JP2013041474A - Mail urging program, mail device, and mail urging method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve the rate of answering to an answer request by efficiently achieving suitable urging of mail based upon a reception state of electronic mail.SOLUTION: A computer executes processes of: receiving electronic mail requesting answering on Web from a client terminal by a mail urging program; associating and storing mail identification information for identifying electronic mail and information on access to answer request contents in a first storage part; acquiring an opening state of electronic mail and associating and storing the mail identification information and opening state in a second storage part; referring to the first storage part, and acquiring states of answering on Web of a plurality of client terminals respectively based upon access information corresponding to the mail identification information included in the request; and outputting urging information to a control terminal which controls some of a plurality of client terminals based upon the acquired answering state and the opening state acquired from the second storage part.

Description

  The present invention relates to a mail dunning program, a mail device, and a mail dunning method for efficiently performing appropriate mail dunning based on the reception status of an e-mail.

  Conventionally, transmission of information using electronic mail is routinely performed. Conventionally, a person in charge sometimes collects answers from a plurality of target persons using electronic mail. In that case, the person in charge transmits an e-mail to a plurality of target persons and collects responses as replies to the e-mail. In recent years, due to the spread of email culture, a large amount of emails are being sent and received, and as a result, email users are increasingly forgetting to reply to emails with a reply time limit.

  Conventionally, there is a mechanism that manages whether a mail sent by a caller has been opened or replied to, and extracts and notifies mail that matches the conditions set by the caller from the storage unit. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1). According to the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, the sender can grasp the answer status based on whether or not there is a reply to his / her mail.

  Further, conventionally, even when a reply is requested using an electronic mail, there is a case where the user is prompted to access a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) described in the mail and collect the reply on the Web. Specifically, for example, a questionnaire response is made on the Web using a Web questionnaire system.

  Furthermore, in an answer using the Web (web), an answer may be solicited that the individual person who made the answer cannot be specified. Specifically, for example, in the case of a workplace environment satisfaction survey or the like, the survey is performed in a situation where only the affiliation is input and the individual name is unknown. In such a case, since the person in charge can specify the number of answers, for example, the number of answers can be confirmed in organizational units of a company. Conventionally, in order to improve the number of answers, the person in charge calls the affiliation manager for an answer to each affiliation.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 07-183912

  However, in order to improve the response rate described above, the number of responses on the Web alone may not be sufficient. For example, if the request mail has a low recognition rate (e-mail opening rate), is the low response rate due to the recognition rate, or is the recognition rate high but the response rate low? I didn't understand. That is, when the recognition rate is high and the response rate is low, there are cases where the user forgets to answer or when he / she does not need to answer himself / herself. On the other hand, when the recognition rate is low and the response rate is high, there may be a case where the mail itself is not recognized in the first place.

  Therefore, in practice, it is preferable that more effective dunning or the like can be performed by recognizing any pattern when the person in charge performs a dunning or when an executive employee calls.

  In view of such a problem, the disclosed technique aims to improve the response rate for response requests by efficiently performing appropriate mail prompting based on the reception status of an electronic mail.

  An email reminder program according to one aspect of the disclosure receives an email requesting an answer on the Web from a client terminal, and associates the email identification information for identifying the accepted email with access information to the response request content And storing the e-mail opening status at each of a plurality of client terminals to which the e-mail is a transmission destination, and associating the e-mail identification information with the opening status. The plurality of client terminals based on the access information stored in the storage unit, acquiring the request including the mail identification information, and referring to the first storage unit and corresponding to the mail identification information included in the request The response status on the Web in each is acquired, and based on the acquired response status and the opening status acquired from the second storage unit , And it outputs a reminder information to the jurisdiction terminal having jurisdiction over at least part of the client terminal among the plurality of client terminals to execute the process to the computer.

  According to the disclosed technique, it is possible to efficiently perform an appropriate mail prompting based on the reception status of an electronic mail. Further, according to the disclosed technology, the response rate for response requests can be improved.

It is a figure which shows one structural example of the mail system in 1st Example. It is a figure which shows an example of a function structure of the mail server in 1st Example. It is a figure which shows an example of a function structure of the client terminal in 1st Example. It is a figure which shows an example of the hardware constitutions which can implement | achieve the mail dunning process in 1st Example. It is a figure which shows the example of data of user authentication DB. It is a figure which shows the example of data of personnel affairs DB. It is a figure which shows the example of data of mail DB. It is a figure which shows the example of data of reply condition DB. It is a figure which shows the example of data of mail URL corresponding | compatible DB. It is a figure which shows the example of data of setting DB. It is a figure which shows the example of data of a dunning sentence DB. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the process sequence in the mail program of 1st Example. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the access number calculation process sequence in 1st Example. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the transmission processing procedure in the mail server of 1st Example. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the reply condition transmission processing procedure in 1st Example. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the process sequence of the reply condition data creation program in the mail server of 1st Example. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the process sequence of the display program in 1st Example. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the transmission processing procedure in the client terminal of 1st Example. It is a figure which shows an example of a message preparation screen. It is a figure which shows the example of an email transmission screen which displayed the answer paper addition screen. It is a figure which shows an example of the mail content. It is a figure which shows an example of a transmission mail display screen. It is a figure which shows an example of an answer status display screen. It is a figure which shows the example of a mail of a dunning sentence. It is a figure which shows an example of a function structure of the client terminal in 2nd Example. It is a figure which shows the example of data of mail DB in 2nd Example. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the process sequence in the mail program of 2nd Example. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the transmission processing procedure in the mail server of 2nd Example. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the reply condition transmission processing procedure in 2nd Example. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the process sequence of the display program in 2nd Example. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the transmission processing procedure in the client terminal of 2nd Example.

  Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

<First embodiment: system configuration example>
A configuration example of the mail system in the first embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a mail system in the first embodiment. A mail system 10 shown in FIG. 1 includes a mail server 11 and client terminals 12-1 to 12-n. The mail server 11 and the client terminals 12-1 to 12-n are connected in a state where data can be transmitted and received by a communication network 13 represented by the Internet, a LAN (Local Area Network), and the like.

  The mail server 11 is a mail device that manages transmission / reception of individual mails to the client terminals 12-1 to 12-n. Therefore, the mail server 11 collects and manages the transmission mail and the reception mail for each of the client terminals 12-1 to 12-n. Further, the mail server 11 includes, as a database (hereinafter abbreviated as “DB”), for example, a mail URL correspondence DB (first storage unit), a mail DB (second storage unit), a user authentication DB, Each DB includes a setting DB, a personnel affairs DB, an answer situation DB, a reminder DB, and the like. Each DB has a function of acquiring information to be stored by itself and storing several items in association with each other. The mail server 11 manages the user of the client terminal 12 using each DB described above.

  Further, the mail server 11 has a mail dunning program (for example, a mail program or a response status data creation program) for realizing the mail dunning process or the like in the first embodiment.

  The client terminal 12 has a display program (for example, a browser display program) that displays the contents of mail sent from the mail server 11. Further, the client terminal 12 confirms the content of the email displayed by the display program, and answers the question described in the displayed email content.

  Here, the answer made by the client terminal 12 includes an answer to a question obtained by accessing an external device or the like based on access information such as a URL described in the contents of an e-mail and the access destination. At this time, the above-described external device may be outside the management of the mail server 11 or within the management.

  Note that the client terminal 12 includes a terminal used by an answer requester or an answerer. Therefore, for example, in the case of the client terminal 12 used by the answer requester, an e-mail requesting an answer on the Web can be transmitted to the mail server 11 or the answer status can be acquired from the mail server 11. In the case of the client terminal 12 used by the respondent, for example, an e-mail requesting an answer on the Web can be received and an answer can be created on the Web.

  In FIG. 1, the relationship between the mail server 11 and the client terminal 12 is 1: n. However, the relationship is not limited to this. For example, a relationship of m: n (m, n is 1 or more) may be used. .

<First Example: Functional Configuration Example of Mail Server 11>
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of the mail server in the first embodiment. In FIG. 2, for convenience of explanation, the client terminal 12-1 on the response request side and the client terminal 12-2 on the response side are connected to the mail server 11 in a state where data can be transmitted and received. Shall. Accordingly, in the following description, “user” includes the meanings of the mail reply requesting side and the mail replying side client (user) using the mail system 10 in the first embodiment.

