KR20020045651A - Goods and service information providing method, server system, and recording medium therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A method for furnishing article information and a server system and a recording medium thereof are provided to easily search the article information regardless of the Internet connection environment, to furnish the article information corresponding to the preference of a customer, and to make the customer easily purchase an article on-line. CONSTITUTION: The server system includes a web server, an affiliated merchant database(11), a customer information database(12), an order information database(13), and a client agent program storage(14). A client agent program(100) is installed in a customer computer(3). A customer exchanges information with the web server via the program. The program is run by being loaded into the customer computer from a CD(Compact Disk)(30), or is downloaded to the customer computer from the server system through the Internet. The web server stores an order transmitted from the customer computer in the order information database and transfers the order information to an affiliated server system to realize article purchase.

Description

Goods and service information providing method, server system, and recording medium therefor}

The present invention relates to a product information providing method, a server system and a recording medium thereof, and more particularly, a product information providing method for providing product information to a customer in association with an offline distribution network, the server system and a recording medium thereof. It is about.

As the number of users on the Internet increases, various service providing sites for them are increasing. In particular, online shopping through internet shopping malls is being activated. However, the majority of Internet users are in a situation of being limited by the transmission speed according to the Internet access means. Therefore, the data transfer rate provided when accessing a specific site can have a big impact on customer satisfaction and customer loyalty for the site.

On the other hand, since the size of data provided by various sites such as home trading programs provided by securities companies, online game files provided by game sites, and multimedia files provided by content providing sites are increasing day by day, the load on the server is also increased. It becomes bigger.

In addition, as there are numerous Internet sites, it is not easy for a customer to find a site that can obtain useful product information such as selling a desired product.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a product information providing method, a server system, and a recording medium thereof, which can easily retrieve product information regardless of an Internet connection environment.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a product information corresponding to the customer's preferences, and to provide a product information providing method, the server system and a recording medium thereof to enable easier online product purchase.

1 is an application of the server system 1 according to the present invention,

2 is a detailed block diagram illustrating the relationship between the server system 1 and the customer computer 3 of FIG. 1;

3 is a detailed block diagram of the CD 30 of FIG.

4 is a block diagram of a customer computer 3 with a client agent program 100 installed therein;

5 is a reference diagram for explaining a process of searching for product information through the CD 30;

6 is a reference diagram for explaining customer preference information and order information stored in the customer computer 3;

7 is a flowchart illustrating a product information providing method according to the present invention;

8 is a flowchart for explaining a preferred embodiment of the product information providing method according to the present invention in more detail.

According to the present invention, (a) distributing a recording medium containing a search page for searching product information to the customer; (b) receiving, from the computer, customer preference information collected from the process of the customer searching the search page using a computer; (c) manufacturing a recording medium including a search page for searching the selected product information based on the received customer preference information; And (d) distributing the produced recording medium to the customer.

Step (a) and step (b) include the step of distributing to customers visiting the gas station.

The recording medium may include a compact disc (CD), and the search page may be a web document that can be displayed through a web browser.

The recording medium further includes a client agent program, and the client agent program is installed and executed on a customer's computer.

A search module for searching a search page including product information corresponding to the search word from a CD inserted into the computer when a search word is input to a search box of a web browser installed in the computer; A display module for displaying a search page searched by the search module on the customer's computer by the web browser; An information collection module for collecting customer preference information including user event information generated in the displayed search page; And a transmission module for transmitting the collected customer preference information to the outside.

The information collecting module collects and stores order information inputted into the displayed search page, and the transmission module transmits the order information to the outside. In addition, the display module, and displays the order information stored by the information collection module on the customer's computer, the transmission module transmits the order information to the outside according to the transfer command of the customer.

The client agent program may further include a deletion module for deleting the transmitted customer preference information from the customer's computer when the transmission module transmits the customer preference information to the outside.

In the recording medium, an internet address of a product selling site for selling goods according to the product information is further recorded, and the client agent program stores the internet address of the product selling site in a web browser mounted on the computer of the customer. It is further preferable to further include an address recording module for recording in the address storage file.

