JP2009015687A - Point management device, point management method, and point management program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an effective point service without leak of personal information of a customer. <P>SOLUTION: The point management device 100 comprises a point management server 101, an information processor 102 of a shop, and a customer terminal 103. The point management server 101 is connected with a customer database 104 in which customer information is recorded. The point management server 101 generates trend information of a customer before point expiration based on the attribute and point of the customer contained in the customer information, and transmits it to the information processor 102 of the shop. The information processor 102 of the shop transmits, upon receipt of the trend information, service information matched to the trend information to the point management server 101. The point management server 101 transmits, upon receipt of the service information, the service information to the customer terminal 103. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a point management device, a point management method, and a point management program for managing customer points generated in response to a commercial transaction with a customer in a store.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, for example, there is a point service in which points are generated according to the amount of money for purchasing goods or services at a store, and a service similar to cash can be received by using the points. In such a point service, in general, if the point service is not used again within a predetermined period from the last use of the point service, the point is often invalidated and the point cannot be used in many cases.

  In addition, in such point services, for example, the mainframe installed in the point counting center centrally manages points and accumulates customer information, which occurs according to past sales of customers at member stores. A technique for mailing point coupons to customers by direct mail is known (for example, see Patent Document 1 below).

JP-A-11-191183

  However, in the above prior art, since coupons are mailed to customers by direct mail, there is a problem that it takes time and cost for mailing. Further, for example, a method of transmitting information such as points and coupons using e-mail (electronic mail) is conceivable. In this case, although the time and cost of mailing can be reduced, the security of electronic data must be strengthened to prevent leakage of personal information such as e-mail addresses and points, and it takes time and cost to strengthen security. There was a problem.

  In addition, customers have forgotten their points without knowing that they have forgotten the existence of the points themselves or the expiration date of the points, or there is no opportunity to visit the store that issues the points. There may be. In this case, when the customer tries to use the points, the customer knows that the points have expired and cannot receive the service that should have been originally received. As a result, customer satisfaction is reduced, and the customer may flow to other stores.

  For service providers, the fact that there are many customers who lose their points means, in other words, that there are few customers called “repeaters”. That is, in this case, there is a problem that the constructed point service system does not function effectively.

  The present invention eliminates the problems caused by the prior art described above, and can guide the service without leaking personal information, improve customer satisfaction, and function the constructed point service system effectively. An object is to provide a management apparatus.

  In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, the point management apparatus according to the invention of claim 1 is a point management apparatus that executes management of the customer's points generated in response to a commercial transaction with a customer in a store. Based on the attribute of the customer specified by the specifying means, the detecting means for detecting the customer point specified by the specifying means, the specifying means for specifying the customer before point expiration among the customers, the detecting means And generating means for generating trend information representing the tendency of the points detected by the transmission means, and transmitting means for transmitting the trend information generated by the generating means to the computer of the store.

  According to this invention, the point management device can inform the service provider of the tendency of the customer before the point expires by transmitting the tendency of the customer before the point expires to the computer of the store. Thereby, the service provider can provide the customer with a service that matches the customer's tendency before the point expires.

  In the invention described above, the point management device according to the invention of claim 2 is characterized in that the attribute of the customer is the gender, age, occupation, and the type of the commodity or service for which the transaction is made. And

  According to the present invention, the transmitted trend information is generated as a tendency of points from the sex, age, occupation, and type of merchandise or service of the customer. Information that is not specified can be transmitted to the store computer. Thereby, it is possible to inform the service provider of the tendency of the customer before the point expires while protecting the personal information without strengthening the security.

  Further, in the above-described invention, the point management device according to the invention of claim 3 includes receiving means for receiving service information corresponding to the trend information from the computer of the store, and the transmitting means is the specifying means. The service information received by the receiving means is transmitted to the customer computer specified by

  According to this invention, since the point management apparatus transmits the service information received from the store computer to the customer computer, the service information for each store can be guided to the customer who is the target of the service. Thereby, the service provider can provide the target customer with a service specialized in the tendency of the customer before the point expires at the store. In addition, since the service information is transmitted to the customer before the point expires, the customer can know that the point has expired and can receive the service, so the customer satisfaction can be improved.