  The mail server 11 shown in FIG. 2 has a mail program 20 and an answer status data creation program 30. The mail program 20 includes a use request receiving unit 21, a user authentication unit 22, a mail transmitting unit 23, an answer status acquiring unit 24, an answer status transmitting unit 25, a dunning request receiving unit 26, and a dunning message transmitting unit. 27. The answer status data creation program 30 includes an answer receiving unit 31 and a data updating unit 32. The mail server 11 includes a user authentication DB 41, a personnel DB 42, a mail DB 43, a reply status DB 44, a mail URL correspondence DB (first storage unit) 45, a setting DB 46, and a reminder DB 47 as DBs. And have.

  The usage request receiving unit 21 receives a usage request from the client terminal 12-1 on the answer request side. At this time, the use request receiving unit 21 transmits a user information input screen to the client terminal 12-1 that has requested use. The user information is, for example, a user ID and a password. When receiving the user ID and password from the client terminal 12-1, the use request receiving unit 21 refers to the user authentication DB 41 and outputs information to the user authentication unit 22 for authentication.

  For example, the user authentication unit 22 determines whether or not the user ID and password from the client terminal 12-1 obtained by the use request receiving unit 21 are included in the user authentication DB 41, and performs user authentication. . If the authentication is OK (usable), the user authentication unit 22 confirms the user's department, job title (representative information), etc. with respect to the authorized user with reference to the personnel database 42. Moreover, when it is an authentication error, the user authentication part 22 produces | generates the message screen to that effect, and controls to display on the display part of the client terminal 12-1.

  The mail transmission unit 23 refers to the mail DB 43 based on the authentication result from the user authentication unit 22, acquires the content (mail information) of the email transmitted to the user, and based on the acquired content of the email. The mail is transmitted to the client terminal 12-2 on the answering side as the target person.

  Further, the mail transmission unit 23 acquires, for example, the opening status of the email in each of the plurality of client terminals 12 and associates the mail identification information for identifying the email received from the client terminal 12 with the opening status, the mail DB 43 and the like. You may have the function to memorize.

  The response status acquisition unit 24 acquires the response status in each client terminal 12 on each response side based on the mail URL correspondence DB 45 and the response status DB 44. Specifically, the response status acquisition unit 24 acquires a request including, for example, the above-described mail identification information, and refers to the mail URL correspondence DB 45 or the like to access information such as a URL corresponding to the mail identification information included in the request. Based on the response request content, the response status on the Web is acquired.

  Note that the response status acquisition unit 24 may have a function of storing the above-described mail identification information and access information to the response request content in the mail URL correspondence DB 45, for example.

  The response status transmission unit 25 outputs the response status result obtained by the response status acquisition unit 24 at this time to the dunning request reception unit 26 and the client terminal 12-1 on the response request side.

  The dunning request reception unit 26 receives the dunning request designated by the client terminal 12-1 and outputs the received dunning request to the dunning text transmission unit 27.

  The dunning message transmission unit 27 refers to the setting DB 46 to extract setting information corresponding to the dunning request, and obtains a dunning sentence corresponding to the dunning request and the setting information with reference to the dunning request DB 47. The dunning message transmitter 27 outputs the acquired dunning message content to a predetermined client terminal 12-2 on the answering side.

  That is, the dunning text transmission unit 27 compares the setting information with the above-described setting information based on, for example, the answer status and the unsealing status described above, and the dunning text (reminding information) selected from the dunning text DB 47 based on the result. Is output to a jurisdiction terminal (details will be described later) used by a person who has jurisdiction over the user of the target client terminal 12. Here, examples of the form output to the jurisdiction terminal include e-mail, but are not limited thereto.

  The answer receiving unit 31 receives the answer result from the answering client terminal 12-2. Further, the answer receiving unit 31 outputs the answer result from the client terminal 12-2 to the data updating unit 32.

  The data updating unit 32 updates the answer situation DB 44 based on the answer result obtained by the answer receiving unit 31.

  The user authentication DB 41 stores, for example, a user ID and a password in association with each other, and is used when the client terminal 12 is authenticated.

  The personnel DB 42 stores, for example, a user ID, a name, a department name, and a title (representative information) in association with each other, and is used when acquiring information for an authenticated user.

  The mail DB 43 stores mail information and the like for each user who uses mail. In the mail DB 43, the opening status of the email by the client terminal 12 is acquired, and the message ID (mail identification information), the opening status, and the like are stored in association with each other. Mail is broadly classified into outgoing mail and incoming mail. The received mail information includes, for example, data indicating whether the mail is opened or unopened. Further, the transmitted mail includes, for example, data indicating whether the mail needs to be answered.

  For example, the response status DB 44 associates, for each predetermined group such as a department, the number of affiliations, the number of responses, the current response rate, the number of opened pages, the rate of opening, and the number of emails received thereafter. It is recorded. The above-described information exists for each access information such as a response URL, but is not limited to this.

  The mail URL correspondence DB 45 stores a message ID (mail identification information) of a reply time-limited mail requested for a reply and access information such as a reply URL described in the mail content in association with each other.

  The setting DB 46 stores a threshold of an unsealing rate when using a reminder set by a sender of an answer deadline email, a threshold of the number of received emails thereafter, and the like. Note that the above-described information exists for each reply deadline mail, for example, but is not limited thereto.

  In the dunning sentence DB 47, for example, a dunning sentence is stored in association with the opening rate and the number of mails received thereafter, and an appropriate dunning sentence is used according to the comparison result with each threshold value in the setting DB 46 described above.

  Each of the client terminals 12-1 and 12-2 has a display program 50, and can refer to the contents of the mail transmitted from the mail server 11, the answer status, the reminder text, and the like as necessary. That is, in the first embodiment, by having the display program 50, the above-described contents and the like can be realized by Web mail using a browser or the like.

  Here, specific processing will be described. In the first embodiment, a mail client user (client terminal 12-1) sends an e-mail with a time limit for reply that he / she wants to see the answer status from the history of e-mails sent by himself. The display request is transmitted to the mail server 11. When the mail server 11 accepts the request, the mail server 11 acquires a reply URL from the message ID of the mail based on the mail URL correspondence DB 45.

  Next, in the first embodiment, based on the answer status DB 44 corresponding to the acquired answer URL, for example, an answer status display screen including the answer status for each organization, the opened / unopened status, and the average number of received emails thereafter is displayed. The created screen information is returned to the mail client (client terminal 12-1).

  On the mail client side (client terminal 12-1), an answer status display screen is received from the mail server 11 and information on the received screen is displayed. The user of the client terminal 12-1 selects a certain organization (group) from one or a plurality of organizations displayed on the screen, and transmits a dunning transmission request.

  When the mail server 11 receives the above-described dunning transmission request from the client terminal 12-1, the mail server 11 automatically creates a dunning sentence based on the setting DB 46, the answer status DB 44, and the dunning sentence DB 47. Next, the address of the manager of the department is acquired from the personnel department DB 42 from the selected department name, and the reminder text is transmitted to the address.

  In addition, the jurisdiction terminal described above refers to a terminal used by an administrator here. The jurisdiction terminal has jurisdiction over at least some of the preset client terminals among the plurality of client terminals. In the first embodiment, for example, a plurality of client terminals are classified and managed for each of a plurality of groups, and based on the number of unanswered responses for each of the plurality of groups, the number of unopened states, etc. The dunning information can be output to the jurisdiction terminal corresponding to each of the plurality of groups.

<First embodiment: functional configuration example of client terminal 12>
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of the client terminal in the first embodiment. In FIG. 3, for convenience of explanation, the mail server 11 is illustrated in a simplified manner, but has the configuration shown in FIG.

  The client terminal 12 illustrated in FIG. 3 has a display program 50. The display program 50 includes a mail display request unit 51, a user information transmission unit 52, a mail display unit 53, a mail transmission unit 54, an answer transmission unit 55, an answer status display request unit 56, and an answer status reception unit. 57 and an answer status display section 58.

  The mail display request unit 51 creates a request for displaying mail information for the user who uses the client terminal 12, and outputs the created request information to the user information transmission unit 52 for outputting to the mail server 11. .

  The user information transmission unit 52 transmits the user information to the mail server 11 in order to display the mail information on the client terminal 12 based on the display request from the mail display request unit 51. The user information is, for example, a user ID or a password. The user information may be stored in a memory (storage unit) included in the user information transmission unit 52, and is input every time the user makes a mail display request using an input unit such as a keyboard. Also good.

  The mail display unit 53 displays mail information corresponding to the mail display request obtained from the mail server 11 on a screen of a display unit such as a display.

  When a mail is created by the client terminal 12, the mail transmission unit 54 transmits the created mail information to the mail server 11.

  The reply transmission unit 55 accesses a predetermined site (for example, a home page) by using a reply URL included in the received mail, creates a reply to the question displayed on the accessed site, and creates the reply information Is transmitted to the mail server 11. Note that the above-described mail creation and reply creation are performed by the user using, for example, a data input unit such as a keyboard, mouse, or touch panel provided in the client terminal 12 or the like.