On the other hand, according to another field of the present invention, the object is a server system for connecting to the customer's computer to communicate with the customer's computer, comprising a storage unit for storing the client agent program downloaded to the customer's computer, The client agent program is installed and executed on the computer of the customer, and when a search word is input into a search box of a web browser installed on the computer, a search page including product information corresponding to the search word from a CD inserted into the computer. Search module for searching for; A display module for displaying a search page searched by the search module on the customer's computer by the web browser; An information collection module for collecting and storing customer preference information including user event information generated in the displayed search page; And a transmission module for transmitting the collected and stored customer preference information to the outside.

The information collecting module collects and stores the order information inputted into the displayed search page, and the transmission module transmits the order information to the server system. The display module may display the order information stored by the information collection module on the customer's computer, and the transmission module may transmit the order information to the server system according to a transfer command of the customer.

The client agent program may further include a deletion module for deleting the transmitted customer preference information from the customer's computer when the transmission module transmits the customer preference information to the outside.

On the other hand, according to another field of the present invention, the object is, when a search word is inserted into the search box of the web browser installed in the computer of the customer is possible to search according to the search word through the client agent program installed on the computer An index database for making it available; It is also achieved by a recording medium characterized in that the product information is disclosed, and a search page, which is provided to correspond to the index recorded in the index database and displayed by the client agent program, is displayed through the web browser.

The recording medium further contains the client agent program,

The client agent program may include: a search module for searching for a search page including product information corresponding to the search word from a CD inserted into the computer when a search word is input to a search box of the web browser; A display module for displaying a search page searched by the search module on the customer's computer by the web browser; An information collection module for collecting customer preference information including user event information generated in the displayed search page; And a transmission module for transmitting the collected customer preference information to the outside.

In the recording medium, an internet address of a product selling site for selling goods according to the product information is further recorded, and the client agent program stores the internet address of the product selling site in a web browser mounted on the computer of the customer. It is preferable to further include an address recording module for recording in the address storage file.

On the other hand, according to another field of the present invention, the object is a server system for connecting to the customer's computer to communicate with the customer's computer, for receiving customer preference information from a client agent program installed on the customer's computer Web server; And a customer preference information storage unit for storing customer preference information received through the web server.

The client agent program is installed and executed on the computer of the customer, and when a search word is input into a search box of a web browser installed on the computer, a search page including product information corresponding to the search word from a CD inserted into the computer. Search module for searching for; A display module for displaying a search page searched by the search module on the customer's computer by the web browser; An information collection module for collecting and storing customer preference information including user event information generated in the displayed search page; And a transmission module for transmitting the collected and stored customer preference information to the outside.

And an order information storage unit for storing order information received from the client agent program, wherein the information collecting module collects and stores order information inputted into the displayed search page, and the transmission module stores the order information. To the server system.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is an application diagram of a server system 1 according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, a server system 1 and an affiliate server system 5 are connected to the Internet, and at least one customer computer 3 is connected to the server system 1 or affiliated affiliate server system 5. It is connected via the Internet to make it possible.

The server system 1 provides a download service of the client agent program according to the present invention to the customer computer 3 via the Internet, and exchanges necessary information with the client agent program installed and executed on the customer computer 3.

The affiliated server system 5 is an operation system of an affiliated site in which an affiliated relationship is established with the server system 1, and is a product sales system that sells tangible and intangible products. Affiliate sites include flea market sites (used goods sales), travel agency sites (travel goods sales), bookstore sites (book sales), ticket sites (performance information and ticket sales), financial sites (financial products sales and online transactions), Encompasses shopping sites, etc.

Here, the server system 1, the affiliated server system 5 and the customer computer 3 may be connected to other communication networks, for example, a public switched telephone network (PSTN), a public switched data network (PSDN), It may be connected to a mobile communication network or the like to communicate with each other. However, of course, it is necessary to add or change the communication interface of the server system 1, the affiliated server system 5 and the customer computer (3).

FIG. 2 is a detailed block diagram for explaining the relationship between the server system 1 and the customer computer 3 of FIG.

