U.S. patent application number 10/420901 was filed with the patent office on 2003-10-16 for on-line, interactive frequency and award redemption program.
Invention is credited to Storey, Thomas W..
Application Number | 20030195805 10/420901 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 24285997 |
Filed Date | 2003-10-16 |
United States Patent
Application |
20030195805 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Storey, Thomas W. |
October 16, 2003 |
On-line, interactive frequency and award redemption program
Abstract
An on-line frequency award program is disclosed. A user may
access the program on-line and may browse a product catalog for
shopping. The user may electronically place an order, upon which
the program automatically checks the user's credit and
electronically issues a purchase order to the supplying company.
The program also calculates award points, updates the award account
of enrolled users, and communicates that number of awarded points
to the user. Enrolled users may browse through an award catalog and
electronically redeem an amount of awarded points towards an award.
The program then electronically places an award redeeming order
with the fulfillment house and updates the user's award
account.
Inventors: |
Storey, Thomas W.;
(Scottsdale, AZ) |
Correspondence
Address: |
ROTHWELL, FIGG, ERNST & MANBECK, P.C.
1425 K STREET, N.W.
SUITE 800
WASHINGTON
DC
20005
US
|
Family ID: |
24285997 |
Appl. No.: |
10/420901 |
Filed: |
April 23, 2003 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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10420901 |
Apr 23, 2003 |
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09441144 |
Nov 12, 1999 |
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6578012 |
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09441144 |
Nov 12, 1999 |
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09105227 |
Jun 25, 1998 |
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6009412 |
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09105227 |
Jun 25, 1998 |
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08572017 |
Dec 14, 1995 |
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5774870 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
705/14.23 ;
705/14.27 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q 30/0224 20130101;
G06Q 30/0633 20130101; G06Q 30/0234 20130101; G06Q 20/204 20130101;
G06Q 30/0238 20130101; G06Q 30/0219 20130101; G06Q 30/02 20130101;
G06Q 30/0236 20130101; G06Q 30/0226 20130101; G06Q 30/0239
20130101; G06Q 30/0601 20130101; G06Q 30/0222 20130101; G06Q
30/0233 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
705/14 |
International
Class: |
G06F 017/60 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. An internet-based product marketing incentive system comprising:
a product presentation web page constructed and arranged to present
a user with information relating to one or more products available
for purchase by the user; a product selection link constructed and
arranged to enable the user to select a product presented on said
product presentation web page for purchase, wherein the user is
issued award points in connection with purchasing the product
selected with said product selection link; and an award
presentation web page constructed and arranged to present the user
with information relating to one or more awards for which the user
can exchange award points.
2. The system of claim 1, further comprising a product purchase
link constructed and arranged to enable the user to purchase the
product selected with said product selection link.
3. The system of claim 2, said product purchase link comprising
means enabling the user to purchase merchandise selected with said
product selection link.
4. The system of claim 2, said product purchase link comprising
means for calculating the number of award points to be issued to
the user when the user purchases the product with said product
purchase link and for issuing the award points to the user after
the user purchases the product with said product purchase link.
5. The system of claim 1, said product presentation web page being
constructed and arranged to present the user with information
relating to merchandise available for purchase.
6. The system of claim 1, further comprising an award selection
link constructed and arranged to enable the user to select an award
presented on said award presentation web page to exchange for a
corresponding number of award points issued to the user.
7. The system of claim 1, further comprising an award points
database web page constructed and arranged to provide the user with
information relating to award points issued to the user.
8. An internet-based product marketing incentive system comprising:
a product presentation navigation link constructed and arranged to
be activated by a user and direct the user to a product
presentation web page which presents the user with information
relating to one or more products available for purchase by the
user; a product selection link constructed and arranged to enable
the user to select a product presented on said product presentation
web page for purchase, wherein the user is issued award points in
connection with purchasing the product selected with said product
selection link; and an award presentation navigation link
constructed and arranged to be activated by the user and direct the
user to an award presentation web page which presents the user with
information relating to one or more awards for which the user can
exchange award points.
9. The system of claim 8, further comprising a product purchase
link constructed and arranged to enable the user to purchase the
product selected with said product selection link.
10. The system of claim 9, said product purchase link comprising
means enabling the user to purchase merchandise selected with said
product selection link.
11. The system of claim 9, said product purchase link comprising
means for calculating the number of award points to be issued to
the user when the user purchases the product with said product
purchase link and for issuing the award points to the user after
the user purchases the product with said product purchase link.