  The response status display request unit 56 transmits a response status display request to the mail server 11 when the client on the response request side wants to display the response status.

  The response status receiving unit 57 receives the response status obtained from the mail server 11 in response to the response status display request requested by the response status display requesting unit 56. Further, the answer status receiving unit 57 outputs the received information to the answer status display unit 58.

  The answer status display unit 58 creates a predetermined screen for displaying the answer status obtained by the answer status receiving unit 57, and displays the created screen on the screen of a display unit such as a display.

  The answer status display requesting unit 56, the answer status receiving unit 57, and the answer status display unit 58 described above are functions of the client terminal 12-1 on the answer request side, but are the client terminal 212-2 on the answer side. You may have.

<Hardware configuration example>
Here, in the mail server (mail device) 11 and the client terminal 12 described above, an execution program (for example, a mail dunning program, a display program, etc.) capable of causing a computer to execute each function is created. By installing the execution program in a computer, a server, a portable terminal, a game machine, etc., mail reminding processing, display processing, etc. can be realized.

  Here, an example of a hardware configuration of a computer capable of realizing the mail reminding process in the first embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration capable of realizing the mail reminding process in the first embodiment.

  4 includes an input device 61, an output device 62, a drive device 63, an auxiliary storage device 64, a memory device 65, a central processing unit (CPU) 66 for performing various controls, and a network connection device. 67, which are connected to each other by a system bus B.

  The input device 61 has a pointing device such as a keyboard and a mouse operated by a user or the like, and inputs various operation signals such as execution of a program from the user or the like.

  The output device 62 has a display for displaying various windows and data necessary for operating the computer main body for performing each process in the first embodiment, and the program execution progress and results are controlled by the control program of the CPU 66. Etc. can be displayed.

  Here, the execution program installed in the computer main body is provided by a portable recording medium 68 such as a universal serial bus (USB) memory or a CD-ROM, for example. The recording medium 68 on which the program is recorded can be set in the drive device 63, and the execution program included in the recording medium 68 is installed from the recording medium 68 to the auxiliary storage device 64 via the drive device 63.

  The auxiliary storage device 64 is a storage means such as a hard disk, and can store the execution program in the first embodiment, the control program provided in the computer, etc., and can perform input / output as necessary.

  The memory device 65 stores an execution program read from the auxiliary storage device 64 by the CPU 66. Note that the memory device 65 includes a read only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), and the like.

  The CPU 66 controls processing of the entire computer such as various operations and data input / output with each hardware component based on a control program such as an operating system (OS) and an execution program stored in the memory device 65. Thus, it is possible to realize each processing in the mail dunning. Various information necessary during the execution of the program can be acquired from the auxiliary storage device 64, and the execution result and the like can also be stored.

  The network connection device 67 obtains an execution program from another terminal connected to the communication network by connecting to a communication network or the like, or an execution result obtained by executing the program or the first embodiment. The execution program itself can be provided to other terminals.

  In the first embodiment, by installing each program in the first embodiment with the above-described hardware configuration, each process in the first embodiment can be easily realized by a general-purpose personal computer or the like. Note that each processing relating to the above-described mail reminder program, display program, and the like will be described later.

<Example database>
In the following description, the database example shown in the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of data in the user authentication DB. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of data in the personnel database. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of data in the mail DB. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of data in the answer status DB. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of data in the mail URL correspondence DB. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of data in the setting DB. Moreover, FIG. 11 is a figure which shows the example of data of the dunning sentence DB.

  The data items of the user authentication DB 41 shown in FIG. 5 include, for example, “user ID”, “password”, etc., but are not limited thereto. The user ID corresponds to identification information of the user who uses the client terminal 12 described above, and a mail address is used in the example of FIG. That is, the user authentication DB 41 is a DB for determining whether or not there is a use authority by identifying and authenticating the user by the user ID and the password with respect to the access from the client terminal 12. It is.

  The data items of the personnel DB 42 shown in FIG. 6 include, for example, “user ID”, “name”, “department name”, “representative (position)”, “affiliation code”, and “mailing list name (ML name)”. However, it is not limited to this. Further, the “department name” may be further subdivided and may include items such as “supervision department name”, “department name”, “section name”, and the like. The personnel database 42 is a DB for the mail program 20 to acquire the current affiliation, job title, and the like for each user. The personnel DB 42 may be managed in the present system (mail system 10), or information may be acquired by directly accessing a DB managed by the general affairs department or the personnel department.

  The items of the mail DB 43 shown in FIG. 7 include, for example, “user ID”, “folder name”, “message ID”, “opening status”, “answer request”, “sender”, “destination”, “calling date and time” "," Mail information ", etc., but is not limited to this. Further, the “mail information” may be further subdivided to have items such as “title” and “text”.

  The mail DB 43 manages, for each user ID, the opening status of mail stored in any of the folders, the presence / absence of a reply request for the mail, the sender, destination, outgoing date / time, and mail information (title, text, etc.). To do. In the example of FIG. 7, mail information having only the user ID “honda@xxx.ww” is stored. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and for each of a plurality of users registered in the mail server 11. Mail is managed. In addition, the “text” of a mail whose answer request is “present” includes access information such as a URL included in the text. Further, the mail information may include the attached file name, the contents of the attached file, etc. as access information, but the access information is not included in the body of all mails.

  The items in the response status DB 44 shown in FIG. 8 include, for example, “transmission date / time”, “expiration date / time”, “supervision department name”, “department name”, “section name”, “affiliation code”, “number of persons”, “Responding number”, “Responding rate”, “Declared number of accesses”, “Daily average number of accesses (per person)”, “Dunning date 1”, “Dunning date 2”, etc. is not. The answer status DB 44 exists for each answer URL. In the example of FIG. 8, for example, the URL is “http://www.kaito3.ne.jp/kaito3.html”.

  In the example of FIG. 8, the answer status is set for each “supervision department name”, “department name”, and “section name”. As a result, it is possible to easily confirm the response status of the general department unit, the department unit, and the section unit. In the example of FIG. 8, a maximum of two dates (a dunning date 1 and a dunning date 2) can be set as dunning dates. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, even one date has three or more dates. You can set the date. In the first embodiment, the response status DB 44 is updated by the data update unit 32, and the response status can be easily and appropriately grasped by referring to the response status DB 44 by the response status acquisition unit 24.

  The items of the mail URL correspondence DB 45 shown in FIG. 9 include “message ID” and “answer URL”, but are not limited to this. The mail URL correspondence DB 45 is a DB for managing a mail ID that requires an answer by associating the message ID with a URL that is access information. The access information is not limited to the URL, and may be an attached file name, for example. Further, the access information corresponding to the message ID is not limited to one, and there may be a plurality of access information. In this case, the access information may be one of the URL and the file name, or both.

  The items of the setting DB 46 illustrated in FIG. 10 include “setting target” and “threshold value”, but are not limited thereto. The setting DB 46 exists, for example, for each reply time limit mail. In the example of FIG. 10, for example, “anke-to@xxx.ww” is shown. In the first embodiment, a process for determining the content of the dunning text based on the content of the setting DB 46 is performed. Here, as the setting target, for example, at least one of the opening rate of the email, the number of received emails, and the number of accesses to the access information in at least some of the client terminals 12 that the jurisdiction terminal has jurisdiction out of a plurality of client terminals It only has to be one. Note that the setting target is not limited to this.

  The items in the dunning text DB 47 shown in FIG. 11 include “pattern” and “reminding text”, but are not limited thereto. The dunning sentence DB 47 determines the patterns determined by the dunning sentence determination process using the setting DB 46 (for example, “opening rate”, “number of received mails”, “number of accesses”, “outside threshold (standard)”). It is DB for managing the dunning sentence corresponding to. Further, a part of the “reminder text” may have a variable part as shown in FIG. In the variable part, for example, the name of the department manager obtained from the personnel DB 42, the name of the sender, the subject of the e-mail with a reply time limit, the department name, and the like are input. In addition, about the kind of pattern in 1st Example, the content of the dunning sentence, etc., it is not limited to this.

<Example of Processing Procedure of Mail Program 20 in Mail Server 11 of First Embodiment>
In the following description, an example of a processing procedure of the mail program 20 in the mail server 11 of the first embodiment described above will be described using a flowchart. FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a processing procedure in the mail program according to the first embodiment. In the example of FIG. 12, the mail program 20 determines whether or not a mail use request has been received from the client terminal 12 (S01). If not received (NO in S01), the mail program 20 returns to S01 and receives. Wait until. In the following description, it is assumed that whether or not the message has been received is determined, for example, whether or not the message has been received within a predetermined time.