Referring to FIG. 2, the server system 1 includes a web server 10, an affiliated merchant database 11, a customer information database 12, an order information database 13, and a client agent program storage unit 14. Equipped. The client computer 3 is installed and executed by the client agent program 100 to exchange necessary information with the web server 10.

The client agent program 100 is loaded and executed from the CD 30 distributed offline via the customer computer 3 or downloaded from the server system 1 to the customer computer 3 via the Internet. Here, the CD 30 may be replaced with another recording medium such as a digital versatile disc (DVD) as an example of the recording medium.

The web server 10 provides the client computer 3 with a file containing a web page using a web protocol such as HTTP or FTP based on the client / server model. That is, the web server 10 receives the product purchase order information for a predetermined affiliated affiliate store from the client agent program installed in the customer computer 3 and stores it in the order information database 13. Furthermore, the order information stored in the order information database 13 is transmitted to the affiliate server system 5 so that the product sale according to the order information can be performed. The most common web servers are Apache, which can be used on both 32-bit Windows and Unix-based operating systems, Internet Information Server (IIS) that comes with Windows NT, and Netscape's enterprise server.

The affiliated affiliate database 11 stores information about affiliated sites joined as affiliated affiliates. The stored information includes the affiliated merchant's ID, password, type of business, sales product information, site address, contact information, e-mail address, and the like. The customer information database 12 stores information about a customer who has subscribed to the server system 1 as a member. More specifically, the customer's ID, password, birthday, job, work address, home address, phone number, e-mail address, whether to join the affiliated sites, and the like. The order information database 13 stores the order information received from the customer computer 3 as described above.

3 is a detailed block diagram of the CD 30 of FIG.

Referring to FIG. 3, at least one search page including product information sold at an affiliate site and an index database in which index information is stored are recorded on the CD 30. The search page includes product information, advertisements, quizzes, questionnaires, and the like, which can be accessed by searching the affiliate server system 5. Product information, advertisements, quizzes, questionnaires, etc. may be implemented in multimedia through Flash, RealMedia, and the like.

The search page is created as an HTML document for display by a web browser mounted on the customer computer 3. If necessary, the search page may be provided to be viewable using a plug-in program for a web browser. The product information to be included is selected in various ways. As an example, the product information to be included in the CD 30 may be selected in order of the product information having the highest search hit rate.

The CD 30 also records the Internet address of the affiliated site. The Internet address of the affiliated site is recorded in the address storage file provided in the web browser mounted on the customer computer 3 by the client agent program 100. In addition, the client agent program 100 may be recorded on the CD 30. When the client agent program 100 is recorded on the CD 30, the customer inserts the CD 30 into a CD drive (not shown) provided in the customer computer 3, and the client agent recorded on the CD 30. The program 100 can be loaded and installed.

The CD 30 is produced on the basis of new product information collected for a certain period of time and distributed from time to time through the offline distribution network. Examples of offline distribution networks include gas distribution stations, gas stations, banks, subway stations, and chain stores. Through the CD 30 distributed through these distribution networks, customers can search for product information and purchase products without having to directly access each affiliate server system 5.

4 is a block diagram of the customer computer 3 on which the client agent program 100 is installed.

Referring to FIG. 4, the customer computer 3 may include a processor 31 such as a Pentium, an internet connection 32 for accessing the Internet, a storage unit 34 implemented with a memory 33, a hard disk, a keyboard, a mouse, and the like. And an input device 35 such as a monitor and an output device 36 such as a monitor and a speaker. CD 30 is inserted into a CD drive (not shown).

The memory 33 includes an operating system 103, a web browser 102, and a client agent program 100 loaded and installed from the server system 1 or the CD 30. The operating system 103 is initially loaded in the memory 33 to manage the web browser 102 which is an application program, and the client agent program 100.

When the client agent program 100 is installed on the customer computer 3, the customer inputs his or her personal information (address, name, etc.). The input personal information of the customer is transmitted to the server system 1 and can be used to manage customer information.

The client agent program 100 includes a search module, a display module, an information collection module, a transmission module, a deletion module, and an address recording module.