  In addition, the point management method according to the invention of claim 4 is a point management method for executing management of the customer's points generated in response to a commercial transaction with a customer in a store, wherein the customer before point expiration is specified among the customers A detecting step for detecting a customer point specified by the specifying step, and trend information representing a tendency of the point detected by the detecting step based on an attribute of the customer specified by the specifying step. And a transmission step of transmitting the trend information generated by the generation step to the store computer.

  According to this invention, the point management device can inform the service provider of the tendency of the customer before the point expires by transmitting the tendency of the customer before the point expires to the computer of the store. Thereby, the service provider can provide the customer with a service that matches the customer's tendency before the point expires.

  The point management program according to the invention of claim 5 is a point management program for causing an administrator's computer to execute management of the customer's points generated in response to a commercial transaction with a customer in a store. Based on the identification process of identifying the previous customer, the detection process of detecting the customer point identified by the identification process, and the customer attribute identified by the identification process, the point detected by the detection process It is characterized by causing the manager's computer to execute a generation step of generating trend information representing a trend and a transmission step of transmitting the trend information generated by the generation step to the computer of the store.

  According to the point management device, the point management method, and the point management program according to the present invention, the service is guided without leaking personal information, the customer satisfaction is improved, and the constructed point service system functions effectively. There is an effect that can be.

  Exemplary embodiments of a point management device, a point management method, and a point management program according to the present invention will be explained below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

(Overview of point management device)
FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an overview of a point management apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, a point management device 100 according to the present invention includes a point management server 101, a store information processing device 102, and a customer terminal 103. The point management server 101 and store information processing are provided. An apparatus 102 and a point management server 101 and a customer terminal 103 are provided so as to be able to communicate with each other via a network 110.

  The point management server 101 is connected to the customer database 104 and executes management of customer points generated in accordance with commercial transactions with customers in the store. The point management server 101 manages customer information recorded in the customer database 104, for example. The customer information is, for example, information including customer personal information (for example, name and age), a store used by the customer, a point owned by the customer, an expiration date of the point, etc. (details of the customer database 104) Will be described later (see FIG. 2)).

  Specifically, the point management server 101, for example, newly registers a customer in the customer database 104, deregisters a registered customer, confirms or changes the registered customer's customer information (occurs according to a commercial transaction) You can search for registered customers, etc.). The point management server 101 is realized by a computer device such as a server installed in a point management center that manages points, for example.

  The information processing apparatus 102 in the store receives the trend information transmitted from the point management server 101. The trend information is information representing a tendency of detected points based on customer attributes recorded in the customer database 104, for example. Here, the customer attribute is a part of the customer's personal information, for example, information indicating the sex, age, occupation, merchandise or service of the customer. That is, the trend information represents a tendency of attributes such as sex and age (hereinafter referred to as “customer tendency”) of the customer before the point expires.

  The store information processing apparatus 102 transmits service information to the point management server 101. The service information is, for example, information representing the contents of the service provided to the customer planned by the service provider with reference to the tendency of the customer before the point expires.

  Specifically, the information processing apparatus 102 in the store is managed by, for example, a service provider, and the service provider refers to the trend information received from the point management server 101, so that the customer's tendency before the point expires can be obtained. Plan the appropriate service. After determining the service to be provided, the service provider transmits service information representing the content of the service from the information processing apparatus 102 in the store to the point management server 101. When the point management server 101 receives the service information from the information processing apparatus 102 in the store, the point management server 101 identifies the customer to whom the service information is to be transmitted from the customer database 104, and transmits the service information to the identified customer. The store information processing apparatus 102 is realized by, for example, a computer device such as a personal computer installed in a store that provides services.

