JP2003288521A - Point system and point imparting method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To acquire an actually visiting customer by preferentially imparting points to a customer who visits a store and/or purchases an article or service after viewing an advertisement and giving the customer an incentive to buy. <P>SOLUTION: Provided are a point system and a point imparting method for calculating and imparting points according to the result of collation between advertisement view information showing that a customer has viewed the advertisement and store visit information and purchase information showing that the customer has visited a company or store and/or bought an article or service after authentication procedures that the customer and company or store follow for the point system. The point system and point imparting method for automatically and preferentially imparting points are realized by linking the advertisement view information on the customer with actual consumption activities. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to points for automatically giving preferential points to a customer who visits a store and / or purchases a product or service after browsing advertisements such as Internet advertisements, direct mails, and leaflets. The present invention relates to a system and a point giving method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a customer uses a credit card of a credit card company to purchase a product, etc., according to a contract between a point business operator (a business operator who mainly sells products and services) and a card company. In this case, there is a point system that gives points according to the purchase price and returns to the customer.

Further, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-331719 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-29103, there is a service in which a customer gives points only by browsing an Internet advertisement. It is often used for the purpose of promoting the consumer's consumption behavior by the effect of giving.

There is also a service in which when a customer brings a leaflet to a company or a store, points are given at the store.

[0005]

The service for giving points only by browsing Internet advertisements as described above is to raise the awareness of companies and stores and acquire customers, rather than simply sending advertisements. Efficient, but
It is the actual situation that many customers repeatedly carry out fraudulent advertisement browsing only for the purpose of earning points, which is not necessarily linked to economic effects including promotion of customer consumption behavior and substantial profits of companies and stores. Absent. It is also a cause of causing unnecessary traffic on communication lines such as the Internet.

Further, the point preferential service by bringing a leaflet or the like is excellent in that the point can be preferentially given only to "a customer who visits the store after browsing the advertisement", but the customer name etc. Since it is not filled out and stored in the company or store, there is no history that the customer viewed the advertisement. In other words, it means that they have overlooked important customer information for companies and stores.
Even if a leaflet is stored and customer information is recorded, it requires a storage location for the leaflet, and if there are plural types of leaflets, it takes time to organize the customer information.

[0007] Therefore, regardless of the form of the advertisement, if a database is used to manage information about when and where the customer browsed the advertisement and then came to the store, not only for giving preferential treatment to the customer but also for the company or the store. It is useful for effective advertisement creation and business planning.

[0008]

In view of the above-mentioned problems, the present inventor considers that when a customer who collects information by advertisement or browses an advertisement visits a company or a store and purchases a product or service, By comparing the customer's advertisement browsing information with store visit information and purchase information and automatically calculating and giving preferential points, the customer actually collects information from the advertisement browsing behavior that the customer collects information in advance. By smoothly interlocking with the flow of consumption behavior of visiting a store and purchasing a product or service, it is, so to speak, "a real purchaser who is not just browsing advertisements or a real visit that may be a real purchaser. We have realized a point system and point awarding method that allows customers to enjoy preferential treatment only. As a result, it becomes possible to reduce advertising costs for customers who do not have the purchase intention of accumulating points by clicking Internet advertisements. Also, not only internet advertisements but also all types of advertisements can be targeted for automatic preferential treatment of points, so companies and stores do not have to bother with calculating points each time, and the advertisement creation budget and target age group. It is possible to change the advertisement form according to the advertisement size.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, in a point system for giving points to a customer in accordance with the purchase of a product or service, information of a customer who uses the service of the point system is received from a terminal connected to a network. Customer information receiving means, customer information authentication means for authenticating that the customer is a legitimate customer who can use the service of the point system, and advertisement browsing information that the customer has browsed the advertisement in the advertisement browsing certificate database. Advertisement browsing certifying means for storing, store information receiving means for receiving information on companies and stores that are members of the point system from the terminal, and regular stores where the companies and stores are members of the point system. And store information authentication means for authenticating that the customer is visiting the company or store and / or products or services. Coming to the store to store online information and purchase information at the time of the purchase of bis coming to the store and purchase management database
Purchase information transmission / reception means, data analysis means for collating information in the advertisement browsing certificate database and information in the store visit / purchase management database, and calculating points according to the collation result of the data analysis means, A point system having a point giving means for storing point information in a customer point database.

The invention of claim 6 is a point awarding method in which a company or a store gives points to a customer, wherein the customer can use a service of a point system for giving points according to the purchase of goods or services. Authenticate that the customer is a legitimate customer, store the advertisement browsing information that the customer browsed the advertisement in the advertisement browsing certificate database, and confirm that the company or store is a company or store that is a member of the point system. Authenticate, store visit information or purchase information when the customer visits the company or store and / or purchases a product or service in the store visit / purchase management database, and stores the advertisement browsing information and the visit information or purchase information. This is a point-giving method for calculating points based on the result of matching with.

According to the inventions of claims 1 and 6, it is possible to provide a point system in which the customer's advertisement browsing behavior and actual consumption behavior are linked and points can be automatically granted.

The invention according to claim 2 is a point system having a point giving condition receiving means for receiving a condition for giving points to a customer from the terminal and storing it in a point giving condition database.

According to a seventh aspect of the invention, a company or a store receives information in which a plurality of patterns of point giving conditions for giving points to a customer are arbitrarily set, and the advertisement browsing information and the visit information or purchase information are received. It is a point granting method of calculating points according to the point granting conditions by comparing with the point granting conditions and giving the points to the customer.

According to the inventions of claims 2 and 7, it is possible to set the point giving condition for each advertisement sent by the company or store, and further set the normal point giving condition regardless of whether the advertisement is browsed or not. It is also possible to do so.

The invention of claim 3 is a point system having an advertisement information registration means for registering the information of an advertisement which describes that points are preferentially granted.

