U.S. patent application number 10/963065 was filed with the patent office on 2005-03-03 for method and system for conducting research on an electronic network.
Invention is credited to Giunta, Giovanni.
Application Number | 20050049896 10/963065 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 33541776 |
Filed Date | 2005-03-03 |
United States Patent
Application |
20050049896 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Giunta, Giovanni |
March 3, 2005 |
Method and system for conducting research on an electronic
network
Abstract
This invention provides for a method 10 of automatically
relaying website information by e-mail across an electronic
network, which method 10 includes the steps of receiving 14 a
conventional e-mail request from a requester which e-mail is
addressed to a specific electronic mailbox address assigned to
specific website information, and which e-mail includes an
electronic return address to which the website information is to be
relayed to. The method 10 then includes the step of retrieving 16
the website information from a web server which information is
assigned to the specific mailbox address to which the received
e-mail was addressed, and electronically mailing 18 the website
information retrieved from the web server to the return address, so
that the requester receives the website information without having
to search the network. The Invention further provides for an
associated system.
Inventors: |
Giunta, Giovanni; (Pretoria,
ZA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
AKERMAN SENTERFITT
P.O. BOX 3188
WEST PALM BEACH
FL
33402-3188
US
|
Family ID: |
33541776 |
Appl. No.: |
10/963065 |
Filed: |
October 12, 2004 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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10963065 |
Oct 12, 2004 |
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10879970 |
Jun 29, 2004 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
705/304 |
Current CPC
Class: |
Y10S 707/99946 20130101;
Y10S 707/99944 20130101; G06Q 10/107 20130101; G06Q 30/016
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
705/001 |
International
Class: |
G06F 017/60 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Jun 30, 2003 |
ZA |
2003/5062 |
Claims
1. A method of conducting research on an electronic network, which
method includes a first method including the following steps:
receiving a conventional e-mail request from a requester which
e-mail is addressed to a specific electronic mailbox address
assigned to specific electronic information, which e-mail further
includes an electronic return address to which the electronic
information is to be relayed to; verifying whether or not the
return address has previously been registered on a server so as to
enable monitoring of information requested by a particular
requester, and if not, the further step of registering the return
address on a server; retrieving the electronic information from an
information server which information is assigned to the specific
mailbox address to which the received e-mail was addressed;
electronically mailing the electronic information retrieved from
the information server to the return address, so that the requester
receives the information without having to search the network; and
compiling a profile of the requester which profile is related to
the registered return address, the profile being compiled according
to the electronic information mailed to the return address so that
the profile is usable for market research purposes.
2. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein personal particulars of
the requester are obtained by, prior to retrieving the information,
the further step of transmitting an electronic form to the return
address which form is to be completed by the requester.
3. A method as claimed in claim 2, which includes the step of
receiving the electronic form from the requester and combining the
personal particulars included in the received form with the return
address of the requester so as to form a more detailed profile of
that requester.
4. A method as claimed in claim 2, wherein the step of compiling a
profile includes monitoring the information e-mailed to a
particular return address over a period of time and electronically
indicating on the profile the type of information requested so that
a history of requests is formed.
5. A method as claimed in claim 2, wherein the step of compiling
the profile includes the step of submitting an electronic
questionnaire along with the e-mailed information to the return
address which questionnaire is based on the history of requests
made by that particular requester.
6. A method as claimed in claim 5, wherein the questionnaire is
based on the personal particulars of a requester.
7. A method as claimed in claim 5, which includes the further step
of receiving the completed questionnaire from the requester, and
updating the profile of the requester with any relevant information
contained in the completed questionnaire to form a more detailed
profile of the requester.
8. A method as claimed in claim 4, which includes performing a
plurality of first methods for different customers, and updating a
global requester profile database from the server of at least one
of the methods so that a global database of profiles is created for
market research purposes.
9. A method as claimed in claim 8, wherein the step of updating the
global database includes receiving an update from a server of at
least one of the methods after the step of e-mailing information to
a return address.
10. A method as claimed in claim 8, wherein the step of updating
the global server includes the global database periodically
accessing a server of at least one of the methods to update the
profiles in the global database with any new requester particulars
or history of requests stored by that server.
11. A system for conducting research on an electronic network which
system includes a first system for each of a plurality of different
customers, which first system includes a conventional information
server which hosts specific electronic information; and a
conventional e-mail server for receiving a conventional e-mail
request from a requester which e-mail is addressed to a specific
electronic mailbox address assigned to the specific electronic
information and which e-mail further includes an electronic return
address to which the electronic information is to be relayed to,
wherein the e-mail server is arranged in communication with the
information server to form a server arrangement which is configured
to verify whether or not the return address has previously been
registered on a server so as to enable monitoring of information
requested by a particular requester, and if not, to register the
return address on a server; to retrieve the specific electronic
information from the information server which is assigned to the
specific mailbox address to Which the received e-mail was
addressed; to electronically mail the retrieved electronic
information to the return address so that the requester receives
the information without having to search the network; and to
compile a profile of the requester which profile is related to the
registered return address, the profile being compiled according to
the electronic information mailed to the return address so that the
profile is usable for market research purposes.
12. A system as claimed in claim 11, wherein the e-mail server is
configured to obtain personal particulars of the requester by,
prior to retrieving the information, transmitting an electronic
form to the return address which form is to be completed by the
requester.
13. A system as claimed in claim 12, wherein the e-mail server is
configured to receive the electronic form from the requester and
wherein the server arrangement is configured to combine the
personal particulars with the return address of the requester so as
to form a more detailed profile of that requester.
14. A system as claimed in claim 12, wherein the server arrangement
is adapted to compile a profile by monitoring the information
e-mailed to a particular return address over a period of time and
to electronically indicate on the profile the type of information
requested so that a history of requests is formed.
15. A system as claimed in claim 14, wherein the server arrangement
is configured to compile the profile by submitting an electronic
questionnaire along with the information to the return address
which questionnaire is based on the history of requests of that
particular requester.
16. A system as claimed in claim 14, which further includes: a
plurality of first systems for different customers; and a global
server arranged in electronic communication with the plurality of
first systems which global server is configured to update a global
requester profile database with requester profiles from the server
arrangement of at least one of the plurality of first systems so
that a global database of profiles is created for market research
purposes.
17. A system as claimed in claim 16, wherein the server arrangement
of at least one of the first systems is configured to verify
whether or not the return address has been previously registered by
checking if the return address is registered on that particular
server arrangement.
18. A system as claimed in claim 16, wherein the server arrangement
of at least one of the first systems is configured to verify
whether or not a return address of a requester has previously been
registered by checking if the return address is registered on the
global server.
19. A system as claimed in claim 16, wherein the global server is
configured to update the global profile database by receiving an
update from the server arrangement of at least one of the first
systems when information is e-mailed to a return address.
20. A system as Claimed in claim 16, wherein the global server is
configured to update the database by periodically accessing the
server arrangement of at least one of the first systems and to
update the profiles in the global database with any new requester
particulars or history of requests stored by the server
arrangement.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.
10/879,970, filed Jun. 29, 2004, the contents of which are
incorporated by reference herein which claims the benefit of South
African Patent Application No. 2003/5062, filed Jun. 30, 2003.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] This invention relates to a method and associated system for
automatically relaying website information across a network.
BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION
[0003] The Internet consists of a network of millions of
independent computers or servers that are connected throughout the
world. These computers are linked to the Internet to allow access
to information and other resources available on these computers or
Internet servers, as they are known, via HTML (Hyper Text Markup
Language) based Internet Browsers software similar to that of the
popular Microsoft Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator Internet
browsers. Internet service providers or "ISP'S", such as companies
like AOL provide the public and commercial entities access to these
networks of computers by providing Internet access to this network
through telephone lines and dial up access.
[0004] There are fundamentally two functions that the Internet
offers once a person is connected thereto namely e-mail access and
access to millions of Internet websites.
[0005] E-mail provides each user of the Internet a unique e-mail
address, e.g. "john@yahoo.com", that allow these unique users who
own e-mail addresses to communicate with each other by using e-mail
software. The unique e-mail address is necessary to route e-mail to
the correct requester through the Internet. Familiar e-mail
applications are software like Microsoft Outlook Express for
example, that is loaded onto the user's computer. There are also
ways of accessing e-mail from the Internet, such as web page driven
e-mail applications offered, for example, by "Yahoo" and "Hotmail".
Typically these online e-mail applications are stored on a remote
server and not on the user's computer. Users have access to these
web based e-mail applications from any computer that has access to
the Internet from any Internet browser software.
[0006] Accordingly, e-mail has become a powerful means of
connecting one individual to another. Once you have the unique
e-mail address of the individual you would like to communicate
with, e-mail provides a fast and convenient method of
communicating, distributing information, moving documents and files
as attachments in an e-mail from one individual's e-mail address to
another.
[0007] Web browsing is another intrinsic benefit of Internet
access, which allows a user of the Internet to connect to Internet
websites. Similar to e-mail, websites are also given unique
identified descriptors know as a web address, e.g. "www.uspto.org",
also known as a URL (uniform resource locator). These addresses
allow users to access information specific to companies and
organizations etc. To access these websites, users make use of web
browser software similar to the popular Microsoft Internet Explorer
or Netscape Browsers. Web browsers allow a user to type in the URL
which identifies the owner and location of a website on a
particular web server connected to the Internet, and allows the
website information to be downloaded from the server and displayed
in the web browser viewing window. To locate these websites, you
need the exact website address. For example "www.uspto.org" is a
specific URL location for the Unites States Patent Office
website.
[0008] Once you enter the website, the first page (typically called
the home page) affords a user the option of connecting to other
resources or additional information within the website by clicking
on buttons or hyperlinks that open new pages specific to the
website or pages connected to other websites called web pages. A
website can be described as a building with different floors and
doors that lead to different groups of information. Each set of
information is available in different web pages. For instance, when
you visit a company's website like "www.ford.com", you are able to
view the company's products and services that exist within the
website by clicking on various buttons or links that open up new
pages of information relating to that link or button. Web browsing
or surfing is used to describe this process whereby you enter a
specific websites home page through its web address e.g.