  The customer terminal 103 receives the service information transmitted from the point management server 101. In addition, the customer terminal 103 may be able to perform commercial transactions online via the network 110 for products and services provided by the service provider, for example. The customer terminal 103 is realized by, for example, a computer device such as a personal computer owned by the customer, a mobile phone, or the like.

  Specifically, the network 110 broadly includes, for example, the Internet, a LAN (including both wired and wireless), a general public line, and the like that can transmit and receive data.

(Customer database)
Next, the customer database 104 will be described. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing customer information recorded in the customer database 104 according to the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, a customer ID, personal information (attribute), store ID, point information, and the like are recorded in the customer database 104 as customer information.

  The customer ID is, for example, an identification number of each customer that has a one-to-one correspondence with each customer. The customer ID is constituted by a combination of numbers and alphabets, for example. The point management server 101 identifies each customer based on the customer ID, and manages points according to each customer. For example, customer IDs are sequentially allocated when a new customer is registered in the customer database 104, and deleted when registration is canceled.

  The personal information is information including a customer's name, age, gender, occupation, contact information, genre, and the like. The genre represents the type of product or service that has been traded, and is information that identifies the taste of the customer. For example, when the service provider is a rental video shop, in FIG. 2, genre J1 is a flag indicating “action movie”, and genre J2 is a flag indicating “comedy movie”. When the movie is rented a predetermined number of times or more, a flag “1” representing the taste of the customer is added to the flag of the corresponding genre. That is, the point management server 101 recognizes the genre to which the flag “1” is added as the customer's preference.

  The store ID is, for example, an identification number of each store that has a one-to-one correspondence with each store. Store ID is comprised by the combination of a number and an alphabet, for example. The point management server 101 identifies each store by the store ID. The store ID is sequentially assigned when, for example, a new store is registered in a store database (not shown), and is deleted when the registration is deleted.

  The point information is information including, for example, a point owned by the customer, an expiration date of the point, a last use date indicating a date when the store where the customer provides the service is last used. The points owned by the customer are, for example, information indicating the total of available points owned by the customer. For example, in a store where points can be used, the customer can receive a service similar to cash (for example, 1 yen per point) according to the points owned.

  The expiration date is information representing the final expiration date for which the owned points are valid. The last use date is, for example, the last date when the point service is used (including both addition and subtraction of points) by the customer performing a commercial transaction. For example, the expiration date is set to a date after a predetermined period (for example, one year later) from the last use date.

(Hardware configuration of computer device)
Next, the computer apparatus according to the embodiment will be described. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of the computer apparatus (point management server 101, store information processing apparatus 102, customer terminal 103) according to the embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 3, a computer apparatus includes a CPU 301, a ROM 302, a RAM 303, an HDD (hard disk drive) 304, an HD (hard disk) 305, an FDD (flexible disk drive) 306, and an example of a removable recording medium. An FD (flexible disk) 307, a display 308, an I / F (interface) 309, a keyboard 310, a mouse 311, a scanner 312, and a printer 313 are provided. Each component is connected by a bus 300.

  Here, the CPU 301 controls the entire computer apparatus. The ROM 302 stores a program such as a boot program. The RAM 303 is used as a work area for the CPU 301. The HDD 304 controls reading / writing of data with respect to the HD 305 according to the control of the CPU 301. The HD 305 stores data written under the control of the HDD 304.

  The FDD 306 controls reading / writing of data with respect to the FD 307 according to the control of the CPU 301. The FD 307 stores data written under the control of the FDD 306 or causes the computer device to read data stored in the FD 307.

  In addition to the FD 307, the removable recording medium may be a CD-ROM (CD-R, CD-RW), MO, DVD (Digital Versatile Disk), memory card, or the like. The display 308 displays data such as a document, an image, and function information as well as a cursor, an icon, or a tool box. As this display 308, for example, a CRT, a TFT liquid crystal display, a plasma display, or the like can be adopted.

