JP2003303209A - Information providing system, server, program and recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information providing system, server, program and recording medium possible to perform efficient sale promotion activities corresponding to the intention and idea of each individual user. <P>SOLUTION: The information providing system 1 is mainly comprised of a server 3 and a plurality of terminals 7-1, 7-2, 7-3, etc., (terminals 7) connected to the server 3 via a network 5 possible in two-way communication. The server 3 produces databases for every user holding user information inputted from the terminal 7 and/or browsing history information of browses carried out with the terminals 7 by a database producing means in real-time, analyzes information held in the databases by an information producing means, produces information individually on each user to provide based on the analysis result, and provides the information to users. <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 an information providing system, a server, a program and a recording medium for providing information using a network.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, advertisement information of merchandise is posted on a web site. Users browse these sites to obtain product information and purchase products.

[0003]

However, in general, advertisement information has uniform contents for everyone. Actually, individual users have different tastes, but advertising information does not correspond to them, so that it is not an efficient business activity.

Even if the advertisement information is posted on the site, it is often sent unilaterally, and it has not been possible to grasp the information or taste desired by individual users.
What kind of user is interested in what kind of product
It is unknown to the advertisers what information on the site is getting the most attention.

[0007] As a result, even if it costs a lot to create a home page on which advertisement information is posted, the effect of the advertisement cannot be clearly confirmed. Occasionally, the number of visits to the site will not increase and the sales of products will not increase.

The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and an object thereof is to provide an information providing system, a server, and a program capable of an efficient sales promotion activity according to the taste of each user. And to provide a recording medium.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a first aspect of the present invention is to provide information for providing a user with a terminal on the user side and a server connected via a network. In the system, the server includes a database creating unit that creates a database for each user in real time, which holds user information input from the terminal and / or browsing history information of browsing performed by the terminal, An information providing system comprising: an information creating unit that analyzes information stored in the database and creates information for each user based on the analysis result.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the information on the user is input and the information is browsed from the terminal on the user side via the network. The database creation means on the server side creates user information and browsing history information in a real-time database for each user. The information creating means analyzes the information held in the database and creates information according to each user based on the analysis result.

The terminal in this specification is generally a computer device having a communication function, but is not limited to this. The terminal may be a home appliance, a mobile terminal device, or a mobile phone device that can be connected to a network, and examples thereof include a web television, a game device with a communication function, a mobile phone, a PHS, and a PDA (Personal Digi).
tal Assistant) and the like.

It is preferable that the database has at least one of browsing content, browsing date, browsing time, access count, and purchase history. It is preferable that the information creating unit classifies the users according to a predetermined attribute and determines the information to be provided based on this classification. The attributes are, for example, the gender of the user, the age group, and membership or non-member.

It is preferable that the information creating means refers to the information held in the database, predicts the behavior for each user, and creates the information. The behavior prediction is, for example, estimating a product that is likely to be purchased next from the past purchase history.

Further, it is preferable that the server comprises a distribution means for automatically distributing the information created by the information creating means to each user. The delivery means automatically sends an e-mail containing, for example, advertisement information to each user.

A second aspect of the present invention is a server connected to a terminal on the user side via a network, the user information input from the terminal and / or browsing history information of browsing performed by the terminal. Database creating means for creating a database for each user holding the information in real time, and information creating means for analyzing information held by the database and creating information for each user based on the analysis result. It is a server characterized by.

In the second aspect of the invention, the database creating means stores the user information input from the user terminal via the network and the browsing history information of browsing performed by the terminal in real time for each user. To do. The information creating means analyzes the information held in the database and creates information according to each user based on the analysis result.

A third invention is a program which causes a computer to function as the server described above. This program can be distributed via a network.

A fourth invention is a computer-readable recording medium in which the above-mentioned program is stored.
This recording medium can be distributed.

[0017]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an information providing system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The information providing system 1 includes a server 3 and a plurality of terminals 7 connected to the server 3 via a network 5 capable of bidirectional communication.
-1, 7-2, 7-3, ... Hereinafter, the terminals 7-1, 7-2, 7-3, ...
Called.

The terminal 7 is a terminal operated by the user.
In this system, the server 3 is connected to the w via the network 5.
Distribute advertising information as content to the site on eb,
Information is provided to the user when the terminal 7 browses the content.

The terminal 7 has a communication function and can send and receive data via the network 5. The terminal 7 has input means such as a keyboard, a mouse, buttons, and a touch panel. The terminal 7 also has display means such as a display. Here, the terminal 7 is assumed to be a personal computer, but is not limited to this.