The search module receives the search word input by the customer from the web browser 102 installed in the customer computer 3 and searches the search page including the product information corresponding to the search word from the CD 30. The display module delivers the search page searched by the search module to the web browser 102 so that the web browser 102 displays the search page on the customer computer 3, and the order collected by the information collection module. Display the information to the customer. The information collecting module collects customer preference information through the displayed search page, collects order information input through the displayed search page, and stores the order information in the storage unit 34. Here, the customer preference information is information collected through user event information generated through a search page, and means click event information on product information, response information on quiz, response information on questionnaire, and the like. , Information on ordering goods, as well as application information on promotional events, etc., prepared as one of various marketing activities. Application for the promotion is mainly through the search page stored in the CD (30). The transmission module transmits the stored customer preference information to the server system 1 through the Internet connection 32 or transmits the stored order information to the server system 1 according to a transfer command of the customer. The deletion module deletes the transmitted customer preference information from the storage unit 34 when the transmission module transmits the customer preference information to the server system 1. The address recording module records the Internet address of the affiliated site recorded on the CD 30 in the address storage file for bookmarking of the web browser 102. Accordingly, if desired, the customer may access the affiliate site directly through the web browser 102 to search for product information or to purchase a product.

5 is a reference diagram for explaining a process of searching for product information through the CD 30.

Referring to FIG. 5, when the customer inserts the CD 30 into the customer computer 3, enters a desired search term in the address input window of the web browser 102, and enters a search command, the search term described is a client agent. Is passed to the program 100. The client agent program 100 searches the index DB recorded on the CD 30 based on the received search word and provides the search result back to the web browser 102. The web browser 102 displays the provided search results. The customer searches the product information through the search page displayed in the search result or inputs order information for the product to be purchased. As described above, an event (for example, a mouse click) or order information generated through the product information search process is stored in the storage unit 34 by the information collection module.

6 is a reference diagram for explaining customer preference information and order information stored in the customer computer 3.

Referring to FIG. 6, the information gathering module names the client agent program 100 "Lifepass", prepares "Lifepass" which is a dedicated file of the client agent program 100 in the C directory of the storage unit 34, The subfile "info" is stored with the pa extension, with the date and date of the click event as the file name. For example, the information gathering module names the client agent program 100 "Lifepass", prepares "Lifepass" which is a dedicated file of the client agent program 100 in the C directory of the storage unit 34, and then serves the subdirectory. The file "info" is saved with the pa extension with the date and the date of the click event. Similarly, the order information is stored with the pa extension as the file name of the date and the date of the order information input to "info" which is a subfile of "Lifepass" which is a dedicated file of the C directory.

The click event information, which is one of customer preference information, records the date, time, and click event of the event. As the order information, the order date, purchase site, purchased item, number, price, member number, point, and acceptance number are recorded. Member number means a member number when a customer joins an affiliated site or a member number of an Internet site operated by the server system 1. The acceptance number means an identification number confirming that the order information has been received from the server system 1 when the order information is transmitted to the server system 1. Points are points given to customers based on order information. The operator of the server system 1 can perform various marketing activities using points.

The customer checks the order information, selects the order information, and clicks the send order information icon. Thus, the transmission module transmits the order information to the server system 1 via the Internet connection (32). The server system 1 receiving the order information transmits the reception number back to the customer computer 3, and the information collection module records and stores the received reception number.

The entry list icon is used to show a record (corresponding to the order information in a broad sense) that the customer applied to various sales promotions provided through the search page or the server system (1). To show the point amount for.

Referring to the product information providing method according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention by the above configuration as follows.

7 is a flowchart illustrating a method of providing product information according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 7, the operator of the server system 1 is a recording medium containing a search page for searching product information sold on an affiliated site, etc., and the CD 30 is provided to a customer through an offline distribution network, for example, a gas station. Deploy (step 701).

On the other hand, the customer retrieves the product information contained in the CD 30 by using the client agent program 100 installed in the customer computer 3. In addition, a customer may input order information for purchasing a product through a search page. As described above, the operator of the server system 1 receives the customer preference information collected in the process of searching for the product information through the search page through the server system 1 (step 702).