  Further, when receiving the mail program 20 (YES in S01), the mail program 20 transmits a user ID and password input screen to the client terminal 12 (S02).

  Next, the mail program 20 determines whether or not a user ID and password are received as user information (S03). If not received (NO in S03), the process returns to S03 until there is reception. stand by. In addition, when the mail program 20 is received (YES in S03), the mail program 20 performs authentication using the user authentication DB 41 (S04).

  Next, the mail program 20 determines whether or not the authentication is OK (S05). If the authentication is OK (YES in S05), the mail program 20 performs an access count calculation process (S06). The access count calculation process will be described later.

  Next, the mail program 20 determines whether a message creation request has been received from the client terminal 12 (S07). When the mail program 20 receives the message creation request (YES in S07), the mail program 20 performs transmission processing (S08). The transmission process will be described later. If the mail program 20 has not received a message creation request after the completion of the processing of S08 or in the processing of S08 described above (NO in S07), it is determined whether or not a transmission mail display request has been received from the client terminal 12. Is determined (S09).

  When the mail program 20 receives a transmission mail display request from the client terminal 12 (YES in S09), the mail program 20 performs an answer status transmission process (S10). The answer status transmission process will be described later. Further, the mail program 20 ends the process when the transmission mail display request is not received from the client terminal 12 after the end of S10 or in the process of S09 (NO in S09). Note that the mail program 20 creates an authentication error screen, transmits it to the client terminal 12 (S11), and terminates the process if the authentication is not OK in the process of S05 described above (NO in S05).

<S06: Access Number Calculation Processing Procedure>
FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an access number calculation processing procedure in the first embodiment. In the example of FIG. 13, the mail program 20 acquires the affiliation code of the user ID using the personnel DB 42 (S21). Next, the mail program 20 determines whether or not answer status data including the affiliation code acquired in S21 exists in the answer status DB 44 (S22).

  When there is answer status data including the affiliation code (YES in S22), the mail program 20 increments (increases by 1) the number of accesses described in the answer status DB 44 (S23). In this case, the number of description accesses for the affiliation corresponding to the affiliation code hierarchy is also incremented.

  Next, the mail program 20 calculates and updates the average daily access count of each answer status DB 44 (S24).

<S08: Transmission processing procedure>
FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a transmission processing procedure in the mail server according to the first embodiment. In the example of FIG. 14, the mail program 20 creates a message creation screen and transmits it to the client terminal 12 (S31).

  Next, the mail program 20 determines whether or not general mail information, a destination, a title, and an article body have been received (S32). When the above information is received (YES in S32), the mail program 20 is identified. Message ID, header information, and the like are created (S33). Further, the mail program 20 records the message ID, title, article text, sender, and response request “0” in the receiving folder column of the destination mail DB (S34). The answer request “0” means that there is no answer request, but other types other than “0” may be recorded as long as it means that there is no answer request.

  Further, the mail program 20 records the message ID, title, article text, sender, and reply request “0” in the sender folder field of the sender's mail DB (S35).

  If the mail program 20 does not receive the general mail information, the destination, the title, and the article text in the process of S32 described above (NO in S32), the reply request mail information, the destination, the title, and the article are next received. It is determined whether the body text and the answer URL are received (S36).

  If mail program 20 has not received the above-described information (NO in S36), it returns to S32. Further, when receiving the above-described information (YES in S36), the mail program 20 creates a message ID, header information, and the like (S37). Next, the mail program 20 associates the message ID with the answer URL and records them in the mail URL correspondence DB (S38). Next, the mail program 20 records the message ID, title, article text, sender, and reply request “1” in the receiving folder column of the destination mail DB (S39). The answer request “1” means that there is an answer request, but other types other than “1” may be recorded as long as it means that there is an answer request.

  Next, the mail program 20 records the message ID, title, article text, sender, and reply request “1” in the sender folder field of the sender's mail DB (S40). Next, the mail program 20 creates a reply status DB 44 for each reply URL, and records the affiliation name and the number of affiliations corresponding to the destination using the personnel database 42 (S42).

<S10: Response status transmission processing procedure>
FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a reply status transmission processing procedure in the first embodiment. In the example of FIG. 15, the mail program 20 acquires the mail in the transmission folder from the mail DB 43 of the user ID (S51), acquires the transmission mail of the user ID from the mail DB 43, and displays the transmission mail display screen. Create (S52). Next, the mail program 20 transmits a transmitted mail display screen to the client terminal 12 (S53).

  Next, the mail program 20 determines whether or not a message ID and an answer status display request have been received (S54). If received (YES in S54), the mail program 20 sets the message ID based on the mail URL correspondence DB 45. The corresponding URL is acquired (S55).

  Further, the mail program 20 creates a reply status display screen for the mail using the reply status DB 44 of the acquired URL (S56), and transmits the created reply status display screen to the client terminal 12 (S57).

  When the mail program 20 has not received the message ID and the response status display request after the end of the process of S57 or in the process of S54 (NO in S54), the mail program 20 sends the department name and the dunning request. It is determined whether it has been received from the client terminal 12 (S58). If mail program 20 has not received the information described above from client terminal 12 (NO in S58), it returns to S58 and waits until it is received. Further, when the above-mentioned information is received from the client terminal 12 (YES in S58), the mail program 20 acquires the representative of the selected department from the personnel DB 42 (S59). Next, the mail program 20 calculates the opening rate of the selected department from the mail DB 43 (S60).

  Here, the mail program 20 determines whether or not it is lower than the opening rate threshold value in the setting DB 46 (S61). If the opening rate is lower than the opening rate threshold value (YES in S61), the mail program 20 sets the opening rate in the dunning statement DB 47. A corresponding dunning message is acquired (S62).

  Further, when the mail program 20 is not lower than the threshold of the unsealing rate (NO in S61), the mail program 20 calculates the average received mail number of the selected department from the mail DB 43 (S63).

  Next, the mail program 20 determines whether or not it is higher than the received mail threshold in the setting DB 46 (S64). If it is higher than the received mail threshold (YES in S64), the number of received mails in the reminder DB 47 The dunning sentence corresponding to is acquired (S65). In addition, when the mail program 20 is not higher than the threshold value of the received mail (NO in S64), the mail program 20 acquires the average number of accesses of the selected department from the reply status DB 44 (S66).

  Next, the mail program 20 determines whether it is lower than the number of accesses in the setting DB 46 (S67), and if it is not lower than the number of accesses (NO in S67), obtains a standard dunning text from the dunning text DB 47 ( S68).

  After the process of S62, after the process of S65, after the process of S68, or in the process of S67, if it is lower than the number of accesses of the setting DB 46 (YES in S67), it is in the dunning sentence acquired using the personnel database 42 A representative and a department name are substituted into variables (S69).

  Further, the mail program 20 transmits the acquired dunning message to the representative of the department (for example, the jurisdiction terminal) (S70), and transmits a dunning completion notice to the client (S71).

<Example of processing procedure of answer status data creation program 30 in mail server 11>
In the following description, an example of a processing procedure of the answer status data creation program 30 in the mail server 11 will be described using a flowchart. FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing procedure of the reply status data creation program in the mail server of the first embodiment.

  In the example of FIG. 16, the reply status data creation program 30 determines whether a reply has been received from the reply URL (S81). When the answer status data creation program 30 receives an answer (YES in S81), the answer status data creation program 30 determines whether or not an input of an affiliation code is accepted (S82). Here, when the input of the affiliation code is accepted (YES in S82), the answer situation data creation program 30 increments (increases by 1) the number of replies corresponding to the affiliation code in the answer situation DB 44 (S83). The reply status data creation program 30 calculates the reply rate and updates the reply rate in the reply status DB 44 (S84).

  Here, the answer status data creation program 30 determines whether or not to end the process according to an instruction from the user or the like (S85). If the process is not ended (NO in S85), the process returns to S81. If the answer status data creation program 30 ends the process in S85 (YES in S85), the answer status data creation process ends.

  Note that the answer status data creation program 30 returns to S81 if no answer is received from the answer URL in the process of S81 described above (NO in S81). If the answer status data creation program 30 does not accept the input of the affiliation code in the process of S82 described above (NO in S82), the process returns to S81.

<Example of Processing Procedure of Display Program 50 in Client Terminal 12>
In the following description, a processing procedure example of the display program 50 in the client terminal 12 will be described using a flowchart. FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing procedure of the display program in the first embodiment.

  In the example of FIG. 17, the display program 50 determines whether a mail use request has been received from the user (S91). If the mail use request has not been received (NO in S91), display program 50 returns to S91 and waits until a mail use request is received.