12. The system of claim 8, said product presentation web page being
constructed and arranged to present the user with information
relating to merchandise available for purchase.
13. The system of claim 8, further comprising an award selection
link constructed and arranged to enable the user to select an award
presented on said award presentation web page to exchange for a
number of award points issued to the user.
14. The system of claim 8, further comprising an award points
database navigation link constructed and arranged to be activated
by the user and direct the user to an award points database web
page which provides the user with information relating to award
points issued to the user.
15. A method for providing an internet-based product marketing
incentive system comprising: providing a product presentation
navigation link that can be activated by a user to direct the user
to a product presentation web page which presents the user with
information relating to one or more products available for purchase
by the user; providing a product selection link that enables the
user to select a product presented on the product presentation web
page for purchase; issuing award points to the user in connection
with purchasing the product selected with the product selection
link; and providing an award presentation navigation link that can
be activated by the user to direct the user to an award
presentation web page which presents the user with information
relating to one or more awards for which the user can exchange
award points.
16. The method of claim 15, further comprising providing a product
purchase link that enables the user to purchase the product
selected with the product selection link.
17. The method of claim 16, wherein providing the product purchase
link comprises enabling the user to purchase merchandise selected
with the product selection link.
18. The method of claim 16, wherein providing the product purchase
link comprises calculating the number of award points to be issued
to the user when the user purchases the product with the product
purchase link and issuing the award points to the user after the
user purchases the product with the product purchase link.
19. The method of claim 15, further comprising providing an award
selection link that enables the user to select an award presented
on said award presentation web page to exchange for a number of
award points issued to the user.
20. The method of claim 15, further comprising providing an award
points database navigation link that can be activated by the user
to direct the user to an award points database web page which
provides the user with information relating to award points issued
to the user.
21. An internet-based product marketing incentive system
comprising: product presentation means for presenting a user with
information relating to one or more products available for purchase
by the user; product selection means for enabling the user to
select a product presented on said product presentation means for
purchase, wherein the user is issued award points in connection
with purchasing the product selected with said product selection
means; and award presentation means for presenting the user with
information relating to one or more awards for which the user can
exchange award points.
22. The system of claim 21, further comprising a product purchase
means for enabling the user to purchase the product selected with
said product selection means.
23. The system of claim 22, said product purchase means comprising
means enabling the user to purchase merchandise selected with said
product selection means.
24. The system of claim 22, said product purchase means comprising
means for calculating the number of award points to be issued to
the user when the user purchases the product with said product
purchase means and for issuing the award points to the user after
the user purchases the product with said product purchase
means.
25. The system of claim 1, further comprising award selection means
enabling the user to select an award presented on said award
presentation means to exchange for a corresponding number of award
points issued to the user.
26. The system of claim 1, further comprising an award points means
for providing the user with information relating to award points
issued to the user.
27. An internet-based product marketing incentive system
comprising: a product presentation web page constructed and
arranged to present a user with information relating to one or more
products available for purchase by the user; a product selection
link constructed and arranged to enable the user to select a
product presented on said product presentation web page for
purchase, wherein the user is issued award points in connection
with purchasing the product selected with said product selection
link; an award presentation web page constructed and arranged to
present the user with information relating to one or more awards
for which the user can exchange award points; and an award
selection link constructed and arranged to enable the user to
select an award presented on said award presentation web page to
exchange for a corresponding number of award points issued to the
user.
28. An internet-based product marketing incentive system
comprising: a product presentation web page constructed and
arranged to present a user with information relating to one or more
products available for purchase by the user; a product selection
link constructed and arranged to enable the user to select a
product presented on said product presentation web page for
purchase, wherein the user is issued award points in connection
with purchasing the product selected with said product selection
link; an award presentation web page constructed and arranged to
present the user with information relating to one or more awards
for which the user can exchange award points; an award selection
link constructed and arranged to enable the user to select an award
presented on said award presentation web page to exchange for a
corresponding number of award points issued to the user; and an
award points database web page constructed and arranged to provide
the user with information relating to award points issued to the
user.
Description
[0001] The application is a continuation application of application
Ser. No. 09/441,144, filed Nov. 12, 1999 which is a continuation of
application Ser. No. 09/105,227, filed Jun. 25, 1998, now U.S. Pat.
No. 6,009,412, which is a continuation of application Ser. No.