"www.ford.com" and then continue to explore the channels of
information available to you in the website. Taking the example of
www.ford.com, the website may have links to different models of
motor vehicles categorized by vehicle type. This listing allows you
to seek information on specific products that are available in
their own web pages within the "www.ford.com" website. In an online
store like "amazon.com" for instance, you can enter the website and
click on different product categories like DVD's and open up pages
of information specific to the product category of choice, i.e.
pages that contain only information on different makes and models
of DVD players.
[0009] Each page within a website is given its own URL address to
describe where this information is stored within the main website.
While "www.ford.com" may take you to the companies homepage, a web
page address with a specific URL locator
"www.ford.com/vehicles/explorer.html" will take you to a specific
page located within the "www.ford.com" website specific to Ford
Explorer vehicle range. If you knew this address and you intended
to only visit Fords website to view information on the "Explorer"
you could immediately type in the designated web page address or
URL in your web browser and immediately access the specific
information without first having to visit the homepage
"www.ford.com" to navigate through the websites different pages
till you have found the page you wanted to visit.
[0010] While websites do provide a valuable resource to access
product and company information, the process of searching and
locating the page containing the information of choice is sometimes
a tedious and ineffective task. Also, visitors who have been to the
same website before, generally know their areas of interest within
the website, but still have to follow the navigating process to
reach their destinations, e.g. to access yahoo's sports page for
tennis, a person would have to visit "www.yahoo.com", access the
sports page then navigate to the tennis sports page and so on. One
potential way to deal with this situation is to provide website
visitors immediate access to the pages of their choice with a
simple access process. Remembering the URL location of these pages
could become difficult, so an alternative could be provided to make
this process far more user friendly. An invention that allows web
visitors to access a web page directly from either e-mail
applications with the use of an e-mail address defining the
location of a web page could provide a means to overcome these
difficulties. E-mail addresses have the potential of defining
individual locations of individual people, and are generally easier
to remember. Also, it is a well-known fact that e-mail is used more
often than the Internet with online users accessing their e-mail
more frequently than they do the Internet.
[0011] Consumers have become more sophisticated about using the
Internet. With Billions of dollars that marketers spend on
advertising, consumers are more aware of the products and services
they are interested in and are seeking ways of accessing this
information more efficiently and effectively without having to
search through web pages to find the information they want. If a
consumer is interested in, for example, a specific mobile phone
from Sony, it is obvious that this information would appear on the
Sony website. Having a knowledge of this, could there not be a
simple way of reaching this web page without having to navigate
through the Sony website altogether, or in fact have the Sony
website send this page to your e-mail instead?
[0012] The Internet has thus become an indispensable marketing tool
for companies to reach their consumers. Today literally every
product that is marketed and sold can be found on the Internet.
Very few marketing and advertising campaigns exist today without
mentioning their website address where more information can be
found about the product being advertised. Also, the success of
companies who market and sell products to consumers is dependent on
understanding who their consumers are and what they think and react
to products and the market. Unlike a conventional brick and mortar
store, where consumers visit the store, allowing companies to see
and understand who their consumers buying their products are,
Internet websites will have millions of visitors viewing products
in their web pages without giving any idea who these consumers are.
Are they male or female? How old are they? This is because web
browsers have no way of identifying individual web visitors.
[0013] Market research also provides an invaluable resource to
understand consumers and their buying decisions. Predominantly,
most market research conducted today is in physical contact with
consumers fitting the profile of a client's business. Although
these methods of research may be effective, they require great
resources especially when a few thousand consumers are to be
targeted for research. Also, these forms of research are expensive
and involve lengthy processes that could take weeks to complete.
Market research conducted online has made a dramatic difference to
companies' research needs. Online surveys can reach visitors across
various websites and can generate results within moments. Typical
online research surveys include polling systems where consumers
complete a "yes/no" question, to the more advanced research surveys
that acts in a pop-up window that initiates as soon as you open a
specific web page that has been programmed to display the survey.
While consumers enjoy giving their opinion, web visitors find it
sometimes annoying, because the research survey has no way of
identifying who they are and whether or not they are, in a
marketing sense, "qualified" to answer the research questions.
Therefore, in certain instances, a visitor with intentions to offer
some of their valuable time, discovers that after accessing an
online survey, they are filling in information about credit card
decisions in the US while they are actually from Australia.
[0014] The drawback to current online research is the inability to
target specific research questionnaires to the exact demographic
profiles of consumers you wish to target. To overcome some of these
problems, researchers select websites that target consumers that
best fit their research criteria. This however, is not entirely
fool-proof and as a result online research remains a distant second
choice to conventional research methodologies.
[0015] In the same way that website owners have no way of telling
who the exact profiles of people are who are viewing their web
pages, online researchers have no way of targeting research surveys
to the exact consumers who would be "qualified" to answer their
questions. Both website owners and researchers would benefit from a
system that could overcome these difficulties.
[0016] On the other hand, consumers would also benefit from being
able to access web page information without having to navigate
through website pages to reach the pages they desire. A system that
could alleviate these difficulties by providing consumer instant
access to the web pages and information of choice without having to
navigate through web pages could provide both consumers and website
owners a valuable solution to increase the effectiveness and user
friendliness of the Internet in general.
[0017] One method of informing potential clients about new products
is by unsolicited e-mails, also known as spam. The negative effects
of spam are that it is generally an irritation to consumers and/or
that spam may be illegal.
[0018] It is the intension of current invention to provide a
solution that will alleviate the above difficulties and provide for
a way that will allow Internet users to instantly access web page
information from their e-mail applications, as well as allow
researchers and website owner the use of a system to identify the
individual profiles and demographics of the consumers visiting
their websites. The current invention further seeks to ameliorate
the negative effects of spam.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0019] According to one aspect of the invention there is provided a
method of automatically relaying website information by e-mail
across an electronic network, which method includes the following
steps, in any order receiving a conventional e-mail request from a
requester which e-mail is addressed to a specific electronic
mailbox address assigned to specific website information, and which
e-mail includes an electronic return address to which the website
information is to be relayed to;
[0020] retrieving the website information from a web server which
information is assigned to the specific mailbox address to which
the received e-mail was addressed; and
[0021] electronically mailing the website information retrieved
from the web server to the return address, so that the requester
receives the website information without having to search the
network.
[0022] It is to be appreciated that, in this specification, a web
server generally refers to any computer server which stores
information that can be hosted on an electronic web, such as the
Internet, or the like. Furthermore, an e-mail server refers to any
server configured to manage the transmission and reception of
conventional e-mail messages on a web, such as the Internet, or the
like. Furthermore, it is to be appreciated that the functions of
these respective servers are not limited to those mentioned above,
and that the e-mail server may perform functions generally
associated with conventional web servers, and that the web server
may accordingly perform functions generally associated with
conventional e-mail servers.
[0023] The method may include the step of, prior to receiving the
request, the step of assigning a specific electronic mailbox
address to specific website information. The website information
may include a Uniform Resource Locator (URL). Similarly, the step
of assigning the mailbox address may include assigning one mailbox
address to a plurality of URL's. By receiving the e-mail request
addressed to the mailbox address, it is then possible to retrieve
that specific website information to which the address is
assigned.
[0024] The step of receiving the e-mail request may be performed by
a conventional e-mail server hosting the specific mailbox address
assigned to the website information requested by the requester. The
e-mail server typically hosts a plurality of e-mail addresses which
are individually assigned to separate and specific website
information.
[0025] The step of retrieving information may include accessing a
web server which stores the specific website information. The web
server typically hosts the website information as a conventional
website. The website information may consist of at least one
webpage. It is to be appreciated that the website information is
typically a number of webpages assigned to the mailbox address. The
e-mail server may be separate from the web server. Otherwise, the
e-mail server and the web server may be included in a single
combined server.
[0026] The method may include the step of, prior to mailing the
information, the step of converting the website information into a
certain format. The format may include a conventional e-mail
format, e.g. a format which is viewable with an e-mail application.
The e-mail request may specify the format in which the website
information is to be mailed to the return address, e.g. the subject
line of the e-mail may request a certain format in which the
information is to be mailed. The step of mailing the website
information to the return address may include attaching the
retrieved website information as an attachment to the e-mail sent
to the return address.
[0027] According to a second aspect of the invention there is
provided a system for automatically relaying website information
across an electronic network, as described in the method above,
which system includes
[0028] at least one conventional web server which hosts specific
website information; and
[0029] at least one conventional e-mail server for receiving a
conventional e-mail request from a requester, which e-mail server
is arranged in electronic communication with the web server,
wherein the e-mail server hosts an e-mail address to which the
received e-mail request is addressed which address is assigned to
the specific website information and which e-mail request further
includes an electronic return address to which the website
information is to be relayed to, wherein the e-mail server is
configured to retrieve the website information from the web server,
and which e-mail server electronically mails the retrieved website
information to the return address, so that the requester receives
the website information without having to search the network.
[0030] The e-mail server may retrieve the electronic information
from the web server by assigning a specific electronic mailbox
address to specific website information hosted by the web server.
The website information may include a Uniform Resource Locator
(URL). Similarly, the e-mail server may assign one mailbox address
to a plurality of URL's. The e-mail server may retrieve the
information from the web server by the web server, in response to a
communication from the e-mail server, transmitting the information
to the e-mail server.
[0031] The e-mail server and/or the web server may be configured
to, prior to mailing the information, convert the website
information into a certain format. The format may include a
conventional e-mail format, e.g. a format which is viewable with an
e-mail application. Otherwise, the e-mail server may attach the
retrieved website information to the e-mail sent to the return
address. Similarly, the web server may compile the information into
a certain format before transmitting the information to the e-mail
server.
[0032] The e-mail server and the web server may be included in a
single combined server.
