US20050171859A1 - Augmentation of lead with attractiveness information from external source - Google Patents

Augmentation of lead with attractiveness information from external source Download PDF

Info

Publication number
US20050171859A1
US20050171859A1 US10/979,631 US97963104A US2005171859A1 US 20050171859 A1 US20050171859 A1 US 20050171859A1 US 97963104 A US97963104 A US 97963104A US 2005171859 A1 US2005171859 A1 US 2005171859A1
Authority
US
United States
Prior art keywords
information
lead
sales lead
sales
information database
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Abandoned
Application number
US10/979,631
Inventor
Gerard Harrington
Greg Daniels
Eugene Wada
Steve Center
Michael Keranen
Suresh Nair
Jim Dudley
John Fulcher
Melveen Fredeluces
Dave Mateer
Roy Nakahira
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Honda Motor Co Ltd
Original Assignee
Honda Motor Co Ltd
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Honda Motor Co Ltd filed Critical Honda Motor Co Ltd
Priority to US10/979,631 priority Critical patent/US20050171859A1/en
Assigned to HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD. reassignment HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD. ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS). Assignors: CENTER, STEVE, DUDLEY, JIM, FREDELUCES, MELVEEN, KERANEN, MICHAEL, MATEER, DAVE, NAIR, SURESH, NAKAHIRA, ROY, WADA, EUGENE, DANIELS, GREG, FULCHER, JOHN, HARRINGTON, GERARD
Publication of US20050171859A1 publication Critical patent/US20050171859A1/en
Abandoned legal-status Critical Current

Links

Images

Classifications

    • GPHYSICS
    • G06COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06QINFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • G06Q10/00Administration; Management
    • G06Q10/10Office automation; Time management
    • GPHYSICS
    • G06COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06QINFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • G06Q30/00Commerce
    • G06Q30/02Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
    • G06Q30/0207Discounts or incentives, e.g. coupons or rebates
    • G06Q30/0234Rebates after completed purchase
    • GPHYSICS
    • G06COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06QINFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • G06Q30/00Commerce
    • G06Q30/06Buying, selling or leasing transactions
    • G06Q30/0601Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
    • GPHYSICS
    • G06COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06QINFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • G06Q40/00Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes
    • GPHYSICS
    • G06COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06QINFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • G06Q40/00Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes
    • G06Q40/03Credit; Loans; Processing thereof