  When the display program 50 receives a mail use request (YES in S91), the display program 50 transmits a mail use request to the mail server 11 (S92). Next, the display program 50 determines whether or not a user ID / password input screen has been received from the mail server 11 (S93). If the display program 50 has not received the screen (NO in S93), the display program 50 returns to S93 and waits until it is received. Further, when the display program 50 receives the screen (YES in S93), the display program 50 displays a user ID and password input screen (S94).

  Here, the display program 50 determines whether or not an input of a user ID and a password has been accepted (S95). If the input has not been accepted (NO in S95), the process returns to S95 until the input is received. stand by. Further, when receiving the input (YES in S95), the display program 50 transmits the user ID and password, which are user information, to the mail server 11 (S96). Note that the user ID and password may be input by an input unit or the like included in the client terminal 12, or may be stored in advance in a storage unit such as a memory.

  Next, the display program 50 determines whether an authentication error screen has been received (S97). If the authentication error screen has not been received (NO in S97), the display program 50 determines whether a message creation request has been accepted. (S98). When the display program 50 receives a message creation request (YES in S98), the display program 50 performs transmission processing (S99). The transmission process will be described later.

  The display program 50 determines whether or not a transmission mail display request has been received after completion of the processing of S99 or when a message creation request has not been received in the processing of S98 (NO in S98) (S100). . Here, when the display program 50 receives a transmission mail display request (YES in S100), the display program 50 transmits a transmission mail display request to the mail server 11 (S101). Further, the display program 50 determines whether or not the transmission mail display screen has been received from the mail server 11 (S102). If the transmission mail display screen has not been received (NO in S102), the display program 50 returns to S102 for transmission. Wait until the mail display screen is received. Further, when the display program 50 receives the transmission mail display screen (YES in S102), the display program 50 displays the transmission mail display screen on the mail display unit 53 (S103).

  When the display program 50 has not received a transmission mail display request after the process of S103 or in the process of S100 (NO in S100), the display program 50 determines whether or not a mail selection and response status display request has been received ( S104).

  When the display program 50 receives a mail selection and answer status display request (YES in S104), the display program 50 transmits the message ID of the selected mail and a response status display request to the mail server 11 (S105). In addition, the display program 50 displays an answer status display screen from the mail server 11 after the process of S105 is completed or when the mail selection and the answer status display request are not accepted in the process of S104 (NO in S104). It is determined whether or not it has been received (S106). If the answer status display screen has not been received (NO in S106), the display program 50 returns to S106 and waits until the answer status display screen is received. Further, when receiving the answer status display screen (YES in S106), the display program 50 displays the answer status display screen (S107).

  Further, the display program 50 determines whether a department selection and a dunning request have been accepted (S108). If the department selection and the dunning request have not been accepted (NO in S108), the display program 50 returns to S108, And wait until accepting a dunning request. Further, when the selection of the department and the dunning request are accepted (YES in S108), the display program 50 transmits the selected department name and the dunning request to the mail server 11 (S109).

  Next, the display program 50 determines whether or not a dunning transmission completion notice has been received from the mail server 11 (S110). If no dunning transmission completion notice has been received (NO in S110), the display program 50 returns to S110. Wait until you receive a reminder transmission completion notice. In addition, when receiving the dunning transmission completion notification (YES in S110), the display program 50 displays the dunning transmission completion notification (S111).

  Further, when the display program 50 receives an authentication error screen in the process of S97 (YES in S97), the display program 50 displays the authentication error screen (S112).

<S99: Transmission processing procedure>
FIG. 18 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a transmission processing procedure in the client terminal according to the first embodiment. In the example of FIG. 18, the display program 50 transmits a message creation request to the mail server 11 (S121), and determines whether a message creation screen is received from the mail server 11 (S122).

  If the message creation screen has not been received (NO in S122), display program 50 returns to S122 and waits until the message creation screen is received. Further, when receiving the message creation screen (YES in S122), the display program 50 displays the message creation screen on the mail display unit 53 (S123). In addition, the display program 50 receives input of a destination, a title, an article text, and the like (S124).

  Here, the display program 50 determines whether or not a general mail transmission request has been accepted (S125). If a general mail transmission request is accepted (YES in S125), the general mail information, the destination, the title, and the article text are displayed. It transmits to the mail server 11 (S126). If the general mail transmission request has not been received (NO in S125), the display program 50 determines whether an answer request mail transmission request has been received (S127).

  If the display program 50 has not received the reply request mail transmission request (NO in S127), the display program 50 returns to S125. Further, when receiving a reply request mail transmission request (YES in S127), the display program 50 displays a reply URL acceptance screen on the mail display unit 53 and accepts the URL (S128). Further, the display program 50 transmits the reply request mail information, the destination, the title, the article text, and the reply URL to the mail server 11 (S129).

  In the first embodiment, the processes shown in FIGS. 12 to 18 described above correspond to the mail prompting process in the first embodiment. In the first embodiment, for example, when an e-mail with a reply due date is transmitted to a plurality of destinations according to each processing procedure described above, the reply sent to the organization manager depending on the reception status of the received mail for each organization to which the destination belongs. You can create different dunning texts. As a result, in the first embodiment, it is possible to improve the response rate with respect to the response request by efficiently performing appropriate email prompting based on the reception status of the email. Thus, for example, when requesting an answer on the Web questionnaire system by e-mail, the message ID (e-mail identification information) and access information such as the URL described in the e-mail are managed, and the response rate and e-mail opening rate By providing users with information based on the above, it is possible to support the construction of measures for low response rates. Specifically, the department manager who received the dunning message is likely to be buried in the members of the department he or she manages, “often unopened” or “subsequent incoming mail "Can be conveyed. As a result, there is an effect that the members of the department do not search for unanswered e-mails.

<Screen example in the first embodiment>
In the following description, a screen example in the first embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating an example of a message creation screen. The message creation screen 70 shown in FIG. 19 includes a button area 71 and a character input area 72, but is not limited to this.

  In the example of FIG. 19, the button area 71 includes a general mail transmission button, an answer request mail transmission button, and a logout button. In the example of FIG. 19, the character input area 72 includes “destination”, “CC”, “subject”, “article input screen”, and the like, but is not limited thereto.

  The user can select either general mail transmission or reply request mail transmission in the first embodiment by the general mail transmission button and the reply request mail transmission button in the button area 71. Here, in the first embodiment, the above-described mail dunning process can be performed by selecting reply request mail transmission. When logout is selected, the message creation screen 70 ends (closes).

  In the character input area 72, for example, “a-toukatu-ml@xxx.ww, b-toukatu-ml@xxx.ww” is input to “destination”. In addition, “workplace questionnaire (for answer)” is entered in “subject”. Also, on the “Article Input Screen”, “I am Honda from the General Affairs Department. I ask for your cooperation in the workplace survey. This survey is conducted every year to revitalize the workplace. Please reply by July 23. "

  Here, FIG. 20 is a diagram showing an example of a mail transmission screen displaying an answer sheet addition screen. In the example of FIG. 20, in addition to the message creation screen 70 described above, an answer setting screen 80 is displayed. The answer setting screen 80 is a screen that is displayed by selecting answer request mail transmission.

  The answer setting screen 80 includes, for example, a URL input area 81 when the answer sheet is a URL, a file name input area 82 when the answer sheet is an attached file, and an answer deadline setting area 83 for setting an answer deadline. Have

  In the URL input area 81, the contents of the URL to be added as the answer URL are input to the mail contents. In the file name input area 82, when the answer sheet is an attached file, the file name is input as access information by selecting the answer sheet file. In the answer deadline setting area 83, the selected answer deadline is set. The answer setting screen 80 includes a confirmation button and a cancel button. By selecting either one, the setting items are confirmed or canceled.

  Here, FIG. 21 is a diagram showing an example of mail contents. In FIG. 21, the contents set on the above-described answer setting screen 80 of FIG. 20 are displayed as mail contents. Note that the URL “http://www.kaito2.ne.jp/kaito2.html” as address information included in the mail content shown in FIG. 21 can be displayed in a hyperlink. Therefore, the mail recipient can jump the screen to the corresponding site by placing the cursor on the URL display portion and clicking.

  FIG. 22 is a diagram showing an example of a transmitted mail display screen. The transmission mail display screen 90 shown in FIG. 22 includes, for example, a button area 91 and a transmission folder content display area 92. The button area 91 has, for example, an answer status display button and a logout button.

  On the transmitted mail display screen 90, the user can display an answer status corresponding to the selected email by selecting an email for which the answer status is to be displayed and pressing an answer status display button. In the first embodiment, a selection button is not displayed for an email for which no answer is required.

