 7.1.
  • the agent 2.2 is logged in to the system, the system can identify the agent with a unique identifier, such as an agentLO, that is stored in the Mysql database system on the WMSSP 1.4 and may be assigned separately, for example during a sign-up procedure.
  • a unique identifier such as an agentLO
  • the PSASVCN generally provides the agent with a number of capabilities illustrated by way of example in Figure 8, such as the ability to import products/services 810 from their purchasing history from a pool of participating e-commerce retailers and subsequently select them for association, to browse or search for desired products/services 820 from the pool of participating e-commerce retailers or from the products/services offered by the WMSSP 1.4 directly, to request unavailable products/services 830 (so that the WMSSP 1.4 can try to add this product/service (840) and its retailer to the pool), and to remove or edit the product/services (850) for which they have associated themselves.
  • the ASP AC 8.1 sends the appropriate request to the
  • the WMSSP 1.4 processes the request 870 and sends the appropriate response to the ASP AC 8.1 (reference number 880).
  • the agent 2.2 operates the ASP AC 8.1 as illustrated diagrammatically with box 890 and the text "agent views". Referring to Figure 10, there is a preferred example of flow of interaction between the APSAC 8.1, the agent 2.2, and the WMSSP 1.4, with reference numbers from 1003 through 1088 referring to the reference numbers in Figure 10.
  • the agent 2.2 begins the client, loading up a web browser (1003).
  • the agent 2.2 uses an authentication process, examples of which were provided in the preceding paragraph, to log into the WMSSP 1.4 (1006).
  • the WMSSP 1.4 calls upon PHP to process the script that returns the default page to the agent (1009), this page typically accesses the agent identifier in the Mysql database using a select SQL command to find the product/service identifiers that the agent is currently associated with (to the server as a reference point for the agent) (1012). Additional tables may then be referenced to find out more information about the products/services.
  • the PHP script may also call upon a function that returns the HTML required for displaying a navigation menu that can be used by the user to access the various components of the PSASVCN 7.0. With this information, PHP 1.6 can finish creating the dynamically built HTML content and send this back to the APSAC 8.1 for rendering, as illustrated in the box identified with reference number (1015).
  • the agent may navigate the PSASVCN 7.0 options by clicking on an appropriate hyperlink (1021).
  • One of these options is the import purchasing history option (1024) (also referred to with reference number 810), which is used to import purchasing histories (1027) from participating retailers for association.
  • Figure 11 describes the import PSASVCN 7.0 component (1024) in more detail. If the agent clicks on this option, the APSAC 8.1 sends a request to the WMSSP 1.4 for the importer default page (1105), received by the web server that directs the request to the PHP processing engine 1.6 and the appropriate script.
  • the PHP script calls an internal function for determining the sorted list of available e-commerce partners according to the search criteria passed to the server (1110). In the case of the first access, there are no additional criteria. PHP 1.6 may also look up additional information regarding the products/services offered by the partners, such as their popularity, web links, image, identifiers, or the like by performing appropriate Select queries on the Mysql database 1.9. PHP 1.6 may also extract additional information from Mysql to garner the appropriate HTML for returning options (1115) supporting advanced searching and refined searching techniques. It should be appreciated that any search criteria passed onto the server can be used, or any combination thereof. Examples include single search key or multi-key searching, such as searching for people and their associated products or searching for people and their location, or products and associated locations etc.
  • the dynamic output HTML has been created and the web server sends it back to the client, where it is rendered (1120).
  • the agent 2.2 may either perform more searching by refining the search or selecting advanced search, or they may decide to import their purchasing histories from one or more the retailers (i.e., choosing next action such as by clicking (1155)). If importing is selected (by checking appropriate checkboxes adjacent to the partner retailer), the client sends a request to the WMSSP 1.4 indicating this including the agent and the partner retailer identifiers.
  • PHP processes the request and initiate the flow for importing purchasing histories for each partner retailer requested by the agent.
  • the client passes the criteria to the WMSSP 1.4, that has a new step that preprocess the set of available partners to match this criteria before performing the ranking.
  • the WMSSP 1.4 looks up an authentication method required by the partner site, such as in one example, in the Mysql database 1.9 (1130). Depending on the authentication method, it will dynamically output a form (1135) for the user 8.1 to enter the authentication information required by the partner e-commerce retailer, such as via a secure web site (SSL).
  • SSL secure web site
  • the WMSSP 1.4 may pre-populate some fields in the form so the import process is more straightforward (such as same first name, last name for all partners). This is sent back to the client.
  • the WMSSP 1.4 communicates over the Internet with the partner retailer (1140).
  • the partner retailer has implemented a set of predefined web services defined by the WMSSP 1.4 that can be used to extract a particular user's purchasing history when given the authentication information. When this extraction occurs, the WMSSP 1.4 compares the purchasing history to any already reviewed purchasing history from that partner and the agent.
  • Figure 13 illustrates an example viewer client display 1300 from a third party partner e-commerce site that demonstrates a way of allowing users to incorporate their purchasing histories to a word of mouth selling system according to one embodiment of the present invention.