The server 3 has a communication function and can send and receive data via the network 5. Server 3
Is a user database 11 and a browsing history database 1
3. It has an advertisement database 15, a database creating means, an information creating means, a delivering means, and a managing means.

The user database 11 is a database that holds the user information 30 that is the personal information of the user, and is managed for each user. User information 3 in FIG.
An example of 0 items is shown. The user information 30 includes an ID 31, a password 33, a name 35, a reading 37, a postal code 39,
Address 41, phone number 43, email address 45, gender 4
7, date of birth 49, occupation 51, family structure 53, registration date 5
It has items such as 5, purchase history 57, and other 59.

The ID 31 is a character string assigned to each user in order to identify each user. Often used in combination with numbers and alphabets. Password 3
3 is a character string used when authenticating each user. The user himself may set the desired character string.

The name 35 is the user's last name and surname. The reading 37 is the reading of the name, and it is hiragana or katakana. The postal code 39 and address 41 are the postal code and address of the user's place of residence, respectively. The telephone number 43 is the telephone number of home or contact.

The mail address 45 is a destination address when sending an electronic mail. Gender 47 and date of birth 49 are the user's gender and date of birth, respectively. Occupation 5
1 is the occupation of the user, and may be selected from several types of occupations.

The family structure 53 means, for example, a structure of a couple, how many children, etc., and may include the age of each person. Registration date 5
5 is the date when the user registered when the membership system was adopted. The purchase history 57 is products, dates, amounts, etc. purchased by the user, and may be filed of these information. The other 59 includes information other than the above, and for example, the taste of the user, the questionnaire response result, and the like can be considered.

The browsing history database 13 is a database holding the browsing history information 70 of the content browsed by the user, and is managed for each user. Here, the browsing history database 13 configured for each content is shown. FIG. 3 shows an example of items of the browsing history information 70. The browsing history information 70 has items such as content 71, browsing start time 73, stay time 75, and access count 77.

The content 71 is the content displayed on the terminal 7 and viewed by the user. Here, it does not mean the entire information provided, but means the advertising content for each predetermined area within the site. For example, HTML (Hyper Text) displayed in a section of the home page.
A Markup Language) file corresponds to this.

The browsing start time 73 is the time when the user starts browsing the content 71. The stay time 75 is the time during which the user browsed the content 71. Stay time 7
For example, 5 can be the time from the display of the content to the display of another content by the user performing an operation such as clicking. The access count 77 is the total number of times the user has accessed the content 71.

The advertisement database 15 has various information for creating advertisement information to be browsed by the user.
For example, it is a screen configuration format, product image data, product description text data, voice data, contents made up of a combination of these as an electronic file, and a promotional email format.

The information and items contained in each database described above are examples, and the present invention is not limited to these.
Not all of the above items are necessary, and
Items other than the above may be included.

The database creating means converts the user information input from the terminal 7 and the browsing history information browsed by the terminal 7 into a database in real time, and the user database 11 and the browsing history database 1 respectively.
Build 3.

The information creating means has an analyzing means. The analysis means variously analyzes the information held in the user database 11 and the browsing history database 13. For example, the users are classified based on predetermined attributes, the tastes of individual users are checked, and the products purchased by the users are predicted from past cases. In addition, it is possible to statistically analyze the entire information and to identify contents that are frequently accessed and to identify popular products.

Then, the information creating means creates the advertising information for each user in real time using the information in the advertising database 15 based on the above various analysis results. For creating advertisement information, for example, a predetermined format file having an area for displaying advertisement information and a large number of product files having product image data, product description text data, etc. are prepared. Then, an appropriate product file is selected for each user, and the selected product file is embedded in the area in the format file. The information creating means can create both information browsed on the site and information delivered as an electronic mail.

The distribution means distributes the advertisement information created by the information creating means to each user. The delivery method is web
Both a method of displaying it as a screen on the terminal 7 operated by the user and a method of sending it as an electronic mail to each user are possible.

The management means is means for performing various managements of this system. The management unit has a function of managing various settings in the system and grasping the state of the system in real time.

Next, an example of the operation of this system will be described with reference to FIG. First, the user accesses a predetermined site through the terminal 7 and inputs user information. If the site adopts a membership system and the user is a member, the user inputs the user information such as the ID 31 and the password 33 (step 401). As a result, the server 3 authenticates the user (step 402). If the user is a non-member, the user can be identified using Cookie, for example.