  Further, in the example of FIG. 22, there is identification information 93 as to whether or not the reply status can be displayed. For example, in the example of FIG. 22, when the identification information 93-1 is displayed, the corresponding answer status can be displayed. When the identification information 93-2 is displayed, the answer status to be answered cannot be displayed. The type of information is not limited to this.

  FIG. 23 is a diagram illustrating an example of an answer status display screen. In the example shown in FIG. 23, an answer status display screen 100 for each department is displayed as an example of the answer status display screen 100. The user selects one or a plurality of departments (for example, general department name, department name, section name, etc.) to which a reminder email is to be transmitted from the client terminal 12 and selects a reminder request button, so that the appropriate notice is given to the target department. Send a reminder email consisting of sentences. Note that the selection clear button in FIG. 23 is used to clear all the currently selected departments.

  In FIG. 23, as items to be displayed, for example, “Select”, “Supervisory department name”, “Department name”, “Section name”, “Affiliation number”, “Response rate”, “Open rate”, “Daily average” “Number of accesses”, “Average number of emails received per person”, “Dunning date information”, and the like are displayed, but are not limited thereto.

  In the example of FIG. 23, for each item that does not meet the conditions of the setting DB 46 (for example, poor response), the numerical value is highlighted (for example, bold, color coded, blinking), etc. Can be displayed. In the example of FIG. 23, for example, the opening rate of section A-1-1 and the average number of received mails per person in section A-2 are highlighted. Thereby, the user can grasp | ascertain the mail of dunning object easily.

  In the example of FIG. 23, the parenthesized numerical values of the response rate and the opening rate indicate the response rate and the opening rate at the time of the request when the request was made previously. For example, in the example of FIG. 23, the response rate “40 (30) (12)” of the A general department is that the current response rate is 40%, the response rate at the previous reminder is 30%, It shows that the response rate was 12%. Thereby, in the first embodiment, it is possible to acquire more detailed information such as the response status of the department by dunning and the rate of increase in the response rate after dunning.

  In the first embodiment, a plurality of response URLs for one mail may be included. In such a case, a plurality of URLs are associated with one message ID in the mail URL correspondence DB 45. Therefore, for example, a plurality of answer status display screens 100 described above exist corresponding to a plurality of URLs.

  FIG. 24 is a diagram showing an example of a reminder mail. FIG. 24 (a) shows an example of a reminder message addressed to the B general manager when the B general department is selected. FIG. 24 (b) shows an A-2-1 when section A-2-1 is selected. An example of a reminder addressed to one section manager is shown. That is, in the example of FIG. 24, the terminal of the B general manager and the terminal of the section A-2-1 are client terminals as jurisdiction terminals.

  As shown in FIGS. 24 (a) and 24 (b), even if it is a reminder for the same reply request mail, an appropriate reminder is efficiently transmitted at an appropriate timing based on the reply status of the department. be able to. Note that the above-described screen examples in the first embodiment are displayed on the browser when the client terminal 12 uses Web mail or the like, for example. That is, the client terminal 12 accesses the mail server 11, acquires each screen created by the mail server 11, and displays it on the display unit.

  As a result, in the first embodiment, specifically, the department manager who received the reminder message has many "unopened" and "subsequent received mails" among the members of the department he manages. Therefore, it is possible to convey appropriate information such as “there is a high possibility of being buried”. As a result, there is an effect that the members of the department do not search for unanswered e-mails.

  In the first embodiment, for example, when e-mails with reply deadlines are sent to a plurality of destinations, the response prompt message sent to the organization manager is made different depending on the reception status of the received mail for each organization to which the destination belongs. can do. As a result, in the first embodiment, it is possible to improve the response rate with respect to the response request by efficiently performing appropriate email prompting based on the reception status of the email. Thus, for example, when requesting an answer on the Web questionnaire system by e-mail, the message ID (e-mail identification information) and access information such as the URL described in the e-mail are managed, and the response rate and e-mail opening rate By providing users with information based on, it is possible to support the construction of measures for low response rates.

<Second embodiment>
In the first embodiment described above, a configuration has been described in which e-mail browsing is performed using, for example, Web mail. As another embodiment, for example, the above-described mail prompting process can be applied to a client terminal having so-called POP (Post Office Protocol) type mail software (mailer function) such as OUTLOOK (registered trademark). . In the following description, an embodiment corresponding to the above-described content will be described as a second embodiment.

  In addition, about the system configuration | structure of the mail system in 2nd Example, and the function structure of a mail server, since the structure similar to 1st Example is applicable, concrete description here is abbreviate | omitted. In the second embodiment, for example, an e-mail requesting an answer to a question on the Web is used as in the first embodiment.

<Second Embodiment: Functional Configuration Example of Client Terminal 12>
FIG. 25 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of the client terminal according to the second embodiment. In FIG. 25, for convenience of explanation, the mail server 11 is simply shown. However, the mail server 11 has the configuration shown in FIG. In the following description, components that perform substantially the same processing as in the first embodiment described above are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted here.

  The client terminal 12 illustrated in FIG. 25 has a display program 50. The display program 50 includes a mail display request unit 51, a user information transmission unit 52, a mail display unit 53, a mail transmission unit 54, an answer transmission unit 55, an answer status display request unit 56, and an answer status reception unit. 57, an answer status display unit 58, and an answer status request accepting unit 101. The client terminal 12 in the second embodiment has a mail DB 102 as a storage unit.

  Here, the client terminal 12 in the second embodiment has an answer status request receiving unit 101 and a mail DB 102 in the second embodiment as compared with the client terminal 12 in the first embodiment.

  The answer status request accepting unit 101 accepts an answer status request from the user, and sends an answer status display request to the answer status display request unit 56 with the accepted content. The response status display request unit 56 transmits a response status display request to the mail server 11 when the client on the response request side wants to display the response status.

  The mail DB 102 is a DB for storing mail information corresponding to the user received from the mail server 11. That is, the mail display unit 53 can display the mail information stored in the mail DB 102 and also display the mail information acquired from the mail DB 102 of the mail server 11.

  Here, in the mail server (mail device) 11 and the client terminal 12 in the second embodiment, as in the first embodiment, an execution program (for example, a mail dunning program (mail) that can cause a computer to execute each function) A program, an answer status data creation program, etc.), a display program), and the execution program is installed in, for example, a general-purpose personal computer, server, portable terminal, game machine, etc. it can.

  Here, since the hardware configuration example of the computer capable of realizing the mail reminding process in the present embodiment is the same as the hardware configuration in the first embodiment described above, a specific description thereof is omitted here.

<Example database>
Here, a database example shown in the second embodiment will be described. In the second embodiment, the mail DB is provided on the mail server 11 side and the client terminal 12 side. In addition, DBs similar to those in the first embodiment described above can be applied to other DBs. Therefore, in the following description of the DB, the mail DB will be described, and a specific description of other DBs will be omitted.

  FIG. 26 is a diagram showing an example of mail DB data in the second embodiment. 26A shows an example of data stored in the mail DB 43 on the mail server 11 side, and FIG. 26B shows an example of data stored in the mail DB 102 on the client terminal 12 side.

  The items of the mail DB 43 shown in FIG. 26A include “user ID”, “folder name”, “message ID”, “answer request”, “sender”, “destination”, “sending date / time”, “mail”. Information ", but is not limited to this. The items of the mail DB 102 shown in FIG. 26B include “user ID”, “folder name”, “message ID”, “opening status”, “answer request”, “sender”, “destination”, It consists of “date and time of transmission” and “mail information”, but is not limited to this. Further, the “mail information” shown in FIGS. 26A and 26B may be further subdivided to have items such as “title” and “text”, for example.

  That is, in the second embodiment, the mail information stored in the mail DB 43 of the mail server 11 is mail information that has not been transmitted to the client terminal 12, and is deleted immediately after transmission or after a predetermined period has elapsed. is there.

  The mail DB 43 of the mail server 11 manages the above-described information for each user ID, and the client terminal 12 manages the mail information of the user (user) of the terminal. Further, the “text” includes access information such as a URL included in the text. Further, the mail information may include the attached file name, the content of the attached file data, and the like as access information.

  That is, in the so-called POP mailer in the second embodiment, for example, unreceived mail is stored in the mail DB 43 on the mail server 11 side. In the second embodiment, what is received by the client terminal 12 is stored in the mail DB 102 on the client terminal 12 side regardless of whether it is opened or not. Therefore, in the second embodiment, the mail DB 112 on the client terminal 12 side includes an item “open status”.