[0033] According to a third aspect of the invention there is
provided a method of conducting research on an electronic network,
which method includes a first method including the following steps,
in any order
[0034] receiving a conventional e-mail request from a requester
which e-mail is addressed to a specific electronic mailbox address
assigned to specific electronic information, which e-mail further
includes an electronic return address to which the electronic
information is to be relayed to;
[0035] verifying whether or not the return address has previously
been registered on a server so as to enable monitoring of
information requested by a particular requester, and if not, the
further step of registering the return address on a server;
[0036] retrieving the electronic information from an information
server which information is assigned to the specific mailbox
address to which the received e-mail was addressed;
[0037] electronically mailing the electronic information retrieved
from the information server to the return address, so that the
requester receives the information without having to search the
network; and
[0038] compiling a profile related to the registered return address
according to the electronic information mailed to the return
address so that the profile is usable for market research
purposes.
[0039] The step of verifying whether or not the return address has
previously been registered on a server may include verifying the
return address on an e-mail and/or an information server.
Similarly, the further step of registering the return address on a
server may include registering the address on an e-mail server
and/or an information server.
[0040] The method may include the step of, prior to receiving the
request, the step of assigning a specific electronic mailbox
address to specific electronic information. It is to be appreciated
that the step of retrieving the information from the information
server may be facilitated by the step of assigning a specific
address to specific information.
[0041] The step of receiving the e-mail request may be performed by
a conventional e-mail server hosting the specific mailbox address
assigned to the electronic information.
[0042] The step of verifying whether or not the return address has
previously been registered on an e-mail server and/or an
information server may include comparing the return address to a
list of valid return addresses stored by an e-mail server and/or
information server. It is to be appreciated that the valid return
addresses are generally return addresses which have been previously
registered.
[0043] The step of registering a requester may include registering
personal particulars of a requester on an e-mail server and/or
information server, e.g. age, interests, location, race, gender,
occupation, and/or the like. The personal particulars of the
requester may be obtained by, prior to retrieving the information,
the step of transmitting an electronic form to the return address
which form is to be completed by the requester. Accordingly, the
method may include the step of receiving the electronic form from
the requester and combining the personal particulars with the
return address of the requester so as to form a customer or market
profile of that requester. It is to be appreciated that the profile
may typically include details such as the name, age, country,
region, income, hobbies, interests, race, gender, intended
purchases, and/or any similar particulars generally used in market
research.
[0044] The step of retrieving the electronic information may be
performed by accessing an information server, such as a web server
hosting website information, or any similar server which hosts
information in which the requester may be interested. Otherwise,
the step of retrieving the electronic information may be performed
by the information server, in response to a communication from the
e-mail server, transmitting the information to the e-mail
server.
[0045] The step of mailing the retrieved information is typically
performed by a conventional e-mail server. The step of mailing the
information may include first converting the retrieved information
into a certain format before mailing it to the return address. It
is to be appreciated that the format may include any suitable
electronic format in which information can be mailed to an e-mail
address, such as HTML, TXT, and/or the like. It is to be
appreciated that the step of converting the information may be
performed by the e-mail server and/or the information server.
[0046] The step of compiling a profile may include monitoring the
information e-mailed to a particular return address over a period
of time and electronically indicating on the profile the type of
information requested so that a history of requests is formed. It
is to be appreciated that such a profile of a requester includes
the personal particulars of that requester along with a history of
requests made by the requester, and that this profile is useable
for market research purposes.
[0047] The step of compiling the profile may also include the step
of submitting an electronic questionnaire along with the e-mailed
information to the return address which questionnaire is based on
the history of requests made by that particular requester. For
example, a requester has previously requested information about
cars, and in his next request a questionnaire is included asking
questions relating to cars. It is to be appreciated that the
request which includes the questionnaire about cars, need not
necessarily relate to cars. The questionnaire may also be based on
the personal particulars of a requester.
[0048] Accordingly, the method may include the further step of
receiving the completed questionnaire from the requester, and
updating the profile of the requester with any relevant information
contained in the completed questionnaire to form a more detailed
profile of the requester.
[0049] The method for conducting research may include the further
step of performing a plurality of first methods for different
customers, and the step of updating a global requester profile
database from an e-mail server and/or an information server of each
method so that a global database of profiles is created for market
research purposes.
[0050] The step of verifying whether or not a return address of a
requester has previously been registered may include checking if
the return address is registered on a global server. It is to be
appreciated that the return address of a requester is only required
to be registered once. After first registration, the global server
updates the global requester profile database to include any new
return addresses. An e-mail server and/or information server is
then able to access the global database to ascertain whether or not
a return address has previously been registered.
[0051] The step of updating the global database may include
receiving an update from an e-mail server and/or an information
server after the step of e-mailing information to a return address.
Otherwise, the step of updating the global server may include the
global database periodically accessing an e-mail server and/or
information server to update the profiles in the global database
with any new requester particulars or history of requests stored by
the e-mail server and/or information server.
[0052] According to a fourth aspect of the invention there is
provided a system for conducting research on an electronic network,
as described above, which system includes a first system for
different customers including
[0053] a conventional information server which hosts specific
electronic information; and
[0054] a conventional e-mail server for receiving a conventional
e-mail request from a requester which e-mail is addressed to a
specific electronic mailbox address assigned to the specific
electronic information and which e-mail further includes an
electronic return address to which the electronic information is to
be relayed to, wherein the e-mail server is arranged in
communication with the information server to form a server
arrangement which is configured
[0055] to verify whether or not the return address has previously
been registered on a server so as to enable monitoring of
information requested by a particular requester, and if not, to
register the return address on a server;
[0056] to retrieve the specific electronic information from the
information server which is assigned to the specific mailbox
address to which the received e-mail was addressed;
[0057] to electronically mail the retrieved electronic information
to the return address so that the requester receives the
information without having to search the network; and
[0058] to compile a profile related to the registered return
address according to the electronic information mailed to the
return address so that the profile is usable for market research
purposes.
[0059] The server arrangement may verify whether or not the return
address has previously been registered on a server by verifying the
return address on the e-mail server and/or the information server.
Similarly, the server arrangement may register the return address
on the e-mail server and/or the information server.
[0060] The server arrangement may retrieve the information from the
information server by the e-mail server accessing the information
server to obtain the information. Otherwise, the information server
may, in response to a communication from the e-mail server,
transmit the information to the e-mail server.
[0061] The information server may include a web server which hosts
the electronic information as a website, i.e. webpages and/or web
content. The server arrangement is generally connected to an
electronic web such as the Internet.
[0062] The server arrangement may be adapted to, prior to receiving
the request, assign a specific electronic mailbox address to
specific electronic information.
[0063] The e-mail server may be adapted to receive the e-mail
request by hosting the specific mailbox address assigned to the
electronic information.
[0064] The server arrangement may be adapted to verify whether or
not the return address has previously been registered on the e-mail
server and/or information server by comparing the return address to
a list of valid return addresses stored by the e-mail server and/or
information server, respectively.
[0065] The server arrangement may be adapted to register a
requester by registering personal particulars of a requester on the
server arrangement, e.g. age, interests, location, occupation,
and/or the like. It is to be appreciated that the server
arrangement registers the requester by storing the return address
on the e-mail server and/or information server. The personal
particulars of the requester may be obtained by, prior to
retrieving the information, transmitting an electronic form to the
return address which form is to be completed by the requester.
Accordingly, the e-mail server may receive the electronic form from
the requester and the server arrangement then combines the personal
particulars with the return address of the requester so as to form
a detailed profile of that requester. It is to be appreciated that
the profile may typically include details such as the name, age,
country, region, income, hobbies, interests, race, gender, intended
purchases, and/or any similar particulars generally used in market
research.
[0066] The server arrangement may first convert the retrieved
information into a certain format before mailing it to the return
address. It is to be appreciated that the format may include any
suitable electronic format in which information can be mailed to an
e-mail address, such as HTML, TXT, and/or the like.
[0067] The server arrangement may be adapted to compile a profile
by monitoring the information e-mailed to a particular return
address over a period of time and electronically indicating on the
profile the type of information requested so that a history of
requests is formed. It is to be appreciated that such a profile of
a requester includes the personal particulars of that requester
along with a history of requests made by the requester, and that
this profile is useable for market research purposes.
[0068] The server arrangement may compile the profile by submitting
an electronic questionnaire along with the information to the
return address which questionnaire is based on the history of
requests and/or profile details of that particular requester. For
example, a requester has previously requested information about
cars, and in his next request a questionnaire is included asking
questions relating to cars. It is to be appreciated that the
request which includes the questionnaire about cars, need not
necessarily relate to cars.
[0069] Accordingly, the e-mail server may receive the completed
questionnaire from the requester, and the server arrangement then
update the profile of the requester with any relevant information
contained in the completed questionnaire.
[0070] The system for conducting research may further include
[0071] a plurality of first systems, as described above, for
different customers; and
[0072] a global server arranged in electronic communication with
the plurality of first systems which global server is configured to
update a global requester profile database with requester profiles
from the server arrangement of the plurality of first systems so
that a global database of profiles is created for market research
purposes.
[0073] The server arrangement of a first system may verify whether
or not the return address has been previously registered by
checking if the return address is registered on that particular
server arrangement.
[0074] Accordingly, the server arrangement of the first system may
verify whether or not a return address of a requester has
previously been registered by checking if the return address is
registered on the global server. It is to be appreciated that the
return address of a requester is only required to be registered
once on any one of the server arrangements of the plurality of
first systems. After first registration, the global server updates
the global requester profile database to include any new return
addresses. Any server arrangement of a first system is then able to
access the global database to ascertain whether or not a return
address has previously been registered.
[0075] It is to be appreciated that the server whereby the
registration of a return address is verified and, if not
registered, the subsequent registration thereof, may accordingly
include the e-mail server of the server arrangement, the
information server of the server arrangement, and the global
server.
[0076] It is further to be appreciated that, when an e-mail server
of a first system receives a request, the server arrangement will
typically first check whether or not the return address is
registered on that server arrangement, and if not, the server
arrangement will check the global server to see if the return
address is registered before registering the return address.
[0077] The global server may be a single conventional computer
server. Otherwise, the global server may include a plurality of
conventional computer servers arranged in communication to form a
single global server.