The operator of the server system 1 selects the product information based on the received customer preference information, and produces the CD 30 as a recording medium on which a search page for searching the selected product information is stored (step 703).

Next, the operator of the server system 1 distributes the produced recording medium, that is, the CD 30 to the customer through the gas station as an offline distribution network (step 704).

8 is a flowchart for explaining a preferred embodiment of the product information providing method according to the present invention in more detail.

Referring to FIG. 8, the customer downloads the client agent program 100 from the server system 1 and installs it on the customer computer 3 (step 801). If the client agent program 100 is recorded on the distributed CD 30 as described above, the client agent program 100 may be loaded and installed from the CD 30.

Next, when the customer inserts the CD 30 in the customer computer 3, the address recording module of the client agent program 100 from the CD 30 inserted in the customer computer 3, the address of the affiliated site, namely The Internet address of the sales site is read out and recorded in the address storage file of the web browser 102 of the customer computer 3 (step 802). The timing at which step 802 is executed is not particularly limited. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the CD 30 is inserted into the customer computer 3 immediately following the method of reading the address of the affiliated site recorded on the CD 30, but the customer activates the client agent program 100. In the case of searching the CD 30, a confirmation message is displayed at a predetermined time to ask the customer whether to record the address of the affiliated site in the address storage file of the web browser 102, and then a confirmation response from the customer is input. Can be implemented in such a way as to be executed.

If the user wants to search the CD 30, the customer activates the web browser 102 and inputs a search word in a search box (address input window) (step 803).

The input search word is provided to a search module of the client agent program 100, and the search module searches for a search page according to the input search word (step 804).

When the search is completed, the display module causes the search result to be displayed through the web browser 102 (step 805).

The customer searches for various product information included in the displayed search page. Since the search page is written in HTML to be searchable by the web browser 102 as described with reference to FIG. 5, the information collection module collects the click event information (customer preference information) of the customer generated in the search process ( As described above with reference to FIG. 6, the collected customer preference information is stored in the customer computer 3 (step 807).

When the size of the collected file is larger than a certain size, the transmission module transmits the collected customer preference information to the server system 1 (step 808).

The deleting module deletes the customer preference information transmitted to the server system 1 from the customer computer 3 (step 809).

In addition, the customer may input order information for purchasing a product through the displayed search page. When order information is input, the information collecting module collects order information as described with reference to FIG. 6 (step 810) and stores the collected order information (step 811).

However, in the present embodiment, the order information is transmitted to the server system 1 after receiving the confirmation response of the customer. That is, the customer checks the order information, as shown in FIG. 6 (step 812). Accordingly, the transmission module transmits the order information to the server system 1 (step 813).

On the other hand, in order to facilitate searching through the CD 30, a unique number is recorded on the CD 30. The customer can access the server system 1 and input a unique number of the CD 30 to obtain prizes, bonus points and the like when the unique number is won. However, given that the CD 30 is distributed periodically, give the expiration date of the sweepstakes. That is, when the expiration date of the sweepstakes expires, the qualification for obtaining the sweepstakes, bonus points, etc. is lost. To remind the sweepstakes expiration date, the client agent program 100 may add a function of generating a message box informing the sweepstakes expiration date before the sweepstakes expiration date (for example, three days ago).

In addition, based on the number of searches of the CD 30, the number of clicks on a specific search page, etc., a certain number of times may be exceeded, and various marketing activities may be performed.

As described above, according to the present invention, a customer can easily search for product information and purchase a desired product regardless of the Internet connection environment. In addition, it is possible to receive product information corresponding to the customer preferences, it is possible to purchase products online more easily.

Through this, the product information provider (server system operator, etc.) can more efficiently carry out marketing activities in connection with online and offline.