[0016] The invention of claim 8 is a point-giving method for registering information of an advertisement which describes giving points preferentially, giving an advertisement identification number to the registered advertisement, and storing and managing it in an advertisement information database. .

According to the inventions of claims 3 and 8, in addition to Internet advertisements, advertisement information of direct mails and leaflets are registered and an advertisement identification number is given to prepare for a terminal, a company or a store owned by a customer. The information that proves that you have viewed these advertisements sent from the terminal that was sent via the network can be stored in the database, so companies and stores can analyze the information that the customer viewed the advertisement. Point system becomes possible.

The invention of claim 4 is a point system having point confirmation means for transmitting point information on the customer in the customer point database to the customer and / or the company or store.

The invention of claim 9 is a point for authenticating the customer and / or the company or store, accessing a customer point database storing point information on the customer, and confirming the point information on the customer. It is a method of giving.

According to the inventions of claims 4 and 9, a customer and / or a company or a store can send point information about the customer to any terminal connected to the network by undergoing an authentication procedure. The system becomes possible.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a point system including point updating means for receiving the point information of the customer transmitted from the terminal and updating the point information of the customer in the customer point database.

A tenth aspect of the present invention is a point giving method for giving points to the customer by rewriting and updating the point information relating to the customer in the customer point database.

According to the inventions of claims 5 and 10,
If you do not set the point granting conditions in advance or if you want to give points to customers under conditions other than the set point granting conditions, etc., the customer sent from the terminal equipped in the company or store A point system capable of updating point information becomes possible.

The invention according to claim 11 is a card having a point system access means for authenticating to a point system which gives points to a customer in a company or a store according to the purchase of goods or services.

The invention of claim 12 relates to authenticating the customer who has visited the company or store using the card, accessing the point system, and giving points to the customer, and / or the customer. It is a point giving method of confirming point information and / or updating point information about the customer.

According to the inventions of claims 11 and 12,
By installing a point system access chip on a conventional card such as a credit card or debit card, the customer does not need to have a point system card, and the service can be used with the conventional card. I can.

[0027]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An example of an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an example of a system configuration of a point system 1 of the present invention. In addition, the visit to a company or a store and / or the purchase of a product or service according to the present invention is
It also includes visits to and purchases from existing stores and electronic commerce (visits and purchases) in virtual stores that can be accessed via the network 12 such as the Internet.

The point system 1 provides services such as giving points to customers who come to a company or store and / or purchase goods or services, and is usually a system owned by a point business or a credit card company. Is.

The point system 1 is a system that can be accessed from the store terminal 2 or the user terminal 8 via the network 12. Examples of the store terminal 2 and the user terminal 8 are computers and mobile phones connectable to the network 12. , PHS and the like.

The store terminal 2 and the user terminal 8 may be provided with the data transmitting / receiving means 10 and the display means 11.

The data transmitting / receiving means 10 is means for transmitting data in response to a request from the point system 1 and receiving data obtained from the point system 1.
The data is information such as customer information, company or store information, point data, store visit information and purchase information.

The display means 11 is means for displaying the data transmission / reception result of the data transmission / reception means 10.

Further, the store terminal 2 has a data transmitting / receiving means 1
In addition to 0 and the display means 11, it is preferable to have a reading means 15 for reading the information recorded on the card 3.

The card 3 is a card that proves that the customer can use the service of the point system 1, and has the point system access means 20.

The point system access means 20 is a customer for using the service provided by the point system 1 via the network 12 in the store terminal 2 provided in a company or store that is a member of the point system 1. It is a means to enter the authentication procedure. After the card information such as the registration number of the card 3 transmitted by the point system access means 20 is received by the point system 1 and the authentication is permitted, the service of the point system 1 can be used.

Further, the card 3 may have a plurality of credit card functions, debit card functions and the like.
Furthermore, it is possible to store point information, store visit information, and purchase information.

The point system 1 transmits and receives data to and from the database server 13 which has at least one of the advertisement browsing certificate database 4, the store / purchase management database 5, the customer point database 6 and the advertisement information database 17. Via 12 is possible. It goes without saying that the database server 13 may be in the point system 1.

The advertisement browsing certificate database 4 is a database that stores advertisement browsing information that the customer has browsed the advertisement. Examples of the advertisement browsing information include the date and time when the customer browsed the advertisement, the name of the advertisement browsed, the advertisement identification number that identifies the advertisement, and the like. Naturally, the advertisement browsing information is stored in the advertisement browsing certification database 4 in association with customer information (name, telephone number, etc.) of the customer who browsed the advertisement, card information (card number, card expiration date, etc.), and the like. Incidentally, the management of the advertisement browsing certificate database 4 and the stored advertisement browsing information, the method of storing the information, etc. may be entrusted to an advertisement management company, an advertisement production company, or an advertisement agency.

The store visit / purchase management database 5 is a database that stores store visit information and purchase information when a customer visits a company or store and / or purchases a product or service. Examples of the store visit information and purchase information include date and time of store visit, purchased product, purchase amount, and information on whether to pay by credit card or cash. It is natural that the store visit information and purchase information are stored in the store visit / purchase management database 5 in association with customer information (name, telephone number, etc.), card information (card number, card expiration date, etc.).

The customer point database 6 is a database that stores customer point information. The point information includes not only the total number of points at the present time but also the past point acquisition history and point return history. Of course, the point information is stored in the customer point database 6 in association with customer information (name, telephone number, etc.), card information (card number, card expiration date, etc.) and the like.

The advertisement information database 17 is a database that stores information on advertisements sent to customers. An advertisement can be specified by giving an advertisement identification number to the advertisement information. Advertising information database 17
In addition to Internet advertisements, information such as direct mails and advertisements for newspapers and magazines is also stored in the.

Next, the point system 1 has a customer information receiving means 30, a customer information authenticating means 31, an advertisement browsing certificate transmitting / receiving means 37, a store information receiving means 32 and a store information authenticating means 33.
And store / purchase information transmission / reception means 34 and data analysis means 35
It has point giving means 36, information extracting means 38, and advertisement information registering means 42.