[0078] It is to be appreciated that by having a global server, a
requester is only required to register once. Thereafter, a server
arrangement of a first system will automatically determine from the
global server that the return address is valid and any requests
made by the particular requester will update his profile
accordingly on the global server.
[0079] The global server may update the global profile database by
receiving an update from the server arrangement of a first system
when information is e-mailed to a return address. Otherwise, the
global server may update the database by periodically accessing the
server arrangement of the first system and updating the profiles in
the global database with any new requester particulars or history
of requests stored by the server arrangement.
[0080] It is to be appreciated that a requester may be individually
registered on the server arrangement of a plurality of first
systems, and that the global server typically cross references
these registration details between the server arrangements of the
first systems on the global database to enable the compiling of a
more detailed profile on the global database than a profile stored
individually on a single server arrangement. Similarly, a server
arrangement of a first system may check the global database to
ascertain if the server arrangement has an up-to-date profile of a
requester.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0081] The invention is now described, by way of non-limiting
example, with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein
[0082] FIG. 1 shows a schematic block diagram for a method of
automatically relaying website information across an electronic
network, in accordance with the invention;
[0083] FIG. 2 shows, in schematic view, a system which includes a
plurality of first systems for relaying electronic information
across and electronic network which system is for conducting
research on the network, in accordance with the invention;
[0084] FIG. 3 shows an example of electronic mailbox addresses
assigned to specific electronic information;
[0085] FIG. 4 shows a schematic representation of a conventional
e-mail request for requesting electronic information;
[0086] FIG. 5 shows a schematic representation of how electronic
information is relayed using a conventional e-mail application;
[0087] FIG. 6 shows a schematic representation of an electronic
questionnaire incorporated into a conventional e-mail for market
research purposes;
[0088] FIG. 7 shows a schematic block diagram for a first method of
conducting research on a network;
[0089] FIGS. 8, 9 and 10 shows further embodiments of the system
shown in FIG. 2; and
[0090] FIG. 11 shows a specific embodiment of the system shown in
FIG. 2 when applied as an airline booking system.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0091] With reference to FIG. 1, a method of automatically relaying
website information by e-mail across an electronic network, in
accordance with the invention, is generally indicated by reference
numeral 10.
[0092] The method 10 includes the steps of receiving 14 a
conventional e-mail request from a requester which e-mail is
addressed to a specific electronic mailbox address assigned to
specific website information, and which e-mail includes an
electronic return address to which the website information is to be
relayed to. The method 10 then includes the step of retrieving 16
the website information from a web server which information is
assigned to the specific mailbox address to which the received
e-mail was addressed. The method 10 then features the step of
electronically mailing 18 the website information retrieved from
the web server to the return address, so that the requester
receives the website information without having to search the
network.
[0093] It is to be appreciated that the requester receives the
website information simply by sending an e-mail to the address. The
method 10 eliminates searching the Internet, which takes time and
patience.
[0094] In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the e-mail
request does not include any text save for the mailbox address. It
is to be appreciated that the mailbox address to which the request
is addressed is associated with specific website information, e.g.
a mailbox address might be "audis3@audi.com" which is then
associated with information concerning the Audi S3 motor vehicle.
Similarly, an address may be associated with any type of
information, such as products, services, and/or the like.
[0095] In this embodiment, the method 10 also includes the step of,
prior to receiving 14 the request, the step of assigning 12 a
specific electronic mailbox address to specific website
information. The website information typically includes a Uniform
Resource Locator (URL). Similarly, a single address may be assigned
12 to a plurality of URL's. By receiving 14 the e-mail request
addressed to the mailbox address, it is then possible to retrieve
16 that specific website information to which the address is
assigned. Accordingly, the method 10 then facilitates accepting new
customers for the service provided by this method 10, i.e. signing
new website content from customers. It is to be appreciated that a
customer refers to any entity that wishes to distribute information
across the network, for example a company that produces and sells
products, or the like.
[0096] The step of receiving 14 the e-mail request is generally
performed by a conventional e-mail server hosting the specific
mailbox address. It is to be appreciated that the e-mail server
typically hosts a plurality of e-mail addresses which are
individually assigned 12 to separate and specific website
information, e.g. an address for a shoe company's products, an
address for a car manufacturer's products, or the like.
[0097] The step of retrieving 16 information is generally done by
accessing 20 a web server which stores the specific website
information. The web server typically hosts the website information
as a conventional website, so that the website information consists
of at least one webpage. It is to be appreciated that the website
information is typically a number of webpages assigned to a
specific mailbox address. The e-mail server may be separate from
the web server, or the e-mail server and the web server may be
included in a single combined server.
[0098] In this embodiment, the method 10 further includes the step
of, prior to mailing 18 the information, the step of converting 22
the website information into a certain format. The format is
typically a conventional e-mail format, e.g. a format which is
viewable with an e-mail application. It is to be appreciated that,
in a further embodiment, the e-mail request may specify the format
in which the website information is to be mailed 18 to the return
address, e.g. the subject line of the e-mail may request a certain
format in which the information is to be mailed.
[0099] The step of mailing 18 the website information to the return
address may also include attaching the retrieved website
information as an attachment to the e-mail sent to the return
address. It is to be appreciated that the step of mailing 18 may
include a conventional auto-response function of an e-mail server,
or the like.
[0100] It is to be appreciated that the step of mailing 18 the
website information to the return address is similar to an
automatic response function of conventional e-mail applications.
These auto response applications do not have the ability to uplift
specific requested information from a separate web server, as their
response is predetermined in the respective e-mail server.
[0101] FIG. 2 shows the associated system 30 for automatically
relaying the website information across an electronic network 32,
as described in the method 10 above. The system 30 includes a
conventional web server 36 which hosts specific website
information, and a conventional e-mail server 34 arranged in
electronic communication with the web server 36. It is to be
appreciated that the network 32 generally represents the Internet.
Furthermore, the embodiment shown in FIG. 2 shows the e-mail server
34 in direct communication with the web server 36, but that the
e-mail server 34 and the web server 36 may be connected via the
network 32.
[0102] Similarly, according to the method 10 of FIG. 1, the e-mail
server 34 hosts an e-mail address assigned to the specific website
information and is adapted to receive a conventional e-mail request
from a requester 38 which e-mail is addressed to the hosted e-mail
address and which request further includes an electronic return
address to which the website information is to be relayed to. The
e-mail server 34 is further adapted to retrieve the website
information from the web server 36, and to electronically mail the
retrieved website information to the return address, so that the
requester 38 receives the website information without having to
search the network 32, typically the Internet.
[0103] It is to be appreciated that each e-mail server 34 will
retrieve the requested information from its associated web server
36 of system 30, as indicated by the grouping of components inside
the block denominated by reference numeral 30, and not from a web
server of another similar system 30 shown in plurality in FIG.
2.
[0104] In the embodiment shown, the e-mail server 34 is configured
to assign a specific electronic mailbox address to specific website
information hosted by the web server 36. The website information
includes a Uniform Resource Locator (URL). Similarly, the e-mail
server 34 may also assign one mailbox address to a plurality of
URL's.
[0105] The e-mail server 34 may also be configured to, prior to
mailing 18 the information, convert the website information into a
certain format, such as a conventional e-mail format, e.g. a format
which is viewable with an e-mail application. Otherwise, the e-mail
server 34 may attach the retrieved website information to the
e-mail and send it to the return address. It is further to be
appreciated that the e-mail server may mail the information to the
return address by being configured as a conventional
auto-responder, or the like.
[0106] It is to be appreciated that the e-mail server 34 and the
web server 36 may be included in a single combined server. This
will typically be the case where a customer is a small entity that
has a single computer server to perform the functions of a web
server and e-mail server.
[0107] FIG. 3 shows an example of how an electronic mailbox address
is typically assigned to website information. The first column 52
shows examples of mailbox addresses, and the second column 54 shows
URL's assigned to the mailbox addresses in column 52. As shown, the
first mailbox address "A3@audi.com" in column 52 is associated with
the first six URL's in column 54. The second mailbox address
"A4@audi.com" is assigned to the URL
"www.audi.com/newvehicles/a4.html", and so on. It is to be
appreciated that a single mailbox address may be assigned to a
plurality of URL's. This is typically the case where a certain
product described by the website information has a plurality of
webpages.
[0108] FIG. 4 shows a schematic screenshot 56 of a conventional
e-mail application. In this embodiment, the e-mail 56 is sent from
"garthlong@yahoo.com" as shown by reference numeral 58. In this
example, this is the return address for the requested information.
It is to be appreciated that this return address is typically
automatically generated by the software e-mail application
according to the setup of the requester's computer, i.e. this
address is automatically added whenever a requester composes an
e-mail. In this example, the electronic mailbox address associated
with the electronic information is "a3@audi.com" shown by reference
numeral 60. In the embodiment shown, the subject line 62 of the
e-mail 56 is left blank along with the body 64 of the e-mail 56. In
other embodiments (not shown), the subject line 62 may specify a
certain format in which the electronic information is to be mailed
to the return address, or the body of the e-mail 64 may specify a
different return address than the one in line 58, such as when a
registered requester uses a different e-mail than his regular one
to send a request, and/or the like.
[0109] FIG. 5 shows a schematic representation 66 of website
information which has been mailed by the system 30 to the return
address of a requester 38. In this example, the information was
relayed in an e-mail format which the requester 38 can view using a
conventional e-mail application. The relayed information is
personalized for the requester 38 according to the registration
details supplied by the requester when he registered for the first
time. As shown, the e-mail 66 includes a name field 68. The
information further includes additional links 72 to other
electronic information, which links 72 provides all the URL links
to which the e-mail address has been assigned to extract from the
web site and return to the recipient. It is to be appreciated that
the links 72 enables a requester 38 to conventionally surf the
internet by clicking on these links 72.