When the user is authorized, the server 3 refers to the user database 11, analyzes the information for each user by the analysis means, and acquires the information from the advertisement database 15 by the information creation means based on the analysis result. Information for each is created (step 403). An example of how to create information will be described later.

When a new user accesses the site, the server 3 creates a database for the new user by the database creating means, and updates the database so that the database always holds the latest information.

The terminal 7 displays the created information, and the user browses the information (step 404). FIG. 5 shows a screen display example of the terminal 7 at this time. In the example of FIG.
"Hello, ○○'s" user name that has been certified at the ○○ of is displayed.

In the example of FIG. 5, five areas of notification, recommended product 1, recommended product 2, recommended product 3, and present information of this week are displayed. Information for each user created by the information creating means, that is, content, is displayed in each area.

By clicking the content, detailed information of the information can be browsed.
The user clicks and browses according to his or her interests and preferences. The contents clicked, the time, the time elapsed until the next click operation, etc. are made into a database as a browsing history in real time by the database creating means, and the contents 71, the browsing start time 73, and the staying time 7 are respectively.
5 is stored in the browsing history database 13 (step 405). Further, the total number of accesses 77, which is the current number of accesses and the number of past accesses, is also stored in the browsing history database 13.

If the user inputs new user information during browsing, it is converted into a database in real time by the database creating means, and the user database 11
Stored in.

The server analyzes the information held in the user database 11 and the browsing history database 13 (step 406). The analysis, for example, identifies the taste of each user and the product that attracts a lot of attention.

In the server 3, based on the analysis result, the information creating means creates the advertising information for each user, and the distributing means automatically distributes it as an electronic mail (step 407). The electronic mail includes, for example, information such as sales promotion information of products, preferential treatment information at the time of purchase, and URL of a homepage where advertisement information is posted.

An example of the information creating method by the information creating means will be described below. The most basic method is to set a predetermined condition and determine the information to be displayed depending on whether or not the condition is met. For example, if the user's gender is male,
The age is, for example, in the range of 20 to 40 years old.

FIG. 6 shows an example of a method that further develops this condition setting. In this method, users are classified according to predetermined attributes, and information is created using a matrix having the classification and advertising products as constituent elements of the matrix. The attribute is, for example, sex, age, or the like.

In the example shown in FIG. 6, users are classified according to sex and age of their 20s or 30s, and clusters A and
B, C, and D constitute the row direction of the matrix. The column direction of the matrix is composed of categories of advertising products. Here, flowers, trees, and gardening tools are adopted as categories 1, 2, and 3. Figure 6
○ means that the advertisement of the product in that category is displayed for the cluster, and × means that it is not displayed.

By using this matrix, the information to be created can be set easily and can be recognized at a glance. For example, when a male user in his twenties accesses the site, the user is classified into cluster A based on the attribute of the user. Since there are trees and gardening tools in categories 2 and 3 marked with a circle in FIG. 6 for the cluster A, advertisement information in which products in these categories are recommended products is created.

FIGS. 7 (a) and 7 (b) show an example in which the next behavior is predicted from the user's trend and information is created.
For example, by analyzing the purchase history 57 of the user database 11 using an analysis means, it is possible to infer a product that is likely to be purchased next. Such products are set as recommended products.

FIG. 7A shows an example of setting recommended products.
Three categories of flowers, trees, and gardening tools are set in advance as categories of purchased products, and patterns 1 to 4 are set depending on which category of product is purchased. A circle in FIG. 7 means that a product in that category has been purchased, and a cross means that the product has not been purchased. The analysis means identifies the product that is most likely to be purchased next in each pattern. In FIG. 7A, products that are highly likely to be purchased and the probabilities of purchasing those products are shown as recommended products and probabilities, respectively.

FIG. 7B shows behavior patterns of users A and B. In FIG. 7B, the user A has past flowers,
I buy trees, not gardening tools. From this, the behavior pattern of the user A is shown in FIG.
It corresponds to the pattern 3 of. Referring to FIG. 7A, the recommended product for the user A is a wood deck.

Similarly, the behavior pattern of the user B in FIG. 7 (b) corresponds to the pattern 4 in FIG. 7 (a). Figure 7
With reference to (a), the recommended product for the user B is mulch.

FIGS. 8 (a) and 8 (b) show an example in which the browsing history of the user is analyzed and information is created. Here, as shown in FIG. 8A, flowers and trees are set as product categories. The flower category includes orchids, roses, and chrysanthemums, and the tree category includes oysters, peaches, and chestnuts.