The customer information receiving means 30 is means for receiving customer information (name, telephone number, etc.) and card information (card number, card expiration date, etc.) transmitted from the store terminal 2 or the user terminal 8.

The customer information authenticating means 31 judges from the customer information and the card information received by the customer information receiving means 30 whether the customer is a legitimate customer who can use the service of the point system 1 and performs the authentication. It is a means to do.

The advertisement browsing certificate transmitting / receiving means 37 is means for storing the advertisement browsing information that the customer has browsed the advertisement in the advertisement browsing certificate database 4. An example of the advertisement browsing information is as described in the description of the advertisement browsing certification database 4.

The store information receiving means 32 receives information on the company or store (store name, store name, etc.) transmitted from the store terminal 2 or the user terminal 8.
It is a means for receiving a membership number to the point system 1). The information of the company and the store that can be received by the store information receiving means 32 is not limited to the company and the store that have subscribed to the point system 1, but also the advertising agency that is creating the advertisement of the company and the store, the point company, Of course, information about the credit card company is also included.

The store information authenticating means 33 judges from the information of the company or store received by the store information receiving means 32 whether or not it is a legitimate company or store that is a member of the point system 1, and performs authentication. It is a means.

The customer authenticated by the customer information authentication means 31 can use the limited service provided by the point system 1. Similarly, a company or store authenticated by the store information authentication means 33 can use the limited service provided by the point system 1. Furthermore, some services cannot be used without both customer information authentication and company or store information authentication.

The store / purchase information transmission / reception means 34 is a unit for storing store / store purchase information and purchase information in the store / purchase management database 5 when a customer visits a company or store and purchases a product or service. An example of visit information and purchase information is
This is as described in the description of the purchase management database 5.

The data analysis means 35 is means for collating all or some of the databases and analyzing each database. A company or store can analyze all databases relating to customers who visit the store and / or purchase goods or services at the company or store. For example, analysis of the time when customers come to the store, the products purchased, the tendency of the amount of purchase, how many days after the advertisement was posted the customer was given points, and which advertisement was browsed by the customer. It is possible to conduct such a survey.

The point giving means 36 is means for calculating the points given to the customer based on the collated result in the data analysis means 35.

The information extracting means 38 is means for extracting necessary information from the database. For example, the advertisement extracting information of the customer obtained as a result of the collation by the data analyzing means 35 is extracted from the advertisement browsing certifying database 4 by the information extracting means 38, and is associated with the store visit information or the purchase information, or from the advertisement information database 17. Extract the required advertising information.

The advertisement information registration means 42 is means for giving an advertisement identification number to the advertisement information transmitted to the customer and storing it in the advertisement information database 17.

[0054]

Embodiment 1 Next, an example of the process flow of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the flow charts of FIGS. 3, 4, and 5 and the system configuration diagram of FIG. FIG. 3 is a flow chart diagram in the case where a company, a store, or the like registers information on advertisements sent to customers, and FIG. 4 is a flow chart diagram in the case where the point system 1 performs advertisement browsing proof of a customer who browsed an advertisement. Yes, FIG. 5 is a flow chart in the case where the point system 1 gives points when a customer who has performed an advertisement browsing proof visits the store.

The flow charts to be described below
In the system configuration diagram, it is not specified whether it is a transaction when visiting an actual store or a transaction on the Internet, but it may be either.

First, FIG. 3 shows an example of the flow of a process when a company, a store or the like registers information on an advertisement transmitted to a customer.

The company or store sends the advertisement information to the customer (S10). The advertisement information includes advertisements displayed on the web screen of the Internet for browsing by connecting the user terminal 8 to the network 12, direct mail (there are two types of transmission methods by mail and electronic mail), and There are leaflets for specific customers, keywords hidden on websites and leaflets on the Internet. For these advertisements, if the customer visits the advertisement after browsing the advertisement, or if the customer purchases the target product described in the advertisement for a certain amount or more, the points are purchased in the conventional manner. It includes information such as how many points to add or how many times as many points as the amount of money. It goes without saying that specific numerical conditions can be set differently depending on the company or store.

In order to identify the advertisement, a company, a store, an advertisement agency or the like needs to register the advertisement information transmitted to the customer.

When registering the advertisement information, the company or the store uses the store terminal 2 or the user terminal 8 to receive the authentication permission of the company or the store itself.

When the point system 1 receives the information about the company or the store transmitted from the store terminal 2 or the user terminal 8 in the store information receiving means 32 (S20), the point information 1 is sent to the point system 1 in the store information authenticating means 33. The authentication procedure for whether the company is a legitimate company or store is started (S30), and if the authentication is not possible, an error message is sent (S4).
0) Prompt for re-entry of information on legitimate companies and stores.

The authorized company or store transmits the advertisement information to be registered from the store terminal 2 or the user terminal 8, and the point system 1 receives the advertisement information and registers it (S50).

The registered advertisement information is given an advertisement identification number (S60) and stored in the advertisement information database 17 (S70).

Next, FIG. 4 shows an example of a process flow when the point system 1 certifies an advertisement of a customer who has browsed an advertisement.

A customer who wants to receive a service of preferentially rewarding points by browsing an advertisement needs to perform an advertisement browsing proof procedure. It is possible to change the place where the ad browsing verification procedure is performed depending on the type of ad (S110). FIG. 4 shows only one example. When the Internet advertisement is browsed on the user terminal 8 owned by the customer (S120), the advertisement browsing proof procedure is performed on the spot (S130). In the case of the direct mail sent to the specific customer (S140), the company, the store, the advertising agency, etc., which sent the direct mail, act for the customer's advertisement browsing certification procedure (S150). When a customer brings a leaflet or direct mail for an unspecified customer when visiting a company or a store, or when giving a keyword at a store (S16)
0), the advertisement browsing proof procedure is performed in the store terminal 2 provided in the company or store (S170). Advertising information for leaflets and direct mail is already available in the advertising information database 1
7 and is identifiable, it is not limited to the above-mentioned advertisement browsing certification procedure place, but the user terminal 8 owned by the customer.
It is also possible to perform the above (S130).