[0110] FIG. 6 shows a schematic representation 74 of another
example of specific website information 78. This embodiment also
includes a name field 76 which is personalized according to the
registration information or profile of the requester 38. In this
embodiment, the information includes an electronic questionnaire 80
for market research purposes. In this example, the questionnaire 80
is an electronic link to a further URL, but it is to be appreciated
that the questionnaire may be incorporated in the electronic
information 78.
[0111] FIG. 7 shows a first method 82 of conducting research on an
electronic network 32, which method includes following steps of
receiving 86 a conventional e-mail request from a requester which
e-mail is addressed to a specific electronic mailbox address
assigned to specific electronic information, which e-mail further
includes an electronic return address to which the electronic
information is to be relayed to. The method 82 also includes the
steps of verifying-88 whether or not the return address has
previously been registered on a server so as to enable monitoring
of information requested by a particular requester, and if not, the
further step of registering 90 the return address on a server, and
the step of retrieving 92 the electronic information from an
information server which information is assigned to the specific
mailbox address to which the received e-mail was addressed, and
electronically mailing 94 the electronic information retrieved from
the information server to the return address, so that the requester
receives the information without having to search the network. The
method 82 also has the step of compiling 96 a profile related to
the registered return address according to the electronic
information mailed 94 to the return address so that the profile is
usable for market research purposes.
[0112] The method 82 also includes the step of, prior to receiving
86 the request, the step of assigning 84 a specific electronic
mailbox address to specific electronic information, as described in
the method of FIG. 1.
[0113] The step of receiving 86 the e-mail request is generally
performed by a conventional e-mail server hosting the specific
mailbox address assigned to the electronic information.
[0114] It is to be appreciated that the method of FIG. 7 is
substantially similar to the method of FIG. 1, with the exception
that the method 82 of FIG. 7 includes steps facilitating the
registration of return addresses of requesters, and the subsequent
monitoring of requests made by requesters. This finds particular
application in the field of market research.
[0115] Accordingly, the step of verifying 88 whether or not the
return address has previously been registered on a server includes
comparing the return address to a list of valid return addresses
stored by an e-mail server and/or information server.
[0116] The step of registering 90 a requester includes registering
personal particulars of a requester on an e-mail server and/or
information server, e.g. age, interests, location, race, gender,
occupation, and/or the like. The personal particulars of the
requester may be obtained by, prior to retrieving 92 the
information, the step of transmitting (not shown) an electronic
form to the return address which form is to be completed by the
requester.
[0117] Accordingly, the method 82 then includes the step of
receiving (not shown) the electronic form from the requester and
combining the personal particulars with the return address of the
requester so as to form a customer or market profile of that
requester. It is to be appreciated that the profile typically
includes details such as the name, age, country, region; income,
hobbies, interests, race, gender, intended purchases, and/or any
similar particulars generally used in market research.
[0118] The step of retrieving 92 the electronic information is
generally performed by accessing an information server, such as a
web server hosting website information, or any similar server which
hosts information in which the requester may be interested.
Otherwise, the step of retrieving 93 the information may be
performed by the information server, in response to a communication
from an e-mail server, transmitting the information to the e-mail
server.
[0119] The step of mailing 94 the retrieved information is
typically performed by a conventional e-mail server. The step of
mailing 94 the information may include first converting the
retrieved information into a certain format before mailing it to
the return address, such as any suitable electronic format in which
information can be mailed to an e-mail address, such as HTML, TXT,
and/or the like. Otherwise, the information may be mailed to the
return address as a conventional e-mail attachment.
[0120] The step of compiling 96 a profile includes monitoring the
information e-mailed to a particular return address over a period
of time and electronically indicating on the profile the type of
information requested so that a history of requests is formed. It
is to be appreciated that such a profile of a requester includes
the personal particulars of that requester along with a history of
requests made by the requester, and that this profile is useable
for market research purposes.
[0121] The step of compiling 96 the profile may further include the
step of submitting (not shown) an electronic questionnaire along
with the e-mailed information to the return address which
questionnaire is based on the history of requests made by that
particular requester. For example, a requester has previously
requested information about cars, and in his next request a
questionnaire is included asking questions relating to cars. It is
to be appreciated that the request which includes the questionnaire
about cars, need not necessarily relate to cars. In this manner it
is possible to conduct highly effective market research targeted at
specific requesters. For example, a customer can draft a
questionnaire according to the original requester registration and
according to individual products, so that the questionnaire is only
sent to certain requesters e.g. the questionnaire is sent to
requester of a certain age who has previously requested a certain
product's information.
[0122] Accordingly, the method 82 may include the further step of
receiving (not shown) the completed questionnaire from the
requester, and updating the profile of the requester with any
relevant information contained in the completed questionnaire to
form a more detailed profile of the requester.
[0123] A global method (not shown) for conducting research on a
global scale may include the step of performing a plurality of
first methods 82 for different customers, and the step of updating
a global requester profile database from a server of each method so
that a global database of profiles is created for market research
purposes. In other words, this global method is then conducted by
performing the first method 82 for a plurality of customers and
updating a global database with the individual profiles generated
for individual requesters according to the first method 82.
[0124] Accordingly, the first method's step of verifying 88 whether
or not a return address of a requester has previously been
registered may include checking if the return address is registered
on the global server. It is to be appreciated that the return
address of a requester is only required to be registered once.
After first registration, the global server updates the global
requester profile database to include any new return addresses. An
e-mail server and/or information server is then able to access the
global database to ascertain whether or not a return address has
previously been registered.
[0125] The step of updating the global database may include
receiving an update from an e-mail server and/or information server
after the step of e-mailing 94 information to a return address.
Otherwise, the step of updating the global server may include the
global database periodically accessing an e-mail server and/or
information server to update the profiles in the global database
with any new requester particulars or history of requests stored by
the e-mail server and/or information server, respectively. For
example, the global server will access each e-mail and/or
information server to check for an updated requester profile as
identified by the return address of that requester.
[0126] Referring once again to FIG. 2, this figure shows a global
system 39 for conducting research on the electronic network 32, as
described above. The system 39 includes a first system 30 for
different customers, wherein the first system 30 includes a
conventional information server 36 which hosts specific electronic
information, and a conventional e-mail server 34 for receiving a
conventional e-mail request from a requester 38 which e-mail is
addressed to a specific electronic mailbox address assigned to the
specific electronic information and which e-mail further includes
an electronic return address to which the electronic information is
to be relayed to.
[0127] The e-mail server 34 is arranged in communication with the
information server 36 to form a server arrangement 30 which is
configured to verify whether or not the return address has
previously been registered on a server so as to enable monitoring
of information requested by a particular requester 38, and if not,
to register the return address on a server. The arrangement 30 is
also configured to retrieve the specific electronic information
from the information server 36 which is assigned to the specific
mailbox address to which the received e-mail was addressed. The
arrangement 30 is also configured to electronically mail the
retrieved electronic information to the return address so that the
requester 38 receives the information without having to search the
network 32, and to compile a profile related to the registered
return address according to the electronic information mailed to
the return address so that the profile is usable for market
research purposes.
[0128] The server arrangement 30 verifies whether or not the return
address has previously been registered on a server by verifying the
return address on the e-mail server 34 and/or the information
server 36. Similarly, the server arrangement 30 may register the
return address on the e-mail server 34 and/or the information
server 36.
[0129] The server arrangement 30 may retrieve the information from
the information server 36 by the e-mail server 34 accessing the
information server 36 to obtain the information. Otherwise, the
information server 36 may, in response to a communication from the
e-mail server 34, transmit the information to the e-mail server
34.
[0130] The information server 36 may include a web server which
hosts the electronic information as a website, i.e. webpages and/or
web content. The server arrangement 30 is generally connected to an
electronic web 32 such as the Internet.
[0131] The server arrangement 30 may be adapted to, prior to
receiving the request assign a specific electronic mailbox address
to specific electronic information.
[0132] The e-mail server 34 is adapted to receive the e-mail
request by hosting the specific mailbox address assigned to the
electronic information.
[0133] The server arrangement 30 is adapted to verify whether or
not the return address has previously been registered on the e-mail
server 34 and/or information server 36 by comparing the return
address to a list of valid return addresses stored by the e-mail
server 34 and/or information server 36, respectively.
[0134] The server arrangement 30 registers a requester 38 by
registering personal particulars of the requester 38 on the server
arrangement 30, e.g. age, interests, location, occupation, and/or
the like. It is to be appreciated that the server arrangement 30
registers the requester 38 by storing the return address on the
e-mail server 34 and/or information server 36. The personal
particulars of the requester 38 may be obtained by, prior to
retrieving the information, transmitting an electronic form to the
return address which form is to be completed by the requester 38.
Accordingly, the e-mail server 34 may receive the electronic form
from the requester 38 and the server arrangement 30 then combines
the personal particulars with the return address of the requester
38 so as to form a detailed profile of that requester 38. It is to
be appreciated that the profile may typically include details such
as the name, age, country, region, income, hobbies, interests,
race, gender, intended purchases, and/or any similar particulars
generally used in market research.
[0135] The server arrangement 30 may first convert the retrieved
information into a certain format before mailing it to the return
address. It is to be appreciated that the format may include any
suitable electronic format in which information can be mailed to an
e-mail address, such as HTML, TXT, and/or the like.
[0136] The server arrangement 30 is generally adapted to compile a
profile by monitoring the information e-mailed to a particular
return address over a period of time and electronically indicate on
the profile the type of information requested so that a history of
requests is formed. It is to be appreciated that such a profile of
a requester includes the personal particulars of that requester
along with a history of requests made by the requester, and that
this profile is useable for market research purposes.
[0137] The server arrangement 30 may compile the profile by
submitting an electronic questionnaire along with the information
to the return address which questionnaire is based on the history
of requests and/or profile details of that particular requester.
For example, a requester has previously requested information about
cars, and in his next request a questionnaire is included asking
questions relating to cars. It is to be appreciated that the
request which includes the questionnaire about cars, need not
necessarily relate to cars.
[0138] Accordingly, the e-mail server 34 may receive the completed
questionnaire from the requester, and the server arrangement 30
then updates the profile of the requester with any relevant
information contained in the completed questionnaire.