Definitions

  • the present invention relates generally to the management and development of sales leads. More specifically, the disclosure relates to methods of augmenting leads with supplemental information useful for developing the leads.
  • Leads can be generated in many different ways. For example, a customer of the business might refer a new customer, resulting in a lead for that new customer. Or, potential customer might request information from the company, resulting in a lead for that potential customer. Often, lists of people and associated demographic data are purchased from business that assemble and sell such lists, and the information is used to develop potential leads for would-be customers. As is well-understood in the business world, leads can manifest in a variety of different forms, and can be valuable tools for new business generation if used effectively.
  • sales leads generally include only very basic information, such as identification of a potential customer and identification of a product or service that the customer may be likely to purchase.
  • lead information due to the common constraint of having to create universally formatted sales leads makes it difficult for the ultimate recipients of the sales leads to fully develop the leads and make a sale.
  • a method of developing a sales lead includes receiving a sales lead from a sales lead source, including an identification of a potential customer, requesting supplemental information from an information database relevant to the likelihood that the potential customer will make a purchase, receiving the supplemental information from the information database, and delivering the sales lead to a recipient for follow-up together with attractiveness information relevant to the likelihood that the potential customer will make a purchase based on the supplemental information received from the information database.
  • computer-readable media embodying a program of instructions is executable by a computer to perform a method of developing a sales lead.
  • the method includes receiving a sales lead from a sales lead source, including an identification of a potential customer, requesting supplemental information from an information database relevant to the likelihood that the potential customer will make a purchase, receiving the supplemental information from the information database, and delivering the sales lead to a recipient for follow-up together with attractiveness information relevant to the likelihood that the potential customer will make a purchase based on the supplemental information received from the information database.
  • a lead development system includes an input port configured to receive a sales lead from a sales lead source, including an identification of a potential customer, a processor configured to request supplemental information from an information database relevant to the likelihood that the potential customer will make a purchase, the processor further configured to receive the supplemental information from the information database, and an output port configured to send the sales lead to a recipient for follow-up together with attractiveness information relevant to the likelihood that the potential customer will make a purchase based on the supplemental information received from the information database.
  • a lead development system includes means for receiving a sales lead from a sales lead source, including an identification of a potential customer, means for requesting supplemental information from an information database relevant to the likelihood that the potential customer will make a purchase, means for receiving the supplemental information from the information database, and means for delivering the sales lead to a recipient for follow-up together with attractiveness information relevant to the likelihood that the potential customer will make a purchase based on the supplemental information received from the information database.
  • FIG. 1 illustrates components of a system for developing a sales lead
  • FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating a method of developing a sales lead
  • FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating an additional method of developing a sales lead.
  • FIG. 4 illustrates computer readable media embodying a program of instructions executable by a computer to perform a method of developing a sales lead.
  • FIG. 1 illustrates components of a system for developing a sales lead.
  • a sales lead source 100 may interact with people, collect information from them, and generate sales leads relating to those people.
  • the sales leads may be collected for the purpose of generating sales by eventual recipients of the leads.
  • a sales lead based on information collected from a person 102 may indicate to an eventual recipient 104 of the sales lead, which products or services the person 102 may be likely to purchase from the recipient.
  • the sales lead may include identification information to assist the recipient 104 in locating the person 102 to whom the sales lead relates.
  • the sales lead may comprise software code describing the identification information.
  • the software code may be organized into various fields that contain data representing the identification information.
  • the identification information may include, for example, location information, basic demographic information, contact information and the like.
  • the sales lead may also include product identification information related to the product or service that the person 104 may be likely to purchase.
  • the sales lead source 100 may be, for example, data collection agency, a product manufacturer or a retailer.
  • the recipient 104 may be, for example, a retailer or direct seller of products or services to people such as the person 102 .
  • a sales lead development system including a computing system 106 may be used to perform a method of developing the sales lead that was obtained by the sales lead source 100 .
  • the computing system 106 may be in communication with an information database 108 .
  • the information database 108 may comprise, for example, an SQL server, though it will be recognized by those skilled in the art that other databases may also be implemented in accordance with the teachings herein.
  • the information database 108 and computing system 106 may be a single entity or two or more individual entities communicatively operated to each other.
  • the information database 108 may be at the same location as the computing system 106 , as indicated by box 110 . Alternatively, the information database 108 may be at a location that is remote to the computing system 106 , as indicated by dividing line 112 .
  • Information for populating the information database 108 may be obtained, for example, from third party service providers or other sources of public information that may be relevant to targeted product sales. Information may also be obtained, for example, from proprietary sources such as from product retailers themselves. Proprietary information may include information regarding contact made between a retailer or sales lead source and potential consumers, such as telephone inquiries by a potential consumer, brochure requests, marketing campaign mailing lists, and the like. Proprietary information may also include data regarding sales history of previous customers, for example. Such proprietary information may be collected from customers or potential customers at the time of a sale or sales pitch, or via post-sales surveys, then retained for use in the information database 108 for developing future leads, as will be described in further detail below.
  • the information database 108 may also include information regarding the location of particular lead recipients, which can be matched to location information of a person identified in a sales lead in order to direct a lead to the most appropriately or conveniently located recipient. Moreover, the information database 108 may include relationship information regarding particular lead recipients and their known customers, which can also be matched to location information of a person identified in a sales lead in order to direct a lead to recipients with whom a customer has had previous contact. Additionally, the information database may include data indicative of a previous customer's perceived experience with a particular lead recipients, so that sales leads can be directed to recipients with whom an identified person had a positive experience, and diverted from recipients with whom an identified person had a negative experience.
  • the information database 108 may include supplemental information such as information about the products or services offered by the recipient 104 , information about the person 102 , or information about other details relevant to developing the sales lead.
  • the information database 108 may include statistical information indicative of how demographic information relates to the probability of a particular person consummating a sale.