In S150 or S170, when the company, the store, the advertising agency, or the like performs the customer certification procedure, the company terminal or the user terminal 8 performs the authentication procedure of the company or the store itself. Note that the authentication procedure of the company or the store can be omitted after that if it is performed only when the store terminal 2 or the user terminal 8 is powered on for the first time on the day.

In the point system 1, when the store information receiving means 32 receives the information about the company or store transmitted from the store terminal 2 or the user terminal 8 (S180, S210),
In the store information authenticating means 33, an authentication procedure of whether the company is a legitimate company or a store that is a member of the point system 1 is started (S190, S220), and if the authentication is not possible, an error message is transmitted (S200, S230), and prompts the user to re-enter information on the authorized company or store.

A company or store authorized to authenticate can act on behalf of the customer's advertisement browsing proof procedure. Advertisement information database 1
7 is searched and extracted (S240, S250).

When a company or a store acts as a proxy for the procedure for certifying an advertisement of a direct mail to a specific customer, the store terminal 2
Alternatively, the advertisement information is transmitted from the user terminal 8 together with the customer information of the customer who has transmitted the advertisement information, received by the advertisement browsing certification transmitting / receiving means 37 (S260), and stored in the advertisement browsing certification database 4 (S270).

When a customer visits a company or a store and performs an advertisement browsing proof procedure at the store terminal 2 provided in the company or the store, the customer submits the card 3 to the reading means 15 of the store terminal 2. The card information of the card 3 read in is transmitted (S280), and is received by the customer information receiving means 30 (S290). If you forget Card 3,
Of course, it is not necessary to submit the card 3, and the authentication procedure can be performed by receiving the card information or the personal information.

The customer information receiving means 30 receives the card information (S290), and the customer information authenticating means 31 confirms whether or not the customer is a legitimate customer who can use the service of the point system 1 (S300), and the authentication is impossible. In that case, an error message is transmitted (S310), and the user is prompted to input the correct card information again.

If the customer is authenticated, the advertisement browsing information database 4 stores the customer browsing information of the customer who has browsed the advertisement, as well as the advertisement browsing information such as the date and time of browsing and the name of the browsed advertisement (S320).

When the customer browses the Internet advertisement on the user terminal 8 or the like owned by the customer, the advertisement browsing proof procedure is performed on the Internet screen.

On the Internet screen, a screen prompting the input of customer information or card information appears, so the customer information or card information is transmitted from the user terminal 8 and the point system 1 receives the customer information or card information ( S33
0).

The customer information receiving means 30 receives the customer information or the card information (S330), and the customer information authenticating means 31 confirms whether or not the customer can use the service of the point system 1 (S340). If authentication is not possible, an error message is sent (S350), and the customer is prompted to re-enter valid customer information or card information.

When the customer is authenticated, the information of the authenticated customer is stored in the advertisement browsing certificate database 4, together with the information of the browsed date, the advertisement name of the browsed advertisement, and the like (S360).

A specific example for realizing the flow of this process will be given. In the case of Internet advertisement, an “advertisement browsing certification button” or the like is prepared in or near the advertisement display screen as illustrated in FIG. 10, and by clicking this button, the flow from S330 is entered. May be.

Or, when logging in to a virtual store on the Internet created by collecting favorite companies and stores, it is considered that all the clicked advertisements have been browsed since the login authentication procedure, and the advertisement browsing information is stored in the advertisement browsing certificate database 4. May be stored. A virtual store on the Internet created by collecting your favorite companies and stores
By using the invention of No. 001-352602, it may be configured by a store that advertises according to the attributes and preferences of customers.

Further, if the user has neglected to perform the advertisement browsing proof procedure despite browsing the Internet advertisement related to the point preferential treatment, as shown in FIG. 11, the customer is required to visit the user terminal such as a mobile phone before visiting the store. You can also access the advertisement browsing certification page from 8 and perform the advertisement browsing certification procedure.

Next, FIG. 5 shows an example of the flow of a process when the point system 1 gives points when a customer who has made an advertisement browsing proof visits the store.

In FIG. 4, when the advertisement browsing proof procedure is performed by the user terminal 8 owned by the customer, or when the company or store has already performed the advertisement browsing proof, the customer visits the company or store. In doing so, the process proceeds to A in FIG. 5 and the authentication process of whether or not the company or store is affiliated with the point system 1 is performed (S410).

The point system 1 is the store information receiving means 3
When the information of the company or the store transmitted from the store terminal 2 provided in the company or the store in 2 is received (S410), the store information authenticating means 33 allows the regular company that is a member of the point system 1. And whether or not it is a store
(S420), if authentication is not possible, an error message is transmitted (S430), and the user is prompted to re-enter the information on the authorized company or store.

Next, the authentication procedure for the customer who has come to the store is performed. The customer submits the card 3 to the company or store in order to show that he or she is the customer himself / herself to which points are given, and transmits the card information of the card 3 read by the reading means 15 of the store terminal 2 (S440). ), And the customer information receiving means 30 receives it (S450). In order to prevent unauthorized use or forgery by a third party due to the theft of the card 3 or the like, the customer may input the personal identification number. In addition, in the case of electronic commerce on the Internet, etc., or when you visit a company or store but forget the card 3, you do not need to submit the card 3 and you can perform the authentication procedure by receiving the card information or personal information. Is natural.

The customer's card information is received (S450),
In the customer information authentication means 31, it is confirmed whether or not the customer is a legitimate customer who can use the service of the point system 1 (S46).
0), if authentication is not possible, an error message is sent (S470), and prompts for re-input of regular card information.