<Example of Processing Procedure of Mail Program 20 in Mail Server 11 of Second Embodiment>
In the following description, an example of a processing procedure of the mail program 20 in the mail server 11 of the second embodiment will be described using a flowchart. FIG. 27 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a processing procedure in the mail program according to the second embodiment. In the example of FIG. 27, the mail program 20 determines whether or not a mail use request has been received from the client terminal 12 (S131). If not received (NO in S131), the mail program 20 returns to S131 and is received. Wait until. In addition, when receiving the mail program 20 (YES in S131), the mail program 20 transmits a user ID and password input screen to the client terminal 12 (S132).

  Next, the mail program 20 determines whether or not a user ID and password are received as user information (S133). If not received (NO in S133), the process returns to S133 until there is reception. stand by. If the mail program 20 is received (YES in S133), the mail program 20 performs authentication using the user authentication DB 41 (S134).

  Next, the mail program 20 determines whether or not the authentication is OK (S135). If the authentication is OK (YES in S135), the mail program 20 performs an access count calculation process (S136). The access number calculation process can be performed in the same way as the access number calculation process in the first embodiment described above, and a specific description thereof will be omitted here.

  Next, the mail program 20 performs transmission processing (S137) and ends the processing. If the authentication is not OK in the process of S135 described above (NO in S135), the mail program 20 creates an authentication error screen, transmits it to the client terminal 12 (S138), and ends the process.

<S137: Transmission Processing Procedure>
FIG. 28 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a transmission processing procedure in the mail server according to the second embodiment. In the example of FIG. 28, the mail program 20 determines whether or not general mail information, a destination, a title, and an article body have been received (S141). When the above information is received (YES in S141), the mail program 20 records the message ID, title, article body, sender, and response request “0” in the receiving folder field of the destination mail DB (S142). . The answer request “0” means that there is no answer request, but other types other than “0” may be recorded as long as it means that there is no answer request.

  Further, the mail program 20 records the message ID, title, article text, sender, and response request “0” in the sender folder field of the sender's mail DB (S143).

  If the mail program 20 has not received the general mail information, the destination, the title, and the article body in the process of S141 described above (NO in S141), the reply request mail information, the destination, the title, and the article are then received. It is determined whether the body text, answer URL, and header information have been received (S144).

  When the mail program 20 receives the above-described information (YES in S144), the mail program 20 associates the message ID with the answer URL and records them in the mail URL correspondence DB (S145).

  Next, the mail program 20 records the message ID, title, article text, sender, and reply request “1” in the receiving folder field of the destination mail DB (S146). The answer request “1” means that there is an answer request, but other types other than “1” may be recorded as long as it means that there is an answer request.

  Next, the mail program 20 determines whether or not an answer status display request has been received from the client terminal 12 (S147). If no answer status display request has been received (NO in S147), the process returns to S147. Wait for reception. When the mail program 20 receives the answer status display request (YES in S147), the mail program 20 performs an answer status display process (S148). The answer status display process will be described later.

  Note that, in the process of S144 described above, if the response request mail information, the destination, the title, the article text, the response URL, and the header information have not been received (NO in S144), the process ends.

<S148: Response Status Transmission Processing Procedure>
FIG. 29 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a reply status transmission processing procedure in the second embodiment. In the example of FIG. 29, the mail program 20 determines whether or not a message ID and an answer status display request have been received (S151), and if received (YES in S151), based on the mail URL correspondence DB 45, The URL corresponding to the message ID is acquired (S152).

  Further, the mail program 20 retrieves the affiliation name (for example, general department name, department name, section name, etc.), the number of affiliations, the number of responses, the response rate, the daily average access number, etc. from the response status DB corresponding to the acquired URL. Is acquired (S153). Further, the mail program 20 transmits the acquired affiliation name (for example, general department name, department name, section name, etc.), the number of affiliations, the number of responses, the response rate, the daily average access frequency, etc. to the client terminal 12 (S154). ).

  Here, when the mail program 20 has not received the message ID and the response status display request after the processing of S154 or in the processing of S151 (NO in S151), the mail program 20 sends the department name and the dunning request. It is determined whether it has been received from the client terminal 12 (S155). If the above-mentioned information is not received from the client terminal 12 (NO in S155), the mail program 20 returns to S155 and waits until it is received.

  Further, when receiving the above-described information from the client terminal 12 (YES in S155), the mail program 20 acquires the representative of the selected department from the personnel DB 42 (S156). Next, the mail program 20 calculates the opening rate of the selected department from the mail DB 43 (S157).

  Here, the mail program 20 determines whether or not it is lower than the opening rate threshold value of the setting DB 46 (S158). If the opening rate is lower than the opening rate threshold value (YES in S158), the e-mail program 20 sets the opening rate of the dunning sentence DB 47. A corresponding dunning message is acquired (S159).

  If the mail program 20 is not lower than the opening rate threshold (NO in S158), the mail program 20 calculates the average received mail count of the selected department from the mail DB 43 (S160).

  Next, the mail program 20 determines whether or not it is higher than the threshold value of the received mail in the setting DB 46 (S161). If it is higher than the threshold value of the received mail (YES in S161), the number of received mails in the reminder DB 47 The dunning sentence corresponding to is acquired (S162). Further, when the mail program 20 is not higher than the threshold value of the received mail (NO in S161), the mail program 20 acquires the average number of accesses of the selected department from the reply status DB 44 (S163).

  Next, the mail program 20 determines whether it is lower than the number of accesses in the setting DB 46 (S164), and if it is not lower than the number of accesses (NO in S164), obtains a regular dunning sentence from the dunning sentence DB 47 ( S165).

  After the process of S159, after the process of S162, after the process of S165, or in the process of S164, if it is lower than the number of accesses of the setting DB 46 (YES in S164), using the personnel DB 42 for the acquired dunning sentence The person and the department variable are substituted (S166).

  Further, the mail program 20 transmits the acquired dunning message to the representative of the department (for example, the responsible terminal) (S167), and transmits a dunning completion notice to the client terminal 12 (S168).

  Here, since the processing procedure of the reply status data creation program 30 in the mail server 11 of the second embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment described above, a specific description thereof is omitted here.

<Example of Processing Procedure of Display Program 50 in Client Terminal 12 of Second Embodiment>
In the following description, a processing procedure example of the display program 50 in the client terminal 12 of the second embodiment will be described using a flowchart. FIG. 30 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing procedure of the display program in the second embodiment.

  In the example of FIG. 30, the display program 50 determines whether a mail use request has been received from the user (S171). In addition, a user means the client (user) mentioned above, for example. If the mail use request has not been received (NO in S171), the display program 50 returns to S171 and waits until a mail use request is received.

  Further, when the display program 50 receives a mail use request (YES in S171), the display program 50 transmits the mail use request to the mail server 11 (S172). Next, the display program 50 determines whether a user ID and password input request has been received from the mail server 11 (S173). If the request is not received (NO in S173), the display program 50 returns to S173 and waits until it is received. Further, when receiving the request (YES in S173), the display program 50 displays a user ID and password input screen (S174).

  Here, the display program 50 determines whether or not an input of a user ID and a password has been accepted (S175). If the input has not been accepted (NO in S175), the process returns to S175 until the input is made. stand by. Further, when receiving the input (YES in S175), the display program 50 transmits the user ID and password to the mail server 11 (S176). Note that the user ID and password may be input by an input unit or the like included in the client terminal 12, or may be stored in advance in a storage unit such as a memory.

  Next, the display program 50 determines whether an authentication error screen has been received (S177). If the authentication error screen has not been received (NO in S177), the display program 50 determines whether a message creation request has been accepted. (S178). When the display program 50 receives a message creation request (YES in S178), the display program 50 performs a transmission process (S179). The transmission process will be described later.

  In addition, when the message creation request is not received after the end of the process of S179 or in the process of S178 (NO in S178), the display program 50 determines whether or not a transmission mail display request is received (S180). . Here, when the display program 50 receives a transmission mail display request (YES in S180), the display program 50 acquires the mail in the transmission folder from the mail DB 102 on the client terminal 12 side (S181). Further, the display program 50 creates an outgoing mail display screen based on the mail information acquired in the process of S181, and displays it on the mail display unit 53 (S182).

  If the display program 50 has not received a send mail display request after the process of S182 or in the process of S180 (NO in S180), the display program 50 determines whether or not a mail selection and answer status display request has been received ( S183).

  When the display program 50 receives a mail selection and answer status display request (YES in S183), the display program 50 transmits a message ID of the selected mail and a response status display request to the mail server 11 (S184). Further, the display program 50 makes the following determination after the process of S184 is completed or when the mail selection and answer status display request is not accepted in the process of 183 (NO in S183). Specifically, the display program 50 receives from the mail server 11 the affiliation name (for example, general department name, department name, section name, etc.), the number of affiliations, the number of responses, the response rate, the daily average number of accesses, and the like. It is determined whether or not (S185).