08/572,017, filed Dec. 14, 1995, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,774,870.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] This invention relates to frequency and award redemption
program. More particularly, the present invention relates to an
on-line, interactive frequency and award redemption program which
is fully integrated.
[0004] 2. Description of Related Art
[0005] Frequency programs have been developed by the travel
industry to promote customer loyalty. An example of such a program
is a "frequent flyer" program. According to such a program, when a
traveler books a flight, a certain amount of "mileage points" are
calculated by a formula using the distance of the destination as a
parameter. However, the mileage points are not awarded until the
traveler actually takes the flight.
[0006] When a traveler has accumulated sufficient number of mileage
points, he may redeem these points for an award chosen from a
specific list of awards specified by the program. Thus, for
example, the traveler may redeem the points for a free flight
ticket or a free rental car. In order to redeem the accumulated
points, the traveler generally needs to request a certificate, and
use the issued certificate as payment for the free travel.
[0007] While the above program may induce customer loyalty, it has
the disadvantage that the selection of prizes can be made only from
the limited list of awards provided by the company. For example, a
traveler may redeem the certificate for flights between only those
destinations to which the carrier has a regular service. Another
disadvantage is that the customer generally needs to plan ahead in
sufficient time to order and receive the award certificate.
[0008] According to another type of frequency and award program, a
credit instrument is provided and credit points are accumulated
instead of the mileage points. In such programs, bonus points are
awarded by using a formula in which a price paid for merchandise is
a parameter. Thus, upon each purchase a certain number of bonus
points are awarded, which translate to dollar credit amount.
According to these programs, the customer receives a credit
instrument which may be acceptable by many enrolled retailers, so
that the selection of prizes available is enhanced. An example of
such a program is disclosed in E.P.A. 308,224. However, while such
programs may enhance the selection of prizes, there is still the
problem of obtaining the credit instrument for redeeming the
awarded points. In addition, the enrollee must allow for processing
time before the bonus points are recorded and made available as
redeemable credit. Thus, the immediacy effect of the reward is
lacking in these conventional incentive programs.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0009] In view of the above, the present invention is advantageous
in that it provides an on-line, interactive incentive program which
is fully integrated.
[0010] The disclosed invention is also advantageous in that it
provides an on-line access to product information, product
purchases using an on-line electronic order form, award catalogs,
and award redemption using an on-line electronic redemption
forms.
[0011] Another advantage of the subject invention is that it awards
bonus points immediately upon purchase of merchandise.
[0012] The present invention is further advantageous in that it
provides bonus points which are immediately made available for
redemption.
[0013] Another advantage of the present invention is that it allows
the customer to select a prize immediately upon the award of the
bonus points.
[0014] A further advantage of the present invention is that it
allows a customer to order a prize and redeem the awarded points
towards the ordered prize immediately upon the award of the bonus
points, thus enhancing the immediacy effect of the reward
program.
[0015] Yet another advantage of the present invention is that it
provides an electronic sign-up form for on-line signing up by
users.
[0016] The above and other advantages are provided by the disclosed
invention which includes provisions for access over the internet.
Upon gaining of an access, the customer is able to browse through a
merchandize catalog, an award catalog, view the bonus points
available for redemption in the customer's award bonus account, and
get information about the products for purchase, the program and
the customer's account. The program also enables the customer to
order merchandize on-line, order prizes on-line and redeem awarded
points on-line. Accordingly, the selection of available prizes is
expanded by the merchants who join the program, and the bonus award
is made instantly redeemable.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0017] Other objects and advantages of the present invention will
become apparent from the following description of the preferred
embodiment with reference to the drawings, in which:
[0018] FIG. 1 is a flow chart showing the access part of the
program of the preferred embodiment of the present invention;
[0019] FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing the product selection and
on-line purchase part of the program of the preferred embodiment of
the present invention;
[0020] FIG. 3 is a flow chart showing the membership part of the
program of the preferred embodiment of the present invention;
[0021] FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing the award redemption part of
the program of the preferred embodiment of the present
invention;
[0022] FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing an enrollment routine.
[0023] FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing an exemplary routine to
determine the number of points the user is short of for redeeming a
particular product.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0024] The program according to the present invention will be
described with reference to FIGS. 1-5. FIG. 1 is a flow chart
showing the access part of the program. In FIG. 1, 10 indicates
access via an on-line provider such as AOL.TM., CompuServe.TM. etc.