In FIG. 4, when the customer has performed the advertisement browsing proof procedure using the store terminal 2 provided in the company or the store at the time of coming to the store, the company and the store authentication process and the customer authentication process are completed. Therefore, proceed to B in FIG. The steps after B in FIG. 5 are the same process for all customers who visit the company or store.

The visit / purchase information transmitting / receiving means 34 stores in-store / purchase information transmission / reception means 34 store-in / store-purchase management database 5 with store-in / out information, such as the date and time when an authorized customer came to the store, the name of the purchased product, the purchase price, etc. (S480). ).

In the data analysis means 35, the advertisement browsing certificate database 4 is searched (S490), and when the advertisement browsing information that the customer has browsed the advertisement is found (S500), this advertisement browsing information is further updated. It is determined whether or not the condition for giving points is met (S510).

If the same advertisement browsing information as the point giving condition is not found, it is considered that the customer is not the customer who came to the store after browsing the advertisement, and the point giving means 36.
At, the usual points given by the purchase of goods and services are calculated and given (S550).

When the advertisement browsing information that matches the point granting condition is found, it is further analyzed whether or not the customer visit information and purchase information stored in the store visit / purchase management database 5 match the point granting condition. It is judged by the means 35 (S520).

When the advertisement browsing information and the point giving condition and the store visit information or the purchase information and the point giving condition match,
The preferential points are calculated by the point giving means 36 (S530). In some cases, only the point-giving conditions match the visit information or purchase information, and in this case, the points are calculated (S550).

The points calculated by the point giving means 36 are stored in the customer point database 6 (S540).

[0091]

Second Embodiment In this embodiment, the point system 1 of the first embodiment is used when the point system 1 is actually operated.
In the case where a more desirable function is added to the configuration of, the configuration of the point system 1 of the first embodiment is
Point updating means 39 and point giving condition receiving means 40
The case of the point system 1 including the point confirmation means 41 will be described. Point system 1 in this case
Allows companies and stores to freely set the point-giving conditions, and to check the points given to customers,
Since the company or the store can update the points, it is possible to consistently perform the process from managing the advertisement browsing information, the store visit information, the purchase information, the point giving condition, the point giving, the point checking, and the point updating. FIG. 2 shows an example of the system configuration of the point system 1 in this case. It should be noted that in the example of the configuration of the point system 1 shown in FIG. 2 and the necessary database server 13, store terminal 2 and card 3, FIG.
For the sake of simplification, description of the same parts as the parts shown in will be omitted.

The store terminal 2 provided in a company or store has
In addition to the constituent means of the store terminal 2 shown in FIG.
A printing unit 14 for outputting or printing the result displayed in 1.
Or a recording means 1 for accumulating point information on the card 3
There should be 6 mag.

The point system 1 is a database server 13 having at least one of an advertisement browsing certification database 4, a store / purchase management database 5, a customer point database 6, an advertisement information database 17, and a point giving condition database 7. It is possible to transmit and receive the data of the above through the network 12.
It goes without saying that the database server 13 may be in the point system 1.

The point-giving condition database 7 is a database that stores the setting information of the point-giving conditions that companies and stores give to customers. As an example of the setting information of the point giving condition, which advertisement has been browsed, the point giving effective period, the purchase amount, the purchased product, and the like can be mentioned. This grant condition is set for each company or store, and is stored in the point grant condition database 7 in association with the information about the company or store (store name, membership number to the point system 1, etc.). Not only the point preferential condition due to browsing the advertisement, but it is also possible to set a grant condition such as adding points in the month when the customer is born,
It is also possible for the point business or the credit card company to set the grant condition for any number of companies or stores.

The point-giving condition database 7 may be omitted if there are few point-giving conditions or if there are few member stores of the point system 1.

The point updating means 39 is provided in a company or a store when the company or the store side wants to give the customer its own points, or when it wants to give points other than the automatically calculated points. It is means for receiving the point information transmitted from the store terminal 2 and updating the point information in the customer point database 6.

The point-giving condition receiving means 40 receives the setting information of the point-giving condition transmitted from the store terminal 2 or the user terminal 8, and receives the point-giving condition database 7
Is a means for storing in. An example of the setting information of the point giving condition is as described in the description of the point giving condition database 7.

The point confirmation means 41 is means for confirming the customer point information in the customer point database 6. An example of the customer point information is as described in the description of the customer point database 6.

Next, an example of the process flow of the second embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 6 and 7, 8 and 9, and the system configuration diagram of FIG. 6 and 7 show that the point system 1 gives points to a customer who visits a company or a store and / or purchases a product or service, and further confirms the points, outputs the points, and records them on the card 3. It is a flowchart figure in the case of performing.
FIG. 8 is a flow chart when the customer confirms the acquired points and the point return history from the user terminal 8. FIG. 9 is a flowchart of a case where a company or a store sets a condition for giving points to a customer in the point system 1.

Incidentally, the flow charts to be explained below,
In the system configuration diagram, it is not specified whether it is a transaction when visiting an actual store or a transaction on the Internet, but it may be either.

First, in FIGS. 6 and 7, the point system 1 gives points to a customer who visits a company or a store and / or purchases a product or service, and further confirms the points, outputs the points, and the card 3 An example of the flow of the process when recording to the is shown.

As a premise of entering the processes of FIGS. 6 and 7, it is assumed that the customer who browsed the advertisement has come to the company or store through the advertisement browsing certification procedure as described in the first embodiment.

In order to give points to a customer at a company or store, first, an authentication procedure for whether or not the company or store is a member of the point system 1 must be performed (S610). Incidentally, in FIG. 4, if the authentication procedure of the company or store has already been performed, the process proceeds to step S650.

Point system 1 is store information receiving means 3
When the information of the company or the store transmitted from the store terminal 2 provided in the company or the store in 2 is received (S620), the store information authenticating means 33 allows the regular company that is a member of the point system 1. And whether or not it is a store
(S630) If the authentication is not possible, an error message is sent (S640) to prompt the user to re-enter the information on the authorized company or store.