  Here, when the information described above is not received (NO in S185), the display program 50 returns to S185 and waits until the information described above is received. In addition, when the display program 50 receives the above-described information (YES in S185), the display program 50 displays an answer status display screen from information such as the received affiliation name, affiliation number, number of responses, response rate, and daily average access count. Create and display (S186).

  Further, the display program 50 determines whether a department selection and a dunning request have been accepted (S187). If the department selection and dunning request has not been accepted (NO in S187), the process returns to S187. And wait until accepting a dunning request. If the display program 50 receives a department selection and a reminder request (YES in S187), the display program 50 transmits the selected department name and the reminder request to the mail server 11 (S188).

  Next, the display program 50 determines whether or not a dunning transmission completion notice has been received from the mail server 11 (S189). If no dunning transmission completion notice has been received (NO in S189), the display program 50 returns to S189. Wait until you receive a reminder transmission completion notice. In addition, when receiving the dunning transmission completion notification (YES in S189), the display program 50 displays the dunning transmission completion notification (S190).

  If the display program 50 receives an authentication error screen in the process of S177 (YES in S177), the display program 50 displays the authentication error screen (S191).

<S179: Transmission Processing Procedure>
FIG. 31 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a transmission processing procedure in the client terminal according to the second embodiment. In the example of FIG. 31, the display program 50 displays a message creation screen on the mail display unit 53 (S201). Further, the display program 50 accepts input of a destination, a title, and an article body (S202).

  Here, the display program 50 determines whether or not a general mail transmission request has been accepted (S203), and when a general mail transmission request is accepted (YES in S203), creates a message ID and header information (S204). . Then, the display program 50 transmits general mail information, destination, title, and article text to the mail server 11 together with the created message ID and header information (S205).

  If the general mail transmission request has not been received (NO in S203), the display program 50 determines whether an answer request mail transmission request has been received (S206).

  If the display program 50 has not received an answer request mail transmission request (NO in S206), the display program 50 returns to S203. When the display program 50 receives a reply request mail transmission request (YES in S206), it creates a message ID and header information (S207). Then, the display program 50 displays a response URL reception screen on the mail display unit 53 together with the created message ID and header information, and receives the URL (S208). Further, the display program 50 transmits the reply request mail information, the destination, the title, the article text, and the reply URL to the mail server 11 (S209).

  In the second embodiment, the processes shown in FIGS. 27 to 31 described above correspond to the mail reminding process in the second embodiment, but the same processes as in the first embodiment described above are partially performed. .

  In addition, since the same screen as the screen example in the first embodiment described above can be applied to the screen example in the second embodiment, a specific description thereof is omitted here. In the first embodiment, the browser is displayed by the display program 50, but in the second embodiment, the display is performed on the display unit of the client terminal 12 by mail software to which the display program 50 is applied.

  In the second embodiment, according to each processing procedure described above, as in the first embodiment, for example, when an e-mail with a reply time limit is transmitted to a plurality of destinations, depending on the reception status of the received mail for each organization to which the destination belongs, The response reminder message sent to the organization manager can be made different. As a result, in the second embodiment, the response rate for the response request can be efficiently improved by appropriately urging the client terminal having the so-called POP type mail software based on the reception status of the e-mail. Can be improved. Therefore, for example, when a response on the questionnaire system is requested by e-mail, the message ID (mail identification information) and access information such as URL attached to the e-mail are managed, and the response rate and e-mail opening rate By providing users with information based on the above, it is possible to support the establishment of measures for low response rates. Specifically, the department manager who received the dunning message is likely to be buried in the members of the department he or she manages, “often unopened” or “subsequent incoming mail "Can be conveyed. As a result, there is an effect that the members of the department do not search for unanswered e-mails.

  The first and second embodiments described above can also be applied in combination. Therefore, the client terminals 12-1 to 12-n of the mail system 10 shown in FIG. 1 described above can include one or both of the client terminals of the first embodiment and the client terminals of the first embodiment. In that case, the mail program 20 of the mail server 11 manages which type of terminal the client terminal 12 that has accessed is based on user information (for example, user ID or password). The above-described processing is executed in correspondence with the form of the terminal. Further, one client terminal may have a configuration for realizing both the first and second embodiments described above, in which case either process is performed according to the selection of the user. .

  Each embodiment has been described in detail above, but is not limited to a specific embodiment, and various modifications and changes can be made within the scope described in the claims.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Mail system 11 Mail server 12 Client terminal 13 Communication network 20 Mail program 21 Usage request reception part 22 User authentication part 23 Mail transmission part 24 Reply status acquisition part 25 Reply status transmission part 26 Dunning request reception part 27 Dunning sentence transmission part 30 Answer status data creation program 41 User authentication DB
42 HR DB
43,102 Mail DB (second storage unit)
44 Answer DB
45 Mail URL corresponding DB (first storage unit)
46 Setting DB
47 Dunning DB
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 50 Display program 51 Mail display request part 52 User information transmission part 53 Mail display part 54 Mail transmission part 55 Reply transmission part 56 Reply status display request part 57 Reply status receiving part 58 Reply status display part 61 Input device 62 Output device 63 Drive Device 64 Auxiliary storage device 65 Memory device 66 CPU
67 Network connection device 68 Recording medium 70 Message creation screen 71, 91 Button area 72 Character input area 80 Reply setting screen 81 URL input area 82 File name input area 83 Reply deadline setting area 90 Sent mail display screen 92 Contents display area 93 Identification information 100 Response status display screen 101 Response status request reception part

Claims (8)

Accept an email requesting an answer on the web from a client terminal,
Mail identification information for identifying the received e-mail and access information to the response request content are stored in the first storage unit in association with each other,
Obtaining the opening status of the email at each of a plurality of client terminals to which the email is sent;
The mail identification information and the opening status are associated with each other and stored in a second storage unit,
Obtaining a request including the email identification information;
Based on the access information corresponding to the mail identification information included in the request with reference to the first storage unit, the response status on the Web in each of the plurality of client terminals is acquired,
A process of outputting dunning information to a jurisdiction terminal that has jurisdiction over at least some of the plurality of client terminals based on the obtained answer situation and the opening situation obtained from the second storage unit Email dunning program that causes a computer to execute.   2. The mail reminder program according to claim 1, wherein the access information includes a URL or an attached file name.   The plurality of client terminals are classified and managed for each of a plurality of groups, and for each of the plurality of groups, based on the number of unanswered responses and the number of unopened states, The mail reminder program according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the reminder information is output to the jurisdiction terminal corresponding to each of a plurality of groups.   The open state includes at least one of an open rate of the electronic mail, the number of received mails, and the number of accesses to the access information in a client terminal managed by the jurisdiction terminal. The email reminder program according to any one of 3 above.   5. The content of corresponding dunning information is selected based on a comparison result between the opening rate, the number of received mails, the number of accesses to the access information, and a corresponding threshold value. Email dunning program.   6. The mail reminder program according to claim 1, wherein a screen for displaying the reply status on the client terminal that created the reply request content is created. A first storage unit that accepts an e-mail requesting an answer on the Web from a client terminal, and stores the e-mail identification information for identifying the accepted e-mail and the access information to the response request content;
A second storage unit that acquires the opening status of the email in each of a plurality of client terminals to which the email is a destination, and stores the email identification information and the opening status in association with each other;
Obtaining a request including the mail identification information, referring to the first storage unit, based on the access information corresponding to the mail identification information included in the request, on each of the plurality of client terminals on the Web An answer status acquisition unit for acquiring an answer status;
A dunning message that outputs dunning information to a jurisdiction terminal that has jurisdiction over at least some of the plurality of client terminals based on the obtained answer situation and the opening situation obtained from the second storage unit A mail apparatus comprising: a transmission unit. Accept an email requesting an answer on the web from a client terminal,
Mail identification information for identifying the received e-mail and access information to the response request content are stored in the first storage unit in association with each other,
Obtaining the opening status of the email at each of a plurality of client terminals to which the email is sent;
The mail identification information and the opening status are associated with each other and stored in a second storage unit,
Obtaining a request including the email identification information;
Based on the access information corresponding to the mail identification information included in the request with reference to the first storage unit, the response status on the Web in each of the plurality of client terminals is acquired,
A process of outputting dunning information to a jurisdiction terminal that has jurisdiction over at least some of the plurality of client terminals based on the obtained answer situation and the opening situation obtained from the second storage unit An e-mail dunning method characterized by comprising:

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