  • the display 1300 may include a shipping details section 1305 that provides various shipping information.
  • the shipping details section 1305 may include a shipping to section 1310 that identifies a person or entity to which a product is being shipped.
  • a shipping options section 1315 that identifies one or more shipping speeds 1320 that a user may select for shipping the product.
  • a number of shipments section 1325 may be provided to inform the purchaser regarding the number of shipments in which the product will arrive.
  • a change/delete quantities selectable option 1330 may be provided that enables the user to change or delete quantities of products to be purchased.
  • a purchase summary section 1335 may be provided that identifies a product recipient, product, shipping estimator, condition, gift options, etc.
  • a change gift options selectable option 1340 may be provided to enable the purchaser to change gift options such as, for example, whether the product is to be gift wrapped.
  • a profile option 1345 may be provided to enable the purchaser to add the purchase to his/her Word of Mouth Selling profile.
  • An order summary section 1350 may be provided that indicates a purchase price for the product(s), shipping and handling charges, a total before tax, estimated tax, and an order total.
  • a claim code section 1355 may be provided to enable the purchaser to input a gift certificate or promotional claim codes for receiving a discount, rebate or other incentive for purchasing the product(s).
  • a payment section 1360 may be provided to indicate a form of payment and corresponding payment information such as, for example, type of credit card, credit card number, credit card expiration date, etc.
  • One or more place order selectable options 1365 may be provided to enable the purchaser to complete the purchase.
  • the WMSSP 1.4 may include a separate or integrated browse component that displays featured retailers as well as targeted advertisements, services for which advertisers and retailers may pay premiums in order to access a specific type or agent or more agents.
  • the targeted component requires a separate system for retailers specifying target criteria about an agent that the WMSSP 1.4 can track.
  • the client submits a request to the WMSSP 1.4 for the default HTML for the client to render, which typically includes empty form elements that the agent can use for providing or requesting a product/service or suggesting a partner retailer.
  • the WMSSP 1.4 receives the form and processes it with PHP, creating a request for a new product/service or partner that is stored in the Mysql database and routed to the business development team for review before becoming incorporated into the WMSSP 1.4.
  • the PSASVCN 7.0 also includes the ability to edit or remove an associated products/services.
  • the agent would click on the product/service association that should be edited and the client would submit the advertisement identifier and the agent identifier to the server, where PHP would create the dynamic HTML content required for editing the association before sending the HTML back to the client for rendering.
  • PHP of the WMSSP 1.4 would process the submitted form and interact with the Mysql database to update the association or remove it completely.
  • a user might wish to make something private that was public, or vice versa, for example.
  • Another option of the PSASVCN 7.0 is the ability to browse/search products and services (illustrated with reference numbers 1030 and 820, and associated operations 1033, 1036 and 1039), which shares much of the functionality with the ability to request an unlisted product or service (illustrated with reference numbers 1042 and 830 and associated operations 1045, 1048 and 1051).
  • the client submits a request to the WMSSP 1.4 for the default HTML for the client to render (1033, 1045), which typically includes empty form elements that the agent can use for providing or requesting a product or service.
  • the WMSSP 1.4 receives the form and process it with PHP, creating a request for a new product or service such as by using the information provided to enter the product or service data into a product or service review pool (1061) that is stored in the Mysql database 1.9 and routed to the business development team for review and possibly courting a new retailer (1064) before becoming incorporated into the WMSSP 1.4 (1067) such as by associating the provided product or service with the specific retailer(s), and if the product or service is successfully reviewed later
  • the PSASVCN 7.0 also includes the ability to edit or remove an associated products and services (1070 and 850).
  • the agent selects a product or service association that should be edited and the client submits the product or service identifier and the agent identifier to the server (i.e. requests to edit product or service content, 1073), where PHP would create the dynamic HTML content required for editing the association before sending the HTML back to the client for rendering (i.e., the WMSSP 1.4 returns edit product or service content, including an option for removing the association (1076)).
  • the APSAC 8.1 renders information, provides a facility for the user to request editing of products or services, such as displaying an html form (1079).
  • agent updates fields in the form and submits the form back to the server (i.e. agent provides input, (1082) and client 8.1 sends information to WMSSP 1.4, a browser form submit), PHP of the WMSSP 1.4 would process the submitted form and interact with the Mysql database to update the association or remove it completely (i.e., WMSSP 1.4 updates database information for the association with the agent, or removes the association if a removal was requested, (1088)).
  • Agent provides input, (1082) and client 8.1 sends information to WMSSP 1.4, a browser form submit
  • PHP of the WMSSP 1.4 would process the submitted form and interact with the Mysql database to update the association or remove it completely (i.e., WMSSP 1.4 updates database information for the association with the agent, or removes the association if a removal was requested, (1088)).
  • FIG. 12 there is generally shown a high level flow by which agents 2.2 may be rewarded for referred purchases.
  • users may only be rewarded for products they own so
  • This reward mechanism 1210 may be manually triggered when a successful sale is initiated because of the associated products/services of a user on the word of mouth selling system. It may also be triggered if the sale is completed on the word of mouth selling system.