  The I / F 309 is connected to a network 110 such as the Internet through a communication line, and is connected to other devices via the network 110. The I / F 309 controls an internal interface with the network 110 and controls data input / output from an external device. For example, a modem or a LAN adapter can be adopted as the I / F 309.

  The keyboard 310 includes keys for inputting characters, numbers, various instructions, and the like, and inputs data. Moreover, a touch panel type input pad or a numeric keypad may be used. The mouse 311 performs cursor movement, range selection, window movement, size change, and the like. A trackball or a joystick may be used as long as they have the same function as a pointing device.

  The scanner 312 optically reads an image and takes in the image data into the computer apparatus. Note that the scanner 312 may have an OCR function. The printer 313 prints image data and document data. As the printer 313, for example, a laser printer or an ink jet printer can be employed.

(Functional configuration of point management server)
Next, a functional configuration of the point management server 101 will be described. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the point management server 101 according to the embodiment of the present invention. As illustrated in FIG. 4, the point management server 101 includes a customer database 104, a specifying unit 401, a detecting unit 402, a generating unit 403, a transmitting unit 404, a receiving unit 405, and a setting unit 406. Yes.

  The specifying unit 401 has a function of specifying a customer before point expiration from the customers. Specifically, the specifying unit 401 specifies a customer whose point expiration date is approaching from the customer information recorded in the customer database 104. For example, a customer one month before the expiration date of the points may be specified, or a customer whose expiration date will be reached in the following month may be specified. The deadline before expiration is not limited to one month, but can be freely set by the administrator of the point management server 101.

  The detecting unit 402 has a function of detecting the customer point specified by the specifying unit 401. Specifically, the detection unit 402 detects points owned by the customer from the point information included in the customer information of the customer specified by the specifying unit 401.

  The generation unit 403 has a function of generating trend information representing the tendency of the points detected by the detection unit 402 based on the customer attributes specified by the specification unit 401. Specifically, the generation unit 403 generates, as trend information, a distribution based on attributes selected from the gender, age, occupation, genre (preference), and the like of the customer specified by the specifying unit 401. Details of the trend information will be described later.

  The transmission unit 404 transmits the trend information generated by the generation unit 403 to the information processing apparatus 102 in the store. In addition, the transmission unit 404 transmits service information to the customer terminal 103. The receiving unit 405 receives service information corresponding to the trend information from the information processing apparatus 102 in the store.

  The setting unit 406 reads the contact information (e-mail address) of the customer terminal 103 of the customer specified by the specifying unit 401 from the customer database 104 and associates it with service information transmitted from the information processing apparatus 102 of the store. That is, the setting unit 406 associates the customer's e-mail address with the service information, so that the transmission unit 404 transmits the service information to the customer terminal 102. Specifically, the setting unit 406 associates the customer having the store ID of the store that manages the information processing terminal 102 of the store that has transmitted the service information with the received service information.

  Specifically, the specifying unit 401, the detection unit 402, the generation unit 403, the transmission unit 404, the reception unit 405, and the setting unit 406 described above, for example, by the CPU 301 reading a program stored in the ROM 302, the RAM 303, or the HD 305, for example. Alternatively, the function can be realized by the I / F 309.

(Trend information)
Next, trend information will be described. As described above, the trend information is information that represents the tendency of the customer before the point expires, and the service provider can provide a service that matches the tendency of the customer by referring to the trend information. Hereinafter, an example of trend information transmitted from the point management server 101 will be described.

  FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of trend information representing a gender tendency. When the point management server 101 generates trend information by sex as a customer attribute, the service provider can know the tendency of the customer's sex before the point expires. With reference to this gender tendency, for example, when there are many women as shown in FIG. 5, the service provider can plan and provide a service for women.