The browsing history of the user is analyzed, and the category of information to be created is determined depending on which content the user has browsed. FIG. 8B shows click patterns of users A and B. The click pattern is what content the user clicks. Generally, by clicking the content of a predetermined product displayed on the screen, detailed information of the product can be further browsed. Clicking means that the user is interested in the information, and the user's taste can be grasped by the click pattern.

In FIG. 8B, ◯ is information clicked by the user, and X is information not clicked. Among the above six pieces of information, the user A clicks on run, rose, and chestnut. Since the user A clicks more on the information belonging to the flower category than the tree, the recommended information category to be created for the user A is determined to be flower.

Similarly, since the user B clicks on more information belonging to the category of trees than flowers,
The category of recommended information created for the user B is determined to be a tree.

In the above example, the example of the method of creating the information based on the user information is mainly described, but the information to be created may be determined separately or in combination with the date and time. Advertising information for a limited time corresponds to this.

In the above operation, the management means sets the analysis method used by the analysis means. Further, the management means can also issue an instruction to the delivery means to deliver the mail collectively for each classified user.

Furthermore, the UR of the advertisement information is added to the delivered mail.
If L is included, the browsing status of the URL is tracked, and the access count and the like are measured. As a result, the effect of the advertisement information by the email can be estimated.

Further, the management means can grasp the order in which the user browses the plurality of contents displayed on the screen as shown in FIG. For a plurality of users who are displayed the same advertisement information, the first viewed content, the stay time, the second viewed content, the stay time, etc. are displayed for each of the users A, B, C, .... It has become. From such data, it is possible to grasp the user's migratory property with respect to the displayed advertisement information.

Further, the management means can grasp the browsing situation in real time as shown in FIG. FIG. 10 shows the statistical results of the number of accesses to each content in descending order of the number of accesses. Here, the users are displayed separately depending on whether they are members or non-members.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to provide the advertisement information according to the attribute of each user and the browsing situation of each user. In addition, by creating a browsing history for each user, the taste of each user can be grasped, and efficient sales promotion activities can be performed. Also, by observing the browsing status, it is possible to grasp the reaction of the user to each content in real time.

Here, in the present system, the operator of the server 3 may charge the business operator or the like having the information to be distributed.

The technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made.

[0065]

As described above in detail, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide an information providing system, a server, a program and a recording medium capable of performing an effective sales promotion activity according to the taste of each user. You can

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an information providing system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of user information items.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of items of browsing history information.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the information providing system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a screen display example of a terminal.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an information creating method.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an information creating method.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an information creating method.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing data on user's migratory property.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a real-time browsing situation.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 --------- Information provision system 3 --------- Server 5 --------- Network 7 --------- Terminal 11 --------- User database 13 --------- Browsing history database 15 --------- Advertising database 30 --------- User information 70 --------- Browsing history information

Claims (12)

[Claims] 1. An information providing system, comprising a user terminal and a server connected via a network, for providing information to a user, wherein the server is user information input from the terminal. And / or a database creating means for creating a database for each user that holds browsing history information of browsing performed by the terminal in real time, and analyzing information held by the database, and for each user based on the analysis result An information providing system, comprising: 2. The information providing system according to claim 1, wherein the database has at least one of browsing content, browsing date, browsing time, access count, and purchase history. 3. The information providing system according to claim 1, wherein the information creating unit classifies users according to a predetermined attribute and determines information to be provided based on the classification. 4. The information creating means creates an information by predicting a behavior for each user by referring to the information held by the database.
Information provision system described in. 5. The information providing system according to claim 1, further comprising: a delivery unit that automatically delivers the information created by the information creating unit to each user. . 6. A server, which is connected to a user's terminal via a network and holds user information input from the terminal and / or browsing history information of browsing performed by the terminal. Database creating means for creating a database for each person in real time, and information creating means for analyzing information held in the database and creating information for each user based on the analysis result. server. 7. The server according to claim 6, wherein the database has at least one of browsing content, browsing date, browsing time, access count, and purchase history. 8. The server according to claim 6, wherein the information creating unit classifies users according to a predetermined attribute and determines information to be provided based on the classification. 9. The information creating means creates information by referring to information held by the database to predict behavior for each user.
The server described in. 10. The server according to claim 6, further comprising a distribution unit that automatically distributes the information created by the information creating unit to each user. 11. A computer as claimed in claim 6 to 10.
A program characterized by causing it to function as the server according to any one of 1. 12. A computer-readable recording medium in which the program according to claim 11 is stored.