On the other hand, 20 indicates a direct access to the Internet,
such as via Netscape.TM.. Upon gaining an access to the internet,
30, the program proceeds to a selection menu 40. Depending on the
user's choice, from the selection menu 40 the program may proceed
to PRODUCT A HOMEPAGE 100A or PROGRAM HOMEPAGE 300. Alternatively
the user may choose to exit the program via EXIT, 50.
[0025] It should be noted from the outset that in the preferred
embodiment of the disclosed invention, the user may back-track from
any particular point in the program. Notably, the user is able to
return to selection menu 40 from any part of the program. This
being stated generally, it will be appreciated that this feature is
applicable to the further program steps of the preferred embodiment
described below and, therefore, it will not be repeated in the
following description.
[0026] In FIG. 1, PRODUCT A HOMEPAGE, 100A, is a homepage of a
particular type of products. For example, PRODUCT A HOMEPAGE, 100A,
may be a homepage for men's shirts. In such an example, the PRODUCT
A HOMEPAGE, 100A, may include icons to allow the user to select
information regarding, for example, different brands, price ranges,
types (dress shirts, sport shirts, etc.), and thereafter review the
products available relating to the particular selection in a manner
much similar to reviewing a printed product catalogue.
[0027] Alternatively PRODUCT A HOMEPAGE, 100A, may identify a
particular brand. In such an example PRODUCT A HOMEPAGE, 100A, may
include icons to allow the user to review information regarding
particular products sold by this particular brand.
[0028] In the preferred embodiment, the capability to view
information regarding the various products is enhanced by providing
the user with various "browsing" options, generally implemented in
the form of icons. This is depicted in FIG. 1 as BROWSING OPTION
60. Thus, for example, the user may choose to list the products
alphabetically, list the brands alphabetically, or use a search
engine to create a group of products which fit the user's
requirements. Any conventional search engine may be used for this
purpose. Such a search engine can be implemented for accepting a
boolean string, or by collecting the user's response to an inquiry
set. The fields for the search engine may include, for example, key
words, brands, price range, material etc.
[0029] In FIG. 1, BROWSING OPTION 60 is shown at the same level as
PRODUCT A HOMEPAGE, 100A, to indicate that in the preferred
embodiment the user may go directly to view the products
information, or arrange a new list of products according to the
user's needs. However, it will be appreciated by those skilled in
the art, that other arrangements are possible. For example,
BROWSING OPTION, 60, can be inserted between SELECTION MENU 40 and
PRODUCT A HOMEPAGE 100A so that the user may have to enter his
preferred way of viewing the products before the user is able to
select the products' homepage.
[0030] In the Figures, PRODUCT A HOMEPAGE, 100A, is depicted as
multiple pages. This depiction signifies two features of the
program of the present invention. The first feature, is that
PRODUCT A HOMEPAGE, 100A, may include more than one page. Thus, if
a large amount of information needs to be included in PRODUCT A
HOMEPAGE, 100A, the homepage may actually comprise several pages
and the user will be provided with a scroll option so as to be able
to scroll over the information pages. Another feature is that from
the selection menu 40 the user may be able to choose other products
homepage such as, for example, PRODUCT B HOMEPAGE, PRODUCT C
HOMEPAGE, etc., which are depicted impliedly in the drawings as
pages following PRODUCT A HOMEPAGE, 100A.
[0031] In a similar manner, PROGRAM HOMEPAGE, 300, is shown in the
Figures as multiple pages. (It will be understood by those skilled
in the art that PROGRAM HOMEPAGE 300 is the main internet address
for the incentive program system). This depiction also signifies
two features of the program of the present invention. The first
feature, is that PROGRAM HOMEPAGE, 300, may comprise multiple pages
with a scrolling feature to allow the user to scroll for viewing
the information contained in the pages. The second feature is that
several incentive programs, or incentive level programs may be
available for access from the selection menu 40. For example,
several different programs may be accessible, each program being
managed by a different incentive company. Alternatively, or in
addition, several incentive level programs may be accessible from
the selection menu 40.
[0032] In the case of several incentive level programs,
restrictions may be imposed for accessibility to the various
incentive level programs. For example, a particular incentive
company may manage three incentive programs: white, silver and
gold. The white incentive program can be accessible for enrollment
by any approved user. On the other hand, the incentive company may
allow limited access to the silver and gold incentive programs for
providing information only, while enrollment may be restricted only
to those users who satisfy set requirements. These requirements may
relate, for example, to a certain level of purchasing within a
given period, credit rating, gross salary, special company
promotion program, etc. As in the above, while these various
features have been described herein, they are depicted in the
drawing simply by showing multiple pages following PROGRAM HOMEPAGE
300.
[0033] If a user selects PRODUCT A HOMEPAGE 100A, the program
proceeds to a selection menu 110, shown in FIG. 2. Incidentally,
the routines shown in FIG. 2 are depicted to proceed from the
routine of FIG. 1 by the designation Ai. This designation is to
alert the reader that this particular routine is generic to all the
other products homepage, such as PRODUCT B HOMEPAGE, PRODUCT C
HOMEPAGE, etc. Therefore, while the description provided herein
relates to PRODUCT A HOMEPAGE, 100A, this is only for demonstration
purposes and it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art
that similar processing would follow upon selection of a different
product homepage. With continued reference to FIG. 2, selection
menu 110 provides the user with the following options: proceed to
PROGRAM HOMEPAGE 300, proceed to PRODUCT i HOMEPAGE, 100i, (i being
any of the number of available products homepage) or proceed to
ORDER FORM 130. Alternatively, the user may change the list of
products by choosing the appropriate browsing option or using the
search engine to create a new list of products (not shown). Upon
selection of PRODUCT i HOMEPAGE, 100i, the program reverts to step
Ai, i.e., to SELECTION MENU 110. Upon selection of PROGRAM HOMEPAGE
300, the program proceeds to step B shown in FIG. 3, which will be
described later.
[0034] If the user decides to purchase an item, the program
proceeds to ORDER FORM 130 and the user is prompted to
electronically provide entries to the appropriate queries in the
order form. Thereupon, a communication link is established and the
program performs a CREDIT CHECK routine, 140, to verify the
availability of funds for purchase.
[0035] At this juncture, a particular feature of the program of the
present invention will be described. As noted above and shown in
FIG. 1, the user may access the internet using an on-line provider
or an internet direct access. If the user is accessing the internet
via an on-line provider, his credit information (account number,
type of credit card etc.) is available directly from the on-line
provider. Accordingly, in performing the CREDIT CHECK routine 140,
the information needed for the credit check can be obtained from
the on-line provider. Alternatively, if the user gained access via
an internet direct method, the CREDIT CHECK routine 140 may provide
an inquiry screen requesting the user to enter his credit
information.
[0036] A related feature of the present invention is that when the
user enters ORDER FORM 130 from a particular product homepage
describing a particular product, it is very likely that the user
wishes to purchase that particular product. Therefore, the relevant
information regarding the product can be read from the product's
homepage and pasted at the appropriate positions in the ORDER FORM
130. Thus, the user will only have to enter information specific to
options such as size, color, quantity, etc.
[0037] At step 130, certain predetermined information is striped
off from the completed order form and sent to the credit check 140.
Such information may be, for example, credit card number and dollar
amount. This is because much of the information included in the
order form is irrelevant to the person's credit, and the credit
institution may be unable to handle the extra information.
Furthermore, sending the least amount of information would expedite
the credit check.
[0038] If the CREDIT CHECK routine 140 result is negative, in step
150N the user is provided with a message to that effect. The
program may then prompt the user to enter another credit card
number or to exit. However, if the CREDIT CHECK routine 140 result
is positive, in step 150P the program proceeds to establish a
communication link and places a PRODUCT ORDER, 160, with the
product company. As shown in FIG. 2, in the preferred embodiment
PRODUCT ORDER 160 is placed by electronic means such as e-mail or
facsimile so as to render the program of the present invention
fully integrated in an interactive on-line system; however, the
ORDER FORM 160 can alternatively be place by conventional means by
simply printing and mailing the ORDER FORM 160 to the product
company.
[0039] As shown in FIG. 2, while the communication link is
established to the product company, the program also proceeds to
the FREQUENCY DATABASE, 170. In FREQUENCY DATABASE 170 the user's
information is checked against the database of enrolled users. If
it is determined that the user is an enrolled user, 180E, the
program proceeds to step 190 to calculate the award points
according to a preprogrammed formula. Thereafter the program
proceeds to add the points to the enrolled user's account, 200, and
display the account information and the added points to the user,
210. From this point, the program may return to ORDER FORM 130, to
step Ai, to PROGRAM HOMEPAGE 300 to view the awards catalog (not
shown in FIG. 2) or proceed to SELECTION MENU, 40, (not shown in
FIG. 2).
[0040] The preferred embodiment includes a particular feature
wherein in addition to displaying the points added to the account,
the program includes a routine to display a selected award or
product, and the number of points the user is short of in order to
receive that award or product. For example, during particular
periods certain awards or products may be designated as under a
"special program". Thus, during those periods, the award would
require a reduced number of points and/or the product would be
available under special favorable terms. The user may be notified
of that fact to thereby entice the user to purchase additional
products in order to qualify for the "special program" terms.
[0041] In order to implement the "special program," the information
regarding the award/product needs to be read. The number of points
required to redeem the particular qualifying award is then fetched.
Similarly, the user's account is accessed and the number of points
in the user account is fetched. The number of points read from the
user's account is subtracted from the number of points read from
the award information and the result is displayed as the number of
points the user is short of to redeem the particular qualified
award. An exemplary flow chart is provided in FIG. 6.
[0042] On the other hand, if in step 170 it was determined that the
user is a new, unenrolled user, 180N, the program proceeds to step
220 to calculate the award points according to the preprogrammed
formula. Thereafter, the program proceeds to step 230, wherein a
message is sent to the user identifying how many points he will
earn should he enroll in the program. Step 230 also inquires
whether the user is interested in joining the program. Accordingly,
step 230 may be in a form of a message such as, for example, "By
enrolling in the incentive program you will earn [X] points for
purchasing the [insert the item purchased]. These points may be
redeemed toward exciting awards. Are you interested in enrolling or
viewing the award catalog? Y/N."
[0043] If in step 240 the user selects NO in response to step 230,
the program proceeds to ORDER FORM 130 or to process Ai (not
shown), which proceeds to SELECTION MENU 110. Alternatively, after
receiving NO in step 240 process may continue to SELECTION MENU 40.
At step 240, if it is determined that the user would like to sign
up with the award program (join), the program proceeds to step 250
which is a sign up routine. Any conventional sign up routine may be
used at this stage of processing. At the end of the sign up
routine, the program can return to point Ai, or to the purchase
order form. The user may sign off from any of these locations.
[0044] For illustration purposes, a general flow of an enrollment
routine for signing up is shown in FIG. 5. This routine may be
entered from many different places in the program, e.g., after
making a purchase, after reviewing information regarding the
program, etc. Accordingly, the beginning of the routine of FIG. 5
is shown "floating."
[0045] At step 600 the user is prompted either to enter a credit
card account number, 610, or to indicate that he wishes to use the
same account used to access the internet or to purchase an item, in
which case the account number is obtained from within the program,
620. (It should be recognized that the user's name can also be
obtained internally from the on-line access program.) At 630 the
user is prompted to enter a personal identification code, which can
generally be a four letter/number code. At 640 the user is prompted
to enter his choice of mailing address--the address indicated on
the order form, 660--or a different address, 650. (A different
address can be entered in the order form, for example, when
purchasing a present to be mailed to the recipient). At 670 the
program creates a new account in the database. In FIG. 2, steps 190
and 220 may be combined and the awards point calculated before
reaching step 170. That is, upon obtaining a positive credit check
at step 150P, the program can proceed to calculate the award points
before proceeding to step 170. Then after performing step 180,
process can proceed either to step 200, when it is determined that
the user is an enrolled user (180E), or to step 230, when it is
determined that the user is not an enrolled user (180N).
[0046] In the description of the preferred embodiment, the term
product also refers to a gift certificate. The following examples
are provided in order to make this feature clearer to the reader.
When a user accesses the various product homepages, the user has
the option to purchase a gift certificate rather than purchasing an
actual product. The gift certificate can be directed to a
particular merchant, a particular manufacturer/brand, or to all the
products available through the program.
[0047] In the preferred embodiment the gift certificate is sent
electronically to a computer designated by the user to be printed
by a printer linked to the designated computer. Thus, for example,
if the user knows the account number of the recipient of the gift
certificate, the user may purchase the gift certificate and
designate the recipient's account as the designated computer.
Accordingly, the gift certificate will be electronically sent to
the recipient's computer, or electronically added to the
recipient's account while electronically informing the recipient of
the transaction. Therefore, the user will not have to mail the
certificate to the recipient.
[0048] It should also be realized that the user will be credited
award points corresponding to the price of the gift certificate
purchased. Thus, while the recipient will receive the gift
certificate for purchases, the user will receive the award points.
In addition, the user may use award points from his account as
payment for the purchasing of a gift certificate; thus effectively
making the award points available for purchases by a recipient.
This can be used to entice unenrolled recipients to join the
program.
[0049] When a user selects PROGRAM HOMEPAGE 300 (e.g., from
SELECTION MENU 40 or from SELECTION MENU 110), the program proceeds
through to SELECTION MENU 310, shown in FIG. 3. In FIG. 3,
SELECTION MENU 310 is shown as three consecutive decision points.
This represents the structure in the preferred embodiment wherein
each of the options shown branching from the three decision points
are available for selection from PROGRAM HOMEPAGE 300.
[0050] SELECTION MENU 310 allows the user to exit the program, go
to PRODUCT Ai HOMEPAGE 100A (from which program would proceed to Ai
in FIG. 2), go to the BROWSING OPTION 60, learn about the award
program by selecting ABOUT AWARD PROGRAM 320, apply for membership
by selecting MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION 250 (see, FIGS. 2 and 5),
review the user's account by selecting the FREQUENCY DATA BASE 340,
or review the awards catalog by selecting AWARD CATALOG HOMEPAGE
400 (shown in FIG. 4). Upon selecting FREQUENCY DATABASE 340, the
user will be prompted to enter the account number, the
identification code, or both at step 350. In the program of the
present invention, the account number and the identification code
are linked together, for the user for which they are available.
Thus, when a user account is established in the frequency database,
data is included to link the user's account number to the user's
identification code. (It should be noted that account number can
refer to a credit card account number, an account number internal
to the program, etc.)
[0051] If the user has entered the internet via an on-line provider
10, his credit card account number can be obtained on-line from the
on-line provider. Therefore, rather than prompting the user to
enter his credit card account number or his program account number,
the credit card account number can be obtained on-line from the
on-line provider, and the account can be matched against the
accounts in the frequency database. If a match is obtained, the
program account number can be read from the frequency database.
However, for security purposes, it is preferable that the program
will not proceed to step 360 to display the account information
before the user has been prompted and has entered at least the
correct identification code at step 350, which is matched with the
account number.
[0052] If the user selects AWARD CATALOG HOMEPAGE 400 processing
proceeds to the routine shown in FIG. 4. In the preferred
embodiment several options are available for viewing the award
catalog. This is represented by the SELECTION MENU 410, although
those skilled in the art would recognize that other processing can
be provided for viewing the award catalog. As shown in FIG. 4, at
least two options are made available by SELECTION MENU 410: SHOW
QUALIFIED AWARDS 420 (shown continuing at branch E) and VIEWING
OPTIONS 450. QUALIFIED AWARDS 420 allows the user a quick access to
viewing all the awards the user is qualified for. VIEWING OPTIONS
450 allows the user to view the awards according to the order
selected by the user.
[0053] If the user selects QUALIFIED AWARDS 420, the frequency
database is accessed to determine the award point, 425 thereafter,
the entire award catalog is scanned and a qualified awards database
is created for the particular number of award points read from the
user's account, 430. Thereafter, the first page of the first award
is displayed, 435, and the user can browse through the catalog
created in step 430. Alternatively, the user can select QUALIFIED
AWARD OPTION 440 for different options of arranging and viewing the
qualified awards catalog. These options can be, for example, by
alphabetical order, by brands, by product, etc.
[0054] While the above method of displaying the qualified awards is
workable, it may take too much time to scan all the awards in order
to "custom" build a qualified awards catalog. Therefore, other
alternatives may be used for creating the qualified award catalog.
According to the preferred alternative, point levels are defined.
For example, point level 1 can include all awards of value up to
500 points, point level 2, up to 1000 points, etc. When the user's
account is read at 425, the highest point level the user is
qualified for is determined. At this point a message may be
displayed such as "You are qualified for point level 3 and have
additional 350 points in your account. To qualify for point level 4
you will need 150 additional points."
[0055] If memory size is not a problem, different libraries can be
stored, each corresponding to a certain point level. Thus, for
example, award library 1 can include all the awards which can be
redeemed by a number of points defined by point level 1. In the
above example, award library 1 will include all awards worth up to
500 points. Thus, when the point level of the user is determined,
all the awards in the corresponding library are made accessible as
qualified awards. This allow for fast access, since the step 430 of
creating the qualified catalog is skipped. However, such system may
require large amount of memory, since many libraries may be needed
to store the various awards of different point levels.
[0056] In the preferred embodiment the award libraries are arranged
in a progressive manner, so as to avoid the need for a large memory
size. The above example of the point levels will be used to explain
this feature. Using the above example, award library 1 should
include all awards worth up to 500 points. Award library 2 should
include all awards worth from 501-1000 points, etc. Thus, if the
user is qualified, for example, for point level 2, access is made
to award libraries 1 and 2. Thus, duplication of awards in the
various libraries is prevented.
[0057] A further option would be to flag the various awards
according to the point level for which they are qualified.
Accordingly, when the point level of the user has been determined,
the awards are scanned for the appropriate flag and the qualified
award library is created in this manner. While this feature does
not eliminate step 430, the qualified award library can be built in
less time than by scanning the required points and comparing each
required point to the available points.
[0058] By selecting VIEWING OPTIONS 450, the user may set the order
in which to view the awards. Thus, for example, the user may view
the awards by alphabetical order, enter a ceiling point number for
viewing all awards up to that ceiling, view awards by product or
brand, etc. The award catalog of the program of the preferred
embodiment includes a feature whereby when a particular award is
shown, it includes information regarding how many points are
required to redeem that particular award, and how many points the
user is short of in order to redeem that particular award.
[0059] To implement the above mentioned feature, the program
accesses the user's account in the frequency database and reads the
amount of award points the user has in his account. Then, whenever
the program displays a particular product, the program subtracts
the number of points available in the user's account from the
number of points required to redeem the award. The result is
displayed as the number of points the user is short of to redeem
that award. Of course, if the user is not enrolled in the program
or does not have any award points in his account, the number of
points the user is short of will be equal to the number of points
required to redeem the award. An exemplary flow chart is shown in
FIG. 6.
[0060] Another particular feature for viewing the award catalog is
shown in FIG. 4. The user is provided with an access to the
frequency database via FREQUENCY DATABASE 460. While in FIG. 4
FREQUENCY DATABASE 460 is shown to proceed from VIEWING OPTION 450,
it would be appreciated that access to the frequency database and
the routine of the feature described below can be provided in other
places in the program.
[0061] Upon accessing the frequency database, the user may view the
account to verify the amount of redeemable points recorded therein.
Thereafter, the user may enter any ceiling awards points of the
user's choice, 470, for viewing the awards worth up to that
ceiling, 475. Processing for displaying the qualified awards can
then proceed as shown in steps 435, 440, and 500 in branch E of
FIG. 4.
[0062] In the preferred embodiment, the user may enter the REDEEM
routine 500 at any point in the program. In FIG. 4 this feature is
represented by the several REDEEM 500 selections depicted at many
points of the program. When entering the REDEEM routine, the user
may be prompted to enter the account number, the identification
code or both, 510. This is similar to the description provided with
respect to step 350 in FIG. 3. Thus, only the identification code
may be required if on-line access was gained via an on-line
provider. Thereafter, the proper award to be redeemed is
determined.
[0063] It should be noted that if the REDEEM 500 step has been
entered into from an award page, the award described in that
particular page may be automatically read into the REDEEM 500
routine as the selected award. However, the user may be prompted to
verify that this is the correct award he wished to redeem and enter
appropriate selections, such as color, size, etc. Otherwise, the
user may simply be prompted to enter the award by, for example, an
award code. It should also be noted that if the user has designated
the ceiling award points, the user's account needs to be accessed
to verify that the user has sufficient points to redeem the chosen
award, 515.
[0064] The proper amount of points is then subtracted from the
user's account and an adjustment is made in the frequency database,
520. A link is then established to the fulfillment house or
directly to the product manufacturer and an award order is
communicated, 530. Thereafter, the program returns to the PROGRAM
HOMEPAGE 300.
[0065] In the description of the preferred embodiment, the term
"user" also refers to merchants, product manufacturers, award
program administrators, etc. These particular users may be provided
with a special access code. Upon entering the special code, these
particular users may be provided with a privileged access to the
program which allows them to make limited changes to the data.
Thus, for example, a merchant may use this special access to change
a price charged for a particular product. Similarly, a program
administrator may gain privileged access to enter newly added
awards available through the program. In addition, in the preferred
embodiment a report is generated upon each privileged entry so that
the changes made can be monitored.
[0066] Certain variations would be apparent to those skilled in the
art, which variations are considered within the spirit and scope of
the claimed invention.
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