  In addition, the gender tendency may be generated from the ratio of the target points, or may be generated from the ratio of the number of target customers. For example, the ratio of men and women who own points may be generated from the total number of points before expiration, or the ratio of the number of customers before and after point expiration may be generated while owning points.

  FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of trend information representing the trend of the age. By referring to the trend of this age, the service provider on the store side can know the trend of the age of the point revoker. For example, as shown in FIG. Can provide services tailored to Moreover, when the trend information of FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 is considered at the same time, it is possible to know the tendency of the point revoker in more detail, such as a woman in her 20s.

  Further, the trend of the age may be generated from the ratio of the target points, or may be generated from the ratio of the number of target customers. For example, it is good also as producing | generating the ratio of the age which owns a point from the total of the points before expiration, and it is good also as producing | generating the ratio of the number of persons for every age of the customer before a point expires while owning a point.

  FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of trend information representing a tendency of preference. The tendency of the preference of the point revoker is, for example, the genre of a movie as shown in FIG. For example, when the point provider is a rental video shop, it is possible to know the tendency of preference of point revoker from the genre (for example, action movie or comedy movie) of videos rented by the customer in the past. The service provider can provide a service such as a campaign in which points added when a movie of a specific genre is rented is doubled by referring to the tendency of preference.

  Moreover, the tendency of preference may be generated from the ratio of the target points, or may be generated from the ratio of the number of target customers. For example, it is good also as producing | generating the ratio of the preference which owns a point from the total of the point before expiration, and it is good also as producing | generating the ratio of the number of persons for every preference of the customer before point expiration while owning a point.

(Service information)
Next, service information will be described. As described above, the service information is, for example, information representing the contents of the service provided to the customer. The service is planned and provided by the service provider with reference to the trend information shown in FIGS. For example, in the case where there are many customers who prefer action movies, the number of points added when borrowing an action movie is doubled.

  FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing service information received by the customer terminal 103. As shown in FIG. 8, the content of the received service information is displayed on the display screen 801 of the customer terminal 103. The service information is transmitted by e-mail, for example. The customer can refer to the service information by reading the e-mail from the customer terminal 103.

(Point management server processing procedure)
Next, the processing procedure of the point management server 101 will be described. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure of the point management server 101. The flowchart shown in FIG. 9 is performed, for example, at an arbitrary timing of the service provider. As shown in FIG. 9, the point management server 101 first waits until an instruction to check a customer before point expiration is accepted by the service provider (step S901: No loop).

  If an instruction to check is received in step S901 (step S901: Yes), the customer before the point expires is specified (step S902). Specifically, the point management server 101 identifies a customer within a predetermined period from the customer information recorded in the customer database 104 until the point expires.

  If the customer before point expiration is specified in step S902, the point of a corresponding customer will be detected next (step S903). Specifically, the point management server 101 detects points owned by the customer from the point information included in the customer information of the customer specified in step S902.

  If the corresponding customer's point is detected in step S903, then trend information is generated from the detected point (step S904). Specifically, the point management server 101 generates trend information based on the customer attributes identified in step S902 and the points detected in step S903.

  If trend information is generated in step S904, the trend information is then transmitted (step S905). Specifically, the point management server 101 transmits the trend information generated in step S904 to the information processing apparatus 102 in the store via the network 110.

  If trend information is transmitted in step S905, it waits until service information is received (step S906: No loop). Specifically, the point management server 101 stands by until it receives service information indicating the content of the service provided by the store, transmitted from the information processing apparatus 102 of the store.