Claims (17)

(a) distributing a recording medium containing a search page for searching product information to a customer; (b) receiving, from the computer, customer preference information collected from the process of the customer searching the search page using a computer; (c) manufacturing a recording medium including a search page for searching the selected product information based on the received customer preference information; And (d) distributing the produced recording medium to the customer. The method of claim 1, Step (a) and step (b), Product information providing method comprising the step of distributing to customers visiting the gas station. The method of claim 2, The recording medium includes a compact disc (CD), The search page is a product information providing method, characterized in that the web document that can be displayed through a web browser. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, The recording medium further includes a client agent program, The client agent program is installed and executed on a customer's computer, A search module for searching for a search page including product information corresponding to the search word from a CD (Compact Disc) inserted into the computer when a search word is input to a search box of a web browser installed in the computer; A display module for displaying a search page searched by the search module on the customer's computer by the web browser; An information collection module for collecting customer preference information including user event information generated in the displayed search page; And Product information providing method comprising a transmission module for transmitting the collected customer preference information to the outside. The method of claim 4, wherein The information collection module collects and stores the order information entered into the displayed search page, The transmission module, product information providing method characterized in that for transmitting the order information to the outside. The method according to claim 4 or 5, The display module displays the order information stored by the information collection module on the customer's computer, The transmission module, the product information providing method, characterized in that for transmitting the order information to the outside in accordance with the transfer command of the customer. The method of claim 6, The client agent program, And a deletion module for deleting the transmitted customer preference information from the computer of the customer when the transmission module transmits the customer preference information to the outside. The method of claim 4, wherein In the recording medium, an internet address of a product selling site that sells products according to the product information is further recorded. The client agent program, the product information providing method further comprises an address recording module for recording the Internet address of the product selling site in the address storage file of the web browser mounted on the computer of the customer. A server system for communicating with a computer of a customer connected to a customer's computer, A storage unit for storing a client agent program downloaded to the customer's computer, The client agent program is installed and executed on the computer of the customer, and when a search word is input into a search box of a web browser installed on the computer, a search page including product information corresponding to the search word from a CD inserted into the computer. Search module for searching for; A display module for displaying a search page searched by the search module on the customer's computer by the web browser; An information collection module for collecting and storing customer preference information including user event information generated in the displayed search page; And a transmission module for transmitting the collected and stored customer preference information to the outside. The method of claim 9, The information collection module collects and stores the order information entered into the displayed search page, The transmission module, characterized in that for transmitting the order information to the server system. The method of claim 9 or 10, The display module displays the order information stored by the information collection module on the customer's computer, The transmission module, characterized in that for transmitting the order information to the server system according to the transfer command of the customer. The method of claim 11, The client agent program, And a deletion module for deleting the transmitted customer preference information from the computer of the customer when the transmission module transmits the customer preference information to the outside. An index database inserted into a customer's computer so that when a search word is input into a search box of a web browser installed on the computer, a search according to the search word is possible through a client agent program installed in the computer; And a search page displayed on the web browser by the client agent program, the product information being started to correspond to the index recorded in the index database. The method of claim 13, The recording medium further contains the client agent program, The client agent program may include: a search module for searching for a search page including product information corresponding to the search word from a CD inserted into the computer when a search word is input to a search box of the web browser; A display module for displaying a search page searched by the search module on the customer's computer by the web browser; An information collection module for collecting customer preference information including user event information generated in the displayed search page; And And a transmission module for transmitting the collected customer preference information to the outside. The method of claim 14, The Internet address of the product sales site that sells products according to the product information is further recorded. The client agent program further includes an address recording module for recording the Internet address of the product selling site in an address storing file of a web browser mounted on the computer of the customer. A server system for communicating with a computer of a customer connected to a customer's computer, A web server for receiving customer preference information from a client agent program installed on the customer's computer; And It includes a customer preference information storage unit for storing customer preference information received through the web server, The client agent program is installed and executed on the computer of the customer, and when a search word is input into a search box of a web browser installed on the computer, a search page including product information corresponding to the search word from a CD inserted into the computer. Search module for searching for; A display module for displaying a search page searched by the search module on the customer's computer by the web browser; An information collection module for collecting and storing customer preference information including user event information generated in the displayed search page; And a transmission module for transmitting the collected and stored customer preference information to the outside. The method of claim 16, Further comprising an order information storage unit for storing the order information received from the client agent program, The information collection module collects and stores the order information entered into the displayed search page, The transmission module, characterized in that for transmitting the order information to the server system.