Next, the procedure for authenticating the customer who came to the store is performed.
In FIG. 4, if the customer authentication procedure has already been performed, the process proceeds to step S690.

The customer submits the card 3 to the company or store in order to show that he or she is the customer himself or herself who will be given points, and the card 3 is read by the reading means 15 of the store terminal 2 provided in the company or store. The card information of the card 3 or the customer information is transmitted and received by the customer information receiving means 30 (S660). In order to prevent unauthorized use or forgery by a third party due to the theft of the card 3 or the like, the customer may input the personal identification number. In addition, in the case of electronic commerce on the Internet, etc., or when you visit a company or store but forget the card 3, you do not need to submit the card 3 and you can perform the authentication procedure by receiving the card information or personal information. Is natural.

After receiving the customer information, the customer information authenticating means 31 confirms whether or not the customer is a legitimate customer who can use the service of the point system 1 (S670). If the authentication is impossible, an error message is transmitted. (S680), the user is prompted to re-enter valid card information or customer information.

In the data analysis means 35, the information related to the customer who is permitted to authenticate is the advertisement browsing certificate database 4
It is searched whether or not it exists (S690). Search results,
If it does not exist, it is assumed that it is not the customer who viewed the advertisement, and in order to give points based on the normal point-giving conditions, visit information such as the date and time when the customer came to the store, the name of the product purchased, the purchase price, etc., and purchase information. Is stored in the store visit / purchase management database 5 by the store visit / purchase information transmitting / receiving unit 34 (S730).

When the advertisement browsing information that the advertisement is browsed is found in the advertisement browsing certification database 4 (S70).
0), the advertisement browsing information is extracted by the information extracting means 38 (S710). In addition to the extracted advertisement browsing information, store visit information and purchase information such as the date and time when the customer came to the store, the name of the product purchased, the purchase price, etc. are stored in the store visit / purchase management database 5 in the store visit / purchase information transmitting / receiving unit 34. Yes (S720).

[0110] Among the point-giving conditions stored in the point-giving condition database 7, whether or not there is a match with the customer's advertisement browsing information stored in the store-visit / purchase management database 5 or the store-visit information or purchase information. That is checked by the data analysis means 35 (S740).

Even if the information extracting means 38 is not provided, by comparing the advertisement browsing certificate database 4 and the point giving condition database 7 with each other, the store visit / purchase management database 5 and the point giving condition database 7 are compared with each other. It is possible to calculate and give preferential points,
This is as shown in Example 1.

When the point giving condition in the point giving condition database 7 matches the advertisement browsing information and / or the store visit information or the purchase information (S740), the points are automatically calculated according to the condition (S750). The points are automatically stored in the customer point database 6 (S
760). If you meet multiple points granting conditions,
Points are awarded for each. For example, if condition A, which gives points in proportion to the purchase price, and condition B, which gives points when a target product is purchased after viewing an advertisement, match A and B respectively. Points will be given.

After the points are stored in the customer point database 6, it is desirable to delete the customer's advertisement browsing information extracted by the information extracting means 38 from the advertisement browsing certificate database 4. Otherwise, the same advertisement browsing information will remain forever, it will take time to collate data, and points will be given preferential treatment every time you visit or purchase as long as it is within the period that matches the point giving condition. It can be abused by.

Further, when the company or store wants to give points independently, the point information is updated (S77).
0). In that case, the point system 1 receives the customer's point information transmitted from the store terminal 2 provided in the company or store in the point updating means 39 (S780),
The customer point information in the customer point database 6 is updated (S790).

In order to notify the customer of the point information given to the customer, the point confirmation means 41 extracts the customer's point information from the customer point database 6 (S800).

A display method of the extracted point information is selected (S810). The point information can be printed on the receipt or receipt by the printing means 14 of the store terminal 2 (S820), and the point information is recorded on the card 3 submitted by the customer by the recording means 16 of the store terminal 2. It can also be done (S830). FIG. 12 shows an example of a receipt on which point information is printed.

As a method of giving points, online database matching and point giving may be performed, or store and purchase information may be stored in the visit / purchase database 5 to check and give points. You may decide to set the time, such as at the end of a day's work. In the latter case, the point information given to the customer can be confirmed at a later time when the customer comes to the store, or can be confirmed at the user terminal 8 owned by the customer as described later with reference to FIG.

Next, in FIG. 8, the customer selects from the user terminal 8
An example of the process flow when confirming the acquired points and the point return history is shown.

Note that the customer himself cannot return, give, or update points of himself or another person at the user terminal 8 of the customer. Naturally, it is possible only at the store terminal 2 provided in the company or store.

The customer transmits the customer information of the customer himself or the card information of the card 3 from the user terminal 8 connected to the network 12, and the customer information receiving means 30 of the point system 1 receives it (S840).

After receiving the customer information or the card information, the customer information authenticating means 31 confirms whether or not the customer is a legitimate customer who can use the service of the point system 1 (S85).
0) If the authentication is not possible, an error message is sent (S860) to prompt the user to re-enter the valid customer information or card information.

For a customer who is authorized to authenticate, the point confirmation means 41 of the point system 1 extracts point information about the customer from the customer point database 6 (S
870), and display it on the display screen of the user terminal 8 (S
880). The customer can check the number of points currently accumulated and the history of returning the points. An example of the point confirmation screen is shown in FIG.

Next, FIG. 9 shows an example of a process flow when a company or a store sets a condition for giving points to a customer in the point system 1. This process is a process that a company or a store should perform at the same time as sending an advertisement to a customer when the customer browses the advertisement as one of the setting information of the point giving condition. If it is not a limited condition that points are given to customers who have viewed the advertisement, the setting can be performed at any time. It should be noted that this process may be performed by the point business operator, the card company, the company, the store, or the like, or may be performed by the advertising agency that has transmitted the advertisement.