[0139] The system 39 for conducting research further includes a
plurality of first systems or server arrangements 30, as described
above, for different customers, along with a global server 40
arranged in electronic communication with the plurality of first
systems 30 which global server 40 is configured to update a global
requester profile database stored on the global server 40 with
requester profiles from the server arrangements 30 so that a global
database of profiles is created for market research purposes.
[0140] It is to be appreciated that reference numeral 30 in FIG. 2
refers to a first system and to the server arrangement, as these
are in effect the same thing when referring to the global system
39.
[0141] The server arrangement 30 may verify whether or not the
return address has been previously registered by checking if the
return address is registered on that particular server arrangement
30.
[0142] Accordingly, the server arrangement 30 of the first system
30 may verify whether or not a return address of a requester 38 has
previously been registered by checking if the return address is
registered on the global server 40. It is to be appreciated that
the return address of a requester is only required to be registered
once on any one of the server arrangements 30. After first
registration, the global server 40 updates the global requester
profile database to include an new return addresses. Any server
arrangement 30 is then able to access the global database to
ascertain whether or not a return address has previously been
registered.
[0143] It is to be appreciated that the server whereby the
registration of a return address is verified and, if not
registered, the subsequent registration thereof, may accordingly
include the e-mail server 34 of the server arrangement 30, the
information server 36 of the server arrangement 30, and/or the
global server 40.
[0144] It is further to be appreciated that, when an e-mail server
34 of a server arrangement or first system receives a request, the
server arrangement 30 will typically first check whether or not the
return address is registered on that particular server arrangement
30, and if not, the server arrangement 30 will check the global
server 40 to see if the return address is registered, before
registering the return address.
[0145] The global server 40 may be a single conventional computer
server. Otherwise, the global server 40 may include a plurality of
conventional computer servers arranged in communication to form a
single global server.
[0146] It is to be appreciated that by having a global server 40, a
requester is only required to register once. Thereafter, a server
arrangement 30 or first system 30 will automatically determine from
the global server 40 that the return address is valid and any
requests made by the particular requester will update his profile
accordingly on the global server 40.
[0147] The global server 40 may update the global profile database
by receiving an update from the server arrangement or first system
30 when information is e-mailed to a return address. Otherwise, the
global server 40 may update the database by periodically accessing
the server arrangement 30 and updating the profiles in the global
database with any new requester particulars or history of requests
stored by the server arrangement 30.
[0148] It is to be appreciated that a requester may be individually
registered on the server arrangement 30 and that the global server
40 typically cross references these registration details between
the server arrangements 30 or the first systems on the global
database to enable the compiling of a more detailed profile on the
global database than a profile stored individually on a single
server arrangement 30. Similarly, a server arrangement or first
system 30 may check the global database to ascertain if the server
arrangement 30 has an up-to-date profile of a requester.
[0149] As described above, the system 39 incorporates a plurality
of first systems or server arrangements 30, with the purpose of
combining the results obtained by each separate system 30 for
conducting market research on a global scale, as opposed to the
system 30 being able to conduct research only on a "local" scale.
Each server arrangement 30 typically represents an individual
customer, e.g. audi.com, sony.com, or the like.
[0150] It is further to be appreciated that the global server 40
may classify the monitored requests according to certain groups of
information, e.g. all requests relating to cars in general can be
classified under a general group so that a customer is able to
perform market analysis for these specific groups.
[0151] It is to be appreciated that the steps of the methods
described above are generally performed by a software application
running on the relevant server.
[0152] Accordingly, the present invention permits a website and
specific page within a website to be assigned an e-mail address to
permit the page to be accessed via an e-mail application. The
e-mail address would define the page being accessed and would allow
a consumer to send this e-mail from their e-mail application, the
e-mail would be received by the website, and an application of the
present invention installed on the website would access the web
page assigned to the e-mail address, compile the page in a format
capable of being viewed by an e-mail application and return the
page to the consumer's inbox.
[0153] Previously, accessing a web page or website would require a
user of the Internet to make use of Internet browser software e.g.
"Microsoft Internet Explorer" to type in a specific URL address
e.g. "www.audi.com" which would retrieve the web page from the web
server hosting the website and load the web page into the web
browsers viewing window. The present invention will permit the
owners of websites like e-commerce websites, or websites owned by
specific companies and brands to make use of the invention as an
application installed onto their web server hosting their website
pages to allow them to program and assign specific e-mail addresses
to specific web page "URL addresses". These e-mail addresses could
be assigned to specific categories of products within their website
e.g. "hometheater@sony.com", individual product names e.g.
"v200@samsung.com" or specific information within their website
e.g. "newreleases@nokia.com" to allow the specific web page and
"URL" to be retrieved by an e-mail application by a consumer
sending an e-mail to the assigned e-mail address.
[0154] For instance, a consumer who would access the "www.audi.com"
website to visit the specific web page and "URL" address providing
detailed information on the Audi A3 vehicle rage e.g. "URL:
www.audi.com/vehicles/3door/A3.html", would in the present
invention simply send an e-mail to "A3@audi.com" and the
application of the invention installed on the web server hosting
the website would receive this e-mail, access the specific "URL"
address and web page assigned to the e-mail, retrieve the page and
compile the page in a format capable of being viewed in an e-mail
message facility and return the page to the consumer's inbox.
[0155] The present invention is used for example, to allow a person
or consumer to retrieve a website or web pages from their e-mail
application using an e-mail address defining the location of the
web page and how the website owners would configure an application
installed on their website server to assign different e-mail
addresses to web pages within their website to allow these pages to
be retrieved by an e-mail application.
[0156] The following description of further embodiments refers to
FIGS. 8, 9 and 10. It is to be appreciated that, in the following
embodiments, the profiles of requesters are stored by the web
servers, and that these embodiments should not be construed to
limit the reasonable scope of the invention.
[0157] FIG. 8 represents a schematic representation of a further
embodiment of the system 39, as described above, for the retrieval
of a web page from an e-mail application according to the present
invention.
[0158] The system 39 includes a requester access terminal 38 in the
form of an Internet enabled workstation or computer associated with
a requester 38 of website information. The e-mail server 34 hosting
the e-mail domain for the relevant website with a mail application
and software application 100 installed to monitor incoming e-mails
requesting website information. The web server 36 hosts the website
domain, web pages and URL addresses of the website associated with
mail server 34. Web server 36 having an application and system
installed 102 with the means of retrieving e-mail requests from
mail server 34 and a means of extracting web pages from web server
36. Web server 36 having a registration repository 104 of
authorized users of the system, such as a mass storage device
associated with the registration of individuals accessing the
website information from web server 36 by requester access terminal
38. The system 39 includes the global server 40 maintaining a mass
storage device associated with the registrations of individuals
accessing information from requester access terminal 38 of web
server 36.
[0159] The requester access terminal 38, mail server 34 including
mail application 100, web server 36 including application system 36
and registration repository 104 and global registration server 40
are all connected by an open communication system that is, in the
embodiment, the Internet 32.
[0160] The requester access terminal 38 has an e-mail message
facility thereon capable of receiving and sending e-mail messages.
When an individual of requester access terminal 38 wishes to access
a specific web page stored on web server 36 the individual would
send an e-mail from his e-mail application, which would be received
by mail server 34 hosting the specific e-mail domain of the website
stored on web server 36. Making use of an e-mail address example
"a3@audi.com", an individual of requester access terminal 38 would
send an e-mail to access specific information about the Audi A3
Vehicle model, e.g. "a3@audi.com". The e-mail would be routed via
the Internet 32 to the relevant e-mail server 34 hosting the e-mail
domain of "audi.com". A specific e-mail application 100 on mail
server 34 would monitor all incoming e-mails sent to the mail
server 34 and respond only to the e-mail addresses registered on
mail server 34 which are assigned to retrieve specific web pages
from the web server 36 associated with mail server 34. When mail
application 100 finds an e-mail sent to an e-mail address
associated with accessing web page information according to the
invention, e.g. "a3@audi.com". Mail application 100 would
immediately forward the e-mail e.g. "a3@audi.com" to the web
application 102 associated with web server 36 hosting the relevant
web pages of the "Audi A3" from the "www.audi.com" website.
[0161] Application 102 would perform two important tasks. The
application 102 would identify the "from" e-mail address associated
with the e-mail address of requester of access terminal 38 e.g.
"garthlong@yahoo.com" and the "send to" e-mail address e.g.
"a3@audi.com" that the requester from access terminal 38 has sent
the e-mail to. System 39 would require each individual associated
with requester access terminal 38 to be an authorized user of the
system 39 and will require the individual to be registered with the
system 39 in order to retrieve web page information from the
desired web server 36. Application 102 would then first access the
repository of registered users 104 to identify whether or not
requester access terminal 38 has registered to retrieve web page
information from web server 36. Application 102 would identify
within repository 104 a list of "from" addresses associated with
registered users and identify from the list whether or not the
"from" e-mail address e.g. "garthlong@yahoo.com" associated with
requester access terminal 38 matches any of those found in the
registration repository 104. The application and system 36 would
also simultaneously access the global registration server 40 to
identify if the "from" e-mail address associated with requester
access terminal 38 appears within registration server 40
repository. If application 102 does not find the "from" e-mail
address e.g. "garthlong@yahoo.com" associated with the requester of
access terminal 38 registered on either registration repository 104
of web server 36 and global registration repository 40
respectively. Application server 102 would compile a registration
page and immediately forward the registration page to the requester
of access terminal 38. The registration page would arrive in the
"inbox" as an e-mail in the requester's e-mail message facility of
access terminal 38. The requester would then have the opportunity
of registering his e-mail account. The registration page would
either be available in the message window of the e-mail sent to the
requester of access terminal 38 e-mail application, or would
provide a link within the e-mail to view the registration page in a
web browser for completion.