  If service information is received in step S906 (step S906: Yes), the service information is transmitted to the corresponding customer (step S907). Specifically, the point management server 101 transmits the service information received from the information processing apparatus 102 of the store to the customer terminal 103 of the customer who is the target of the service. After transmitting the service information to the corresponding customer, the process returns to step S901 again and waits until a check instruction is accepted.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the specifying unit 401 specifies a customer before the point expires, the detecting unit 402 detects the customer's point, and the generating unit 403 indicates the trend of the point. Information is generated, and the transmission unit 404 can transmit the trend information to the store computer. Thereby, the service provider can provide a service that matches the tendency of the customer before the point expires by referring to the trend information and referring to the tendency of the customer before the point expires.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, the generation unit 403 can generate trend information representing the tendency of points based on the sex, age, occupation, and type of merchandise or service that has been traded. Thereby, the transmitted trend information does not include personal information for each individual, and the service provider can be informed of the tendency of the customer before the point expires while protecting the personal information without strengthening the security.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, the service information received by the receiving unit 405 can be transmitted from the transmitting unit 404 to the customer terminal 103. Thereby, the service provider can provide a service specialized for the tendency of the point revoker to the customer who is the target of the service. Further, since the service information is transmitted to the customer before the point expires, the customer can know that the point has expired, can receive the service, and can improve customer satisfaction.

  The point management method described in this embodiment can be realized by executing a program prepared in advance on a computer such as a personal computer or a workstation. This program is recorded on a computer-readable recording medium such as a hard disk, a flexible disk, a CD-ROM, an MO, and a DVD, and is executed by being read from the recording medium by the computer. Further, this program may be a transmission medium that can be distributed via a network such as the Internet.

  As described above, the point management device, the point management method, and the point management program according to the present invention are useful for a point management device that manages points, and in particular, a customer's business that occurs according to a commercial transaction with a customer in a store. Suitable for point management devices that manage points.

It is explanatory drawing which shows the outline | summary of the point management apparatus concerning embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the customer information recorded on the customer database concerning embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the hardware constitutions of the computer apparatus (Point management server 101, the information processing apparatus 102 of a shop, the customer terminal 103) concerning embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the functional structure of the point management server 101 concerning embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing of the trend information showing the tendency of sex. It is explanatory drawing of the trend information showing the tendency of an age. It is explanatory drawing of the trend information showing the tendency of preference. It is explanatory drawing which shows the service information which the customer terminal 103 received. 4 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of the point management server 101.

Explanation of symbols

100 point management device 101 point management server 102 information processing device in store 103 customer terminal 104 customer database 110 network

Claims (5)

In a point management device that executes management of the customer's points that occur in response to a commercial transaction with a customer at a store,
A specifying means for specifying a customer before the point expires among the customers;
Detecting means for detecting a customer point specified by the specifying means;
Generating means for generating trend information representing the tendency of the points detected by the detecting means based on the attribute of the customer specified by the specifying means;
Transmitting means for transmitting the trend information generated by the generating means to the computer of the store;
A point management device comprising:   The point management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the attribute of the customer is a gender, age, occupation, and a type of the commercial product or service of the customer. Receiving means for receiving service information corresponding to the trend information from the store computer;
The transmission means includes
3. The point management device according to claim 1, wherein the service information received by the receiving unit is transmitted to a customer computer specified by the specifying unit. In the point management method for executing management of the customer's points that occur in response to a commercial transaction with a customer at a store,
A specific step of identifying a customer before the point expires among the customers;
A detecting step of detecting the customer's point specified by the specifying step;
A generation step for generating trend information representing a tendency of the points detected by the detection step based on the attribute of the customer specified by the specific step;
A transmission step of transmitting the trend information generated by the generation step to the computer of the store;
A point management method characterized by comprising In a point management program that causes an administrator's computer to execute management of the customer's points that occur in response to a commercial transaction with a customer at a store,
A specific step of identifying a customer before the point expires among the customers;
A detecting step of detecting the customer's point specified by the specifying step;
A generation step for generating trend information representing a tendency of the points detected by the detection step based on the attribute of the customer specified by the specific step;
A transmission step of transmitting the trend information generated by the generation step to the computer of the store;
Point management program for causing the administrator's computer to execute

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