  • the information database 108 may also include information regarding purchase histories of past customers of the recipient 104 , such as which products or services a past customer has purchased, the frequency with which such purchases have been made, the most recent date of such a purchase, and other related statistical information.
  • the information database 108 may also include current ownership information, such as which products the person 102 currently owns.
  • Such information may indicate whether the person 102 owns products sold by the recipient 104 , or similar products sold by competitors of the recipient 104 .
  • the information database 108 may also include information such as decision factors important to the person 102 when making purchase decisions, financial attributes of the person 102 , and other purchase potential indicia.
  • the information database 108 may also include information indicative of the person's ongoing contact with a lead recipient 104 , such as post-purchase service calls and the like. It will be recognized by those skilled in the art that many other types of supplemental information may be useful for evaluating the sales lead, and that the examples discussed above are illustrative but not exhaustive.
  • FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary method of developing a sales lead.
  • the method may be performed by a computing system, such as one having the components illustrated in FIG. 1 .
  • a computing system receives a sales lead from a sales lead source.
  • the computing system may request supplemental information from the information database 202 .
  • the request may be formatted as a query to the information database.
  • Multiple requests may be submitted by the computing system, and programming logic to manage a queue of requests may be implemented in accordance with the teachings herein.
  • Requests may be initialized in real-time, such as by a computing system configured to enhance sales leads as they are received.
  • requests may be submitted in batch processes, such as at certain pre-programmed times of the day.
  • the supplemental information may be relevant to the person, product, service or other subject of the sales lead.
  • a database management system may identify information in the information database that is relevant to the sales lead, and return the identified supplemental information to the computing system.
  • the computing system receives the supplemental information, which it may then use to evaluate and develop the sales lead.
  • the computing system may determine “attractiveness information” for the sales lead, based upon the received supplemental information.
  • the term “attractiveness information” refers to information indicative of the likelihood or probability that a sales lead can be developed into an actual sale.
  • attractiveness information may include a rating of the sales lead as compared to other sales leads, a calculated probability that a given sales lead can be developed into an actual sale, or other indicia of the value of the sales lead.
  • the supplemental information is relevant to the person, products or other aspects of the sales lead, and because it may be indicative of the probability that the sales lead will result in an eventual sale, the supplemental information can be utilized to determine how likely it is that the person identified in the sales lead will make a purchase. This determination may constitute attractiveness information for the sales lead.
  • a received sales lead may include information about a person and information about a product he is interested in purchasing.
  • the personal information may include the person's name, basic demographic information, address, and contact telephone number.
  • the product information may include a type of consumer product that the person is in the market to purchase.
  • the computing system may formulate a relevant query, with which it may request supplemental information about the person or the, product from an information database.
  • the information database may contain, for example, data related to which versions of the product type identified in the sales lead are most popular in the demographics that are identified in the sales lead. This supplemental “popularity” information may be sent back to the computing system, which can in turn use the information to assess how attractive the sales lead is for the given person and product.
  • the lead may not be likely to result in a sale and may thus be an unattractive lead. If, on the other hand, the identified product type is prevalent among members of the identified demographic, the lead may be more likely to result in a sale and may thus be considered an attractive lead.
  • This determination constitutes attractiveness information that can be quantified and added to the sales lead in order to supplement its contents and make them more useful to the eventual recipient, as will be discussed in further detail below. It is to be understood that the foregoing example is only one type of attractiveness information that can be assessed, and uses only one type of supplemental information that may be useful in determining attractiveness information.
  • the sales lead may be formatted as a data object having various fields for personal identification information, product identification, and the like.
  • a separate field may be included in the sales lead to contain attractiveness information where available.
  • attractiveness information may be determined as explained above, the information may be inserted into the field, thereby modifying the sales lead by including the new information.
  • the modified sales lead thus enhanced, as it includes both the original information and the newly determined attractiveness information.
  • the modified sales lead is more useful to an eventual recipient, because it includes not just the basic sales lead information, but also information that can assist the recipient in quickly and efficiently determining the value of the sales lead as a potential sale generator.
  • a sales lead recipient may, for example, classify numerous received leads in order of priority, such that greater priority is given to the attractive leads, and fewer efforts are spent on the leads that have been determined to be unattractive.
  • FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating an additional method of developing a sales lead.
  • the additional method is applicable to the method illustrated in FIG. 2 , in which supplemental information may be requested and retrieved from an informational database. This is indicated at arrow 300 .
  • the computing system may use it to calculate a value for the sales lead, as indicated at block 304 .
  • the value may be a numerical measure of the attractiveness of the lead. For example, after the computing system determines based on the supplemental information whether the sales lead is attractive or unattractive, it may assign a low value to an unattractive lead and a high value to a very attractive lead.
  • the calculated value is added to the sales lead.
  • the sales lead is delivered along with the value to the lead recipient. The recipient may access the value from the sales lead in order to quickly evaluate the potential of the lead to generate an actual sale.
  • FIG. 4 illustrates computer readable media embodying a program of instructions executable by a computer to perform a method of developing a sales lead.
  • a computing system 106 may be the same computing system described above with reference to FIG. 1 .
  • the computing system 106 may include input and output ports configured to receive sales lead and supplemental data and transmit queries and modified sales leads, respectively.
  • the computing system 106 may instead include a combined input/output port for this purpose.
  • the computing system 106 may include a memory system having a hard drive, or may include a memory drive such as a CD Rom, disc drive or other type of drive, to receive computer readable media 400 .
  • the computer readable media 400 may embody a program of instructions that is executable by the computing system 106 to perform the methods described above, or any portion thereof.

Abstract

A method of developing a sales lead includes receiving a sales lead from a sales lead source and supplementing it with additional information. The supplemental information may be useful in determining the attractiveness of the sales lead. Attractiveness information may be quantified or otherwise expressed, added to the sales lead, and provided to a sales lead recipient. The sales lead recipient may then quickly and efficiently assess the value of the sales lead.

Description

    CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
  • This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/872,648, filed Jun. 21, 2004, entitled “Systems and Methods of Distributing Centrally Received Leads” (which claims priority to provisional Ser. No. 60/497,378, filed Aug. 22, 2003, entitled “Lead