When the point system 1 receives the company or store information transmitted from the store terminal 2 or the user terminal 8 in the store information receiving means 32 (S910), the point system 1 in the store information authenticating means 33. Enter the authentication procedure for whether it is a legitimate company or store affiliated with (S92
0), if authentication is not possible, an error message is transmitted (S930), and the input of information on a legitimate company or store is prompted.

[0125] In step S940, the company or store authorized to authenticate receives a point S95 if it wants to give points to the customer.
Go to step 0. Hereinafter, it is assumed that the transmission / reception of the setting information is performed between the store terminal 2 or the user terminal 8 used for the authentication of the company or the store and the point giving condition receiving means 40 of the point system 1, and the description of the subsequent transmission / reception of the setting information will be given. Is omitted.

First, the setting information indicating how many points should be given is transmitted and received (S960). For example, it is determined whether to add or multiply in proportion to the purchase price.

Next, the setting information of the period for which the previously set points are given is transmitted and received (S970). If there are a plurality of periods (S1010), the process returns to step S980,
Add settings. If you proceed to the next step without setting a period, the point award period is considered to be indefinite. The set start period is not accepted until after the current time (S990). Otherwise, there is a risk that points will be awarded in duplicate in the past. Further, when the period for giving points has passed, this point giving condition is automatically deleted from the point giving condition database 7.

Next, the setting information of the target store to which the points are given is transmitted / received (S1020). The target store can be arbitrarily selected from all the companies and stores that are members of the point system 1 when the point provider or the card company sets the point giving condition. On the other hand, companies and stores that are members of the point system 1 can set only themselves as target stores.

Next, the setting information related to the store visit information and the purchase information to which points are to be given is transmitted / received (S10).
50). For example, the setting information regarding the product to be given points, the purchase amount, the cash or the card payment, the number of visits to the store, and the like can be set information regarding the store visit information and the purchase information. If there are a plurality of target store visit information and purchase information (S1070), the process returns to the step of S1060 to add the setting.

When the number of store visits is set in S1050, naturally, a program for extracting the number of store visits and purchase information of the past and recording the number of visits by the customer is required. Since it is possible to set a point-giving condition such that the number of points to be given increases as the number of visits to the store increases, it is effective for obtaining repeaters.

Next, the setting information regarding the advertisement information to which the points are preferentially given is transmitted / received (S1080).
The advertisement information or the advertisement identification number to which the point preferential treatment is given is extracted from the advertisement information database 17 and used as the setting information. Similar to the period setting, if there are multiple settings (S11
00), the process returns to step S1090 to add the setting. It should be noted that it is not necessary to set it in the case of a normal point grant.

Next, other setting information necessary for giving points is transmitted and received (S1110). Similar to the period setting, when there are a plurality of settings, the process returns to the step S1110 and the setting is added.

In the flow from S950 to S1120, for example, one set of the flow of "conditions necessary to give 2 points" has been set, but the point giving condition receiving means 40 of the point system 1 At this point, after making all the settings, it is confirmed whether or not there is a contradiction in these setting conditions (S1130). For example, the point grant start period is earlier than the start of the effective period of the advertisement information set as the point grant target. In such a case, an error message is transmitted (S1140), and a procedure for causing the store terminal 2 or the user terminal 8 to correct the setting information is performed.
This procedure is performed until the setting conditions are consistent.
This procedure is a step to check whether or not there is a conflict between each setting item after performing all the settings, and of course, a program that rejects the conflict that occurred for each setting item as an error each time. Absent.

The step of finally confirming whether or not the conditions are consistent in S1130 can be deleted. S
In some cases, it can be solved by changing the order of the flow from 950 to S1120. For example, if the order of S980 and S1080 is exchanged, only the date and time after the start date and time of the target advertisement can be registered as the point giving period.
Further, every time a condition is set, all the conditions set up to that point may be reviewed and an error may be issued each time.

The point-giving condition having no contradiction is stored in the point-giving condition database 7 as one point-giving pattern in the point-giving condition receiving means 40 (S1150).

In addition, when transmitting / receiving the setting information of the pattern of the point giving condition (S1160), the process returns to S950 and the condition is set.

The contents relating to the setting information of the point giving condition can be freely set by a company or a store. For example, if the purchase price is set to 0 yen in S1050, the customer can purchase the product or service. Even if you do not purchase it, it means that you will be given preferential points just by visiting the store. In addition, it is possible to specify a plurality of OR conditions for one category as the point giving condition, and for example, a plurality of target products can be specified in S1050.

Further, it is possible to set normal points other than the condition that points are preferentially given to customers who have viewed advertisements. For example, it is possible to set the points to be given in proportion to the purchase amount, and to set the points to be given only when the customer comes to the store in the month of birth and purchases.

The detailed setting contents of the point giving condition shown in FIG. 9 are merely examples, and the present invention is not limited to this, and various conditions can be added or changed. The order of setting the conditions is not limited to this.

The respective means and databases in the present invention are as follows:
The functions are only logically distinct and may physically or virtually form the same area.
Further, it goes without saying that a data file may be used instead of the database, and the description of the database also includes a data file.

In carrying out the present invention, a storage medium recording a software program for realizing the functions of the present embodiment is supplied to the system, and the computer of the system reads and executes the program stored in the storage medium. It will be realized by

In this case, the program itself read from the storage medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments, and the storage medium storing the program naturally constitutes the present invention.

As the storage medium for supplying the program, for example, a magnetic disk, a hard disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a magnetic tape, a non-volatile memory card or the like can be used.

Further, by executing the program read by the computer, not only the functions of the above-described embodiment are realized, but also based on the instruction of the program,
It goes without saying that this also includes the case where an operating system or the like running on a computer performs a part or all of the actual processing and the processing realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments.