[0162] Registration process of the invention will enable the
requester 38 of information to register his e-mail account to be
authorized to access web page information from websites connected
to the system 39. This registration will provide the website
relevant information on the profiles of individuals accessing
specific web page information from their web site. Registration
information would include, but not be restricted to, information
pertaining to the return e-mail address of the requester, the name
of the requester, age, gender, population group, geographic
location concerning the country, town and city that the requester
originates from. These registration details will provide the
relevant information to the websites who allow web pages to be
retrieved by an e-mail sent from a requesters e-mail application
according to the present invention to understand the profiles of
the individuals accessing their website information. Currently,
when an individual accesses web page information from a website
directly from a web browser, the web browser has no means of
identifying the individuals viewing these pages. E-mail
applications however, can identify individual e-mail requesters
according to their unique e-mail addresses. It is envisaged that
the present invention would greatly enhance the ability of website
owners to identify and understand the exact profiles of their
website visitors by providing access according to the invention
from a consumer e-mail application and by providing a registration
process unique to each consumers e-mail account.
[0163] Once the requester from access terminal 38 has completed the
registration form and submitted the form through the open
communication channel of the Internet 32, the registration form
would be received by application 102 who originally sent the
registration to requester of access terminal 38. Application 102
would then simultaneously register the requester of access terminal
38 registration detail in registration repository 104 located on
web server 36 and the global registration server 40. Once the
registration process has been completed, Application 102 would
access the relevant pages associated with the "send to" e-mail
address e.g. "a3@audi.com" associated with the original e-mail sent
by the requester of access terminal 38 to retrieve web pages from
the relevant website e.g. "ww.audi.com" stored on web server 36,
locate the pages and specific URL addresses associated with e-mail
address e.g. "www.audi.com/newvehicles/a3.html" as explained in
FIG. 1, and compile these page into a format capable of being
transmitted and viewed by and e-mail message facility and send this
information in an e-mail to the "from" e-mail address e.g.
"garthlong@yahoo.com" associated with the requester access terminal
38.
[0164] Numerous modifications are possible to this embodiment
without departing from the scope of the invention. FIG. 9 and FIG.
10 provide further possible modifications to the system without
departing from the scope of the invention.
[0165] In FIG. 9, system 39 may be modified according to the
following embodiment. Mail server 34 may host more than one e-mail
domain, e.g. "@audi.com, @sony.com, @uspto.gov". E-mails sent to
mail server 34 from requester access terminal 38, would be
retrieved and collected by mail application 100 and distributed and
forwarded to the relevant web servers 36 hosting the relevant web
page information. These web servers 36 would make use of their own
applications 102 to deal with registration as mentioned in the
above embodiment as well as collect web page information from their
own web servers 36 and return this information according to the
method of the present invention to requester access terminal
38.
[0166] Similarly, in FIG. 10, there may be provided access
according to the present invention for a multitude of requester's
associated with access terminal 38 to send e-mails to retrieve web
pages from different websites that may be received by multiple mail
servers 34 that may be responsible for the hosting of these e-mail
domains. These mail servers 34 would, in turn, deal with the
processes of the invention as discussed in the proffered embodiment
detailed above in FIG. 8.
[0167] Referring to FIG. 9, the following process details the
preferred embodiment of the registration process of requester
access terminal 38. The registration process is meant to provide a
simple method of updating multiple web servers 36 connected to the
system 39 of the present invention with the registration detail of
requesters accessing information across different websites in order
to provide requester of access terminal 38 the benefit of a once
off registration process that can be verified by different web
servers 34 connected to the system 39.
[0168] Currently, when accessing an Internet website from a web
browser, visitors who want to access specific information requiring
a registration process would be required to register with that
website to access the information. Once registered the information
would become available. This process is duplicated for each website
the visitor accesses through their web browser, meaning that each
website provides its own registration process independent of all
other websites. Web browsers as mentioned above, can't distinguish
between visitors accessing information. E-mail applications
however, provide a unique e-mail account for each individual, which
in turn would identify the individual accessing web page content
from their e-mail applications as provided within the embodiment of
this invention. The registration process of the invention would
allow individuals who access and retrieve website information from
their e-mail applications, the convenience of completing only one
registration process. Once registered, their registration would be
available to all websites connected to the system by the processes
involved with these websites as detailed within the embodiment of
the invention to access a global registration server that can
verify the registration details of all requesters who have
previously used the system.
[0169] FIG. 9 can be used to describe in detail the registration
process of the invention. Each web server 36 maintains a repository
104 of their own registered users of requester access terminal 38
who have retrieved web pages from their e-mail applications
specific to the individual web servers 36. Registered users across
all web servers 36 will simultaneously register their visitors with
a global registration server 40 containing a large repository of
all registered users associated with requester access terminal 38.
Global registration server 40 will connect all web servers 36 using
the system by an open communication channel that is the Internet
32.
[0170] Registration details will identify the requester from his
"from" e-mail address e.g. "garthlong@hayoo.com" associated with
requesters of access terminal 38 that sends an e-mail to any of the
web servers 36 to retrieve web page information, and identify
whether or not the requester 38 has registered his e-mail account
and completed the registration form. If requester from access
terminal 38 has accessed a web page and has already registered with
web server 36 his registration details will be stored in
registration repository 104 and application system 102 would also
simultaneously register the individual with global registration
server 40. If requester access terminal 38 accesses web pages from
his e-mail application from web server 36 for the first time,
application system 102 would first check whether or not the "from"
e-mail address e.g. "garthlong@yahoo.com" of the requester access
terminal 38 is registered in registration repository 104 of web
server 36, and if nothing is found the application system 102 would
then access the global registration repository 40 to find out
whether or not the requester of access terminal 38 had previously
accessed the system through any other web server 36 connected to
the system and was registered in the global registration repository
40. Because requester access terminal 38 had previously accessed a
web page connected to the system from his e-mail application, and
completed the registration process, his registration details would
appear in the global registration repository 40 along with his
"from" e-mail address e.g. "garthlong@yahoo.com" identifying the
his registration and his return address. Registration repository 40
would confirm the registration and simultaneously register the
details of the requester with registration repository 104 of web
server 36. Having identified, the requester of access terminal 38,
the application system 102 of web server 36 would immediately
retrieve the desired web pages associated with the "sent to" e-mail
address stored in the web server 36 to the "from" e-mail address of
the requester of access terminal 38 and return the pages in an
e-mail to the requester without requiring any new registration.
[0171] Numerous modifications are possible to this embodiment
without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, the
e-mail sent to the mail server 34 may include a subject and message
which would not depart from the scope of the invention, also
subject field may include an instruction to allow the e-mail sent
to the website where web pages are being retrieved to either
forward the desired web page to a different e-mail address or
instruct the website to return the information in a particular
format. For instance, the "from" e-mail address may be e.g.
"garthlong@yahoo.com", but in the subject of the e-mail sent to the
web server an e-mail address (SUBJECT: john@hotmail.com) may
instruct the desired web page to be return to the "from" e-mail
address and also forward to the e-mail address stated in the
subject field. The subject may also include more than one e-mail
address, (SUBJECT: john@hotmail.com, edward@yahoo.com,
candy@mailbox.com), which would instruct the web server to forward
the desired web page to more than one requester. Similarly, the
subject filed in the sent e-mail may instruct the web server
receiving the e-mail to return the desired web page in a particular
format. For instance (SUBJECT: txt, or SUBJECT: html, or SUBJECT:
Attachment) would instruct the web page to either be return to the
requester inbox as a "TXT" page with no graphics or a "HTML" page
similar to what would-be found on the web page viewed in a web
browser or as an attachment or document in the returned e-mail from
the website.
[0172] Numerous modifications are possible to this embodiment
without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, the
content of the desired web page extracted from the website may be
modified by the system 39 in order to be viewed by an e-mail
message viewing window. The returned e-mail may include a link to
view the specific web page in a web browser or send the entire web
page and all related web pages directly to the e-mail message
viewing window, allowing the requester to click on buttons and
links within the e-mail and have the new content uploaded into the
e-mail message window without having to open a new page or view the
content in a web browser. In addition, web page content may be
constructed in any viewable format capable of being viewed by a web
browser or e-mail message facility. Web page content returned by
the present invention in an e-mail to the requester could include
but not be restricted to, TEXT based content, HTML, or vector based
graphics like the popular macromedia flash, java applets and
language or any web based language capable of viewed by a web
browser software or e-mail software.
[0173] A specific embodiment and application of the invention is
now described below.
[0174] FIG. 11 describes a specific application and use of the
system as an airline destination travel and booking system. The
workings of FIG. 11 represents the same processes for retrieving
web pages, registering and receiving a specific web page content
from an e-mail application as described in detail in FIG. 2 above.
It is the intentions of this embodiment to provide a specific use
of the system 39 to be included into the embodiment of the
invention. Where as in the previously mentioned embodiment of the
invention, a requester of access terminal 38 would be able to
access a web page stored on web server 36 by sending an e-mail
describing the page being accessed in the e-mail address as
described in FIG. 4, and then having the web server 36 receive the
request for this desired web page, process and verify the requester
access terminal 38 registration through the web server's 36
registration repository 104 and the global registration server 40,
before returning the desired web page to the requester access
terminal 38. It is the intentions of the modifications in the
process of FIG. 11, to provide a convenient method of accessing
specific airline and travel bookings information that can be
accessed by the sending of and e-mail to the desired web server
hosting the application and system of the invention to retrieve
this information.
[0175] Currently, online airline bookings require a consumer to
visit the airlines website to make travel arrangements. Online
airline booking systems make use of sophisticated software systems
and repositories to manage airline seat availability, flight
schedules etc. It is the intentions of this new embodiment of the
invention to provide a simple and convenient method of accessing
specific departure and destination travel information by making use
of an e-mail application to access this information without having
to visit the airlines website from a web browser.
[0176] To access flight and travel information from an airline,
requester access terminal 38 would use his e-mail application and
the e-mail request as described in FIG. 4 above to send an e-mail
to the desired airline of choice represented by web server 36 in
FIG. 11. In the "send to" e-mail address as described in FIG. 4
above, the requester of access terminal 38 of the modified system
of FIG. 11 would type in the departure city and destination city of
his intended flight booking request, e.g. "londonnewyork@ba.com".