  • the third party system may remember that a user was referred by the word of mouth selling framework and who they were referred from and then, if a purchase is subsequently made (that session, or within 30 days) the partner retailer can interact with the interface provided by the word of mouth selling system to record a successful transaction and trigger the reward mechanism.
  • third party referral tracking software such as Linkshare ® may be used to trigger the reward mechanism.
  • the reward mechanism 12.1 is triggered by passing some or all of the following information to the WMSSP 1.4: including the retailer, the referring agent-id, the purchasing agent-id, the product purchased, the date purchased, the price purchased, etc. Additional information may be passed for bookkeeping (such as the retailer partner identification).
  • reward mechanism 12.1 may invoke a strategy for rewarding the user(s) who were involved in the transaction as well as updating the accounts for all participants, including relevant third party subscribers and partner e-commerce retailers. These strategies may include rewarding the referrer more for a closer relationship to the purchaser, rewarding the referrer more for more frequent referred sales, rewarding the referrer for frequent sales to this user.
  • the rewards may be in the form of points that can be redeemed for coupons, gift certificates or the like. Rewards may also be in the form of cash rewards redeemable after a certain balance is met. Rewards also may be issued by the partner retailer and related to the products resold (i.e., an Ipod ® sale referral may result in an Ipod ® peripheral gift certificate).
  • One reward strategy (1235) includes determining a reward based on a closeness of a relationship between the purchaser and the referring party (1250). For example, if the purchaser is a direct friend of the referring party, the reward may be higher. If the purchaser is a friend of a friend of a friend as provided for by the WMSS, the reward may be lower.
  • a second reward strategy (1240) may be based on a number of referrals that the referring party has made (1255). The more referrals the referring party has made, the higher the reward for that referring party.
  • a third reward strategy (1245) may be based on a number of referrals that the referring party has made to that purchaser (1260). The more referrals the referring party has made to that purchaser, the higher the reward for that referring party.
  • reward strategies may be used. After a reward strategy (1235, 1240, 1245) has been implemented, the reward may be stored by the WMSSP 1.4 in a database 1.9 and/or the reward may be issued to the referring party. Many of the components described above may be operated independently and still be considered word of mouth selling systems via communication networks. The preferred system combines all of the elements described above. Although the present invention has been described in terms of various embodiments, it is not intended that the invention be limited to these embodiments. Modification within the spirit of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art.
  • the usage of the method and system to create an entertainment superstore that sold entertainment based on word of mouth and had participating e- commerce retailers such as Ticketmaster ® , Apple ® iTunes ® , Amazon.com ® , etc. and that rewarded users for purchases through them with complementary tickets, songs, or gift certificates, respectively, would be apparent to one skilled in the art.
  • Another example is using the word of mouth selling framework without the rewards mechanism delivered to the associated user on a third party social network, such as Friendster ® subscribing to the word of mouth selling service and receiving a revenue share for all referrals and/or commissions from the partner retailers managed by the word of mouth selling service. Friendster ® could allow a user to include their purchasing history but not reward them for referrals.

Abstract

L'invention concerne un procédé et un système de vente qui permettent à des individus ou groupes de choisir de manière interactive des produits et services liés par leur présence en ligne dans des échanges relatifs au service en ligne, en tant que partie d'un service en ligne, ou pour une quelconque récompense pécuniaire ou autre. Les individus ou groupes choisissent des produits et services dans un groupement de partenaires détaillants du commerce électronique ou les importent de leurs historiques d'achat fondés sur des préférences personnelles et peuvent les utiliser comme moyen d'expression destiné à leur audience en ligne dans le cadre d'un service en ligne, lesdits détaillants du commerce électronique de la commercialisation ciblée auto-sélectionnée ainsi que de la vente par référence à des groupes d'affinité disposant ainsi de la version en ligne de la vente fondée sur le bouche à oreille. Les détaillants du commerce électronique se partagent les recettes et paient pour les références intervenant dans le cadre de cette vente fondée sur le bouche à oreille. Les services en ligne qui ont une quelconque forme d'identité d'utilisateur dans le contexte d'une audience plus grande peuvent exploiter cette forme de vente par référence fondée sur l'utilisateur comme outil de création de recettes.
EP05738690A 2004-04-21 2005-04-21 Procede et appareil de vente par bouche a oreille par le biais d'un reseau de communications Withdrawn EP1763831A4 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (5)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US52141104P 2004-04-21 2004-04-21
US10/997,121 US8762206B2 (en) 2003-11-26 2004-11-24 Method and system for word of mouth advertising via a communications network
US11/044,544 US8032555B2 (en) 2003-11-26 2005-01-26 Method and apparatus for constructing a networking database and system proactively
US11/045,164 US20050203801A1 (en) 2003-11-26 2005-01-27 Method and system for collecting, sharing and tracking user or group associates content via a communications network
PCT/US2005/013701 WO2005106744A2 (fr) 2004-04-21 2005-04-21 Procede et appareil de vente par bouche a oreille par le biais d'un reseau de communications

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