[0145]

According to the present invention, when a customer who collects information by advertisement and browses advertisement visits a company or store and purchases a product or service, the customer's advertisement browsing information and visit information or purchase information. By automatically calculating and giving preferential points by comparing the above, the customer actually visited the company or store and purchased the product or service from the advertisement browsing behavior that the customer collected information in advance. By smoothly linking the flow up to the consumption behavior, so to speak, enjoy preferential treatment only for "real buyers who have not only browsed advertisements or who are real visiting customers who may be real buyers". It becomes possible to provide a point system and a point giving method.

Further, it is possible to reduce the advertising cost for a customer who does not intend to purchase the Internet advertisement by clicking to accumulate points.

Further, since the point-giving action is automatically performed for companies and stores regardless of the advertisement form, no troublesome labor is required, and the advertisement browsing information of the customer in the database is analyzed to reduce the advertisement creation budget or the advertisement creation budget. It is possible to change the advertising form according to the target age group and the advertising scale.

Eventually, it is hoped that the management and maintenance of companies and stores will be improved by acquiring real purchasers or real visiting customers who may become real purchasers, which will lead to the economic effect of the whole society.

Further, not only the point system and the point granting method described in the present invention can be utilized alone, but also the patent application 200
By combining or coordinating with the invention of 1-352602 or the invention of Japanese Patent Application No. 2001-348228, the flow from the advertisement browsing behavior to the actual consumption behavior of the customer can be made smoother.
It is possible to provide a consistent advertising management system and point system.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram showing an example of a system configuration of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a system configuration diagram showing an example of another system configuration of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of a process flow of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of a process flow of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of a process flow of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of a process flow of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of a process flow of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an example of a process flow of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing an example of a process flow of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a screen for performing an advertisement browsing proof procedure on the Internet advertisement screen.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a screen for accessing an advertisement browsing certification page from a mobile phone or the like and proceeding to an advertisement browsing certification procedure.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of a receipt on which point information is printed.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a point confirmation screen.

[Explanation of symbols]

1: Point system 2: Store terminal 3: Card 4: Advertisement browsing certificate database 5: Store / purchase management database 6: Customer point database 7: Point grant condition database 8: User terminal 10: Data transmission / reception means 11: Display means 12: Network 13: Database server 14: printing means 15: Reading means 16: Recording means 17: Advertising information database 20: Point system access means 30: Customer information receiving means 31: Customer information authentication means 32: Store information receiving means 33: Store information authentication means 34: Means for sending and receiving store visit / purchase information 35: Data analysis means 36: Point giving means 37: means for sending and receiving advertisement proof 38: Information extraction means 39: Point updating means 40: Point giving condition receiving means 41: Point confirmation means 42: Advertising information registration means 43: Internet advertisement screen 44: Advertisement browsing proof screen 45: Receipt 46: Point confirmation screen

Claims (12)

[Claims] 1. A point information system for giving points to a customer in accordance with the purchase of goods or services, wherein the customer information receiving means receives information of a customer who uses the service of the point system from a terminal connected to a network. And a customer information authenticating means for authenticating that the customer is a legitimate customer who can use the service of the point system, and an advertisement browsing certificate for storing advertisement browsing information that the customer has browsed an advertisement in an advertisement browsing certificate database. Transmitting / receiving means, store information receiving means for receiving information on companies and stores that are members of the point system from the terminal, and authenticating that the company and stores are authorized stores that are members of the point system. Store information authentication means, and the customer visited the company or store and / or purchased a product or service Visit the online information and purchase information of -
Store / purchase information transmission / reception means stored in the purchase management database, data analysis means for collating the information in the advertisement browsing certificate database with the information in the store / purchase management database, and the result of collation by the data analysis means A point system for calculating points according to the above and storing the point information in a customer point database. 2. The point system according to claim 1, further comprising a point-giving condition receiving means for receiving a condition for giving a point to a customer from the terminal and storing the condition in a point-giving condition database. system. 3. The point system according to claim 1, wherein the point system has an advertisement information registration unit for registering information of an advertisement that states that points are given preferential treatment. 4. The point system, the customer and /
The point system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising point confirmation means for transmitting point information regarding the customer in the customer point database to the company or store. 5. The point system includes point updating means for receiving the point information of the customer transmitted from the terminal and updating the point information of the customer in the customer point database. The point system according to any one of claims 1 to 4. 6. A point giving method for giving points to a customer by a company or a store, wherein the customer is a legitimate customer who can use a point system service for giving points according to the purchase of goods or services. That the customer browsed the advertisement, store the advertisement browsing information that the customer browsed the advertisement in the advertisement browsing certificate database, certify that the company or store is a company or store that is a member of the point system, Stores store visit information and purchase information when the store visits the company or store and / or purchases a product or service in the store visit / purchase management database, and collates the advertisement browsing information with the store visit information or purchase information. A point awarding method, characterized in that points are calculated based on the result. 7. The point awarding method receives information in which a plurality of patterns are arbitrarily set as a point awarding condition for a company or a store to award points to a customer, and the advertisement browsing information and the store visit information or purchase information are received. The point awarding method according to claim 6, wherein points are calculated according to the point awarding condition by comparing with the point awarding condition, and the points are awarded to the customer. 8. The point awarding method is characterized in that information on an advertisement describing that points are given preferentially is registered, an advertisement identification number is given to the registered advertisement, and the advertisement is stored and managed in an advertisement information database. Claim 6 or Claim 7
The point giving method described in. 9. The point awarding method includes:
Alternatively, the company or store is authenticated, a customer point database storing point information about the customer is accessed, and the point information about the customer is confirmed. The point giving method described in. 10. The point giving method according to claim 6, wherein the points are given to the customer by rewriting and updating point information relating to the customer in the customer point database. The point-giving method described in any of the above. 11. A card comprising a point system access means for being authenticated by a point system for giving points to a customer in a company or a store in accordance with the purchase of goods or services. 12. A point-giving method used in the point system, wherein the card is used to authenticate the customer who has visited the company or store, the point system is accessed, and points are given to the customer. And / or confirming the point information regarding the customer and / or updating the point information regarding the customer, The point awarding method according to any one of claims 1 to 11.