The departure city "London" at the start of the e-mail address
followed by the destination city "newyork" before the "@" sign of
the e-mail address. "ba.com" after the @ sign would represent the
requester of access terminal 38 intentions of booking a trip with a
specific airline of choice, e.g. "British Airlines"
[0177] Included in the e-mail request as illustrated and explained
in FIG. 4, the requester of access terminal 38 of the modified
system of FIG. 11 would include a departure date followed by a
return date in the "Subject filed" of the e-mail request as
described in FIG. 4. e.g. "SUBJECT: 13 June-29 June". Connected to
the modified system of FIG. 11 is an airline booking system 106,
this booking system 106 would hold all the information of flight
schedules, booking information etc needed for any one accessing the
airlines online booking system from a web browser to make a flight
booking. Application system 102 of FIG. 11 would have a means of
accessing Booking system 106 of FIG. 11 and according to the
original e-mail as described in FIG. 4, requested in the "send to"
e-mail address e.g. "londonnewyork@ba.com" and the departure and
return dates in the "Subject field" of the e-mail request e.g. "13
June-29 June". The application system 102 of FIG. 11 would collect
from booking system 106 the relevant flight booking information and
costs and return the information to Requester Access Terminal 38
from FIG. 11 all the information required to make a flight
booking.
[0178] Still further features of the invention as indicated by the
modified system of FIG. 11 would include an Agent Access Terminal
108, associated with any Internet enabled workstation capable of
accessing the Internet. Web server 36 would provide access to a web
based application accessible through the airlines website. This web
based application would be designed to provide car rental
companies, hotels, guesthouses etc, the ability to access a web
based system provided by the web server 36. These organizations
would be provided a login password to access a system to allow them
to register their particular offering. They would register
themselves in either car hire or accommodation and then be able to
provide their detailed information, price list, services etc. These
registered agents will then be added to the destination travel of
the airline booking system 106 of modified FIG. 11. When web server
36 returns flight booking information to the requester access
terminal 38 the booking system 106 would also include in the web
page returned to the requesters e-mail information pertaining to
car hire and accommodation specific to the requesters destination
travel e.g. "newyork" as mentioned above in the e-mail request.
[0179] Numerous modifications are possible to this embodiment
without departing from the scope of the invention.
[0180] It will be appreciated that the system 39 may be applied, in
a further preferred embodiment, to provide in addition to the
various modification as discussed above, a market research
application for website owners connected to the system and
companies with specific market research needs to enable them to
make use of the system to disseminate research questionnaires to
the consumers accessing specific web page content from their e-mail
applications. This application is described hereunder:
[0181] Market research conducted on the web has been a popular
method of ascertaining the perceptions of consumers about companies
and their brands and products and service that they offer.
Understanding consumer buying criteria and the decision making
process that leads to a sale is critical to all companies to best
understand their markets and to assist these companies in
developing marketing and sales strategies to target these
consumers. Currently marker research conducted on the web relies on
research surveys that are included on various websites targeting
the profiles of the website visited to specific research interest
groups. These surveys are either included in the web page or are
initiated within a pop-up window containing the research survey.
These profiles are specific to the websites visited, as there is no
way of identifying each web visitor, e.g., age, population group,
name, country of origin etc who access the website from their web
browser as mentioned earlier. This process becomes problematic for
researches as certain research questionnaires targeting a specific
profile of consumers visiting a website, may be targeted towards a
completely incorrect consumer. For instance a research
questionnaire may target a specific market research group
associated with the purchase decision making process and spending
patterns of credit card consumers in the US, various websites may
be targeted to display these research questionnaires, but because
the web browsers of consumers accessing these websites have no way
of knowing who these web visitors are, the questionnaire may be
displayed to a consumer resident in the UK, who would obviously not
be relevant for the questions being asked.
[0182] Also, research companies have developed over the years a
vast e-mail database of consumer that is frequently used to take
part in e-mail research on behalf of their clients. These forms of
research however are unable to target consumers with specific
research questionnaires at the exact time of being interested in a
certain product or service. For instance, if a research knew the
demographic profile of a consumer e.g. "age, income, bracket,
location" who had accessed a web page specific to a brand of mobile
phone, a system could be initialised to collect research
questionnaires specific to that consumer interest and/or profile,
or even a research survey specific to a client in the mobile phone
market at the exact time that the consumer accessed the page and
disseminate a research questionnaire to that consumer. It is
sometimes difficult to get accurate information about a purchase
decision or about a specific category of product if the consumer
targeted has no interest in the product category or has no
interest-at that time to understand why he would buy a product that
he would not be purchasing soon anyway.
[0183] It is envisaged, in the current invention that such a
research tool could be effectively utilised due to the nature of
the invention providing detailed profiling of each consumer
accessing specific product and web page information from his or her
e-mail applications. The opportunity exist within the current
invention to target research questionnaires or individual questions
to consumers making use of the current invention by making use of
the registration process and the specific web pages being accesses
as a reference point to disseminate research questions to these
individuals directly in the e-mail communication that they receive
from the website that they are accessing. It is envisaged that such
a research application could dramatically increase the
target-ability of research questionnaires as well as the ability
for researchers to disseminate research questionnaires more
accurately to the relevant target groups of consumers that best fit
the profiles of their research questionnaires making use of the
Internet.
[0184] A detailed embodiment of the inclusion of a research system
to the invention is now described below.
[0185] For example, the requester access terminal 38 will make use
of his e-mail message facility and the same "e-mail request" as
described in FIG. 4 to access web page content from the desired web
server 36. The registration verification process determining
whether or not requester access terminal 38 is a registered user of
the system and processes of verifying registrations and registering
users, making use of registration repository 104 and global
registration server 40 is used without any modification as
represented in the embodiment of the present invention.
[0186] The methods of disseminating research questionnaires of the
present invention are now discussed. Global research server and
repository 40 stores registration details or profiles for all web
servers 36 connected to the system 39 through the open
communication system that is the Internet 32, is connected to a
research application server (not shown) included in the global
server 40, that has the specific application installed to create
research questions and disseminate these questions to the
appropriate e-mail requester according to their registration
details. Research application server (not shown), having a means of
creating a research questionnaire capable of being sent to an
e-mail message facility will assign specific research
questionnaires to be distributed to the profiles of registered
users of global registration repository 40. For instance, global
research server and repository 40 provides registration details for
registered users retrieving web pages from web servers 36 connected
to the system according to age, income brackets, population groups
and geographic location specific to countries and regions. Research
application (not shown) will have a means of assigning a specific
research questionnaire or specific research questions to be only
distributed to requesters that fit a certain profile, e.g. "Age:
18-24, Population group: White & Hispanic, Country: USA".
Registration repository 40 is connected to all web servers 36
connected to the system and is involved with the registration and
verification of every web page requested from requester access
terminal 38. When a requester of access terminal 38 sends an e-mail
to retrieve a web page from web server 36 and the registration
details match those of a research questionnaire available in
research server and application (not shown). Research server and
application (not shown) will send the research questionnaire
through the open communication system of the Internet 32 to
application system 102 associated with server 36 and instruct
application system 102 to include the research questionnaire in the
e-mail returned to the assigned requester of access terminal 38.
Application system 102 will retrieve the web pages associated with
the e-mail request from the requester of access terminal 38 from
web server 36 and will compile these pages in a format capable of
being retrieved by the e-mail message facility of requester access
terminal 38. Before returning the e-mail to the requester as
provided in the modification of the system making provision for a
research system, application system 102 will insert the research
questionnaire assigned to the requester from research server and
application (not shown) and will return the e-mail including the
research questionnaire to the requester of access terminal 38.
[0187] Once a research questionnaire has been completed by
requester of access terminal 38, the answers will be returned
through the open communication channel of the Internet to research
server and application (not shown). Completed answers for
individual requester form requester access terminal 38 will be
stored in mass storage device, and the application of research
server and application (not shown) will have a statistical analysis
system included thereon to provide detailed research statistics on
the complete questioners.
[0188] While research server and application (not shown) is able to
disseminate research questionnaires to all web servers connected to
the system. The system also makes provision for each web server 36
connected to the system of the invention to have the research
application (not shown) installed on the global server 40 to allow
web server 36 and application system 102 to disseminate their own
research questionnaires to their own consumers requesting
information from their unique web pages stored on web server 36.
This will provide a respective website connected to the system e.g.
"www.audi.com" the ability to target research questions to their
own consumers who have an interest in their products. Research
application (not shown) will make use of registration repository
104 to assign research questions to the appropriate profiles of
consumers requesting web page information as-discussed above, and
application system 102 will insert the research questionnaire in
the e-mail returned to the appropriate requester of access terminal
38 who retrieves web pages from web server 36 from their e-mail
message facility.
[0189] Once a research questionnaire has been completed by
requester of access terminal 38, the answers will be returned
through the open communication channel of the Internet 32 to
research application (not shown). Completed answers for individual
requester form requester access terminal 38 will be stored in mass
storage device, and the application of research application (not
shown) of-web server 36 will have a statistical analysis system
included thereon to provide detailed research statistics on the
complete questioners.
[0190] It shall be understood that the examples are provided for
illustrating the invention further and to assist a person skilled
in the art with understanding the invention and is not meant to be
construed as unduly limiting the reasonable scope of the
invention.
[0191] The Inventor regards it as an advantage that the invention
facilitates the quick and efficient provision of website
information to a requester without the requester having to search
on a network. A further advantage of the invention is the ability
to send unsolicited e-mails to a requester to inform the requester
about products without resorting to spam e-mails, as the requester
has authorised the e-mail. The Invention further provides for an
improvement to existing online market research methodologies by
being able to identify a requester along with the information that
he requests so that a market profile may be compiled for that
requester. Furthermore, the Invention enables the monitoring of
subsequent requests made by a requester so that the profile for
that requester can be kept up to date. A further advantage is that
promotional information may be sent to the requester according to
the interests of the requester as indicated by his profile.
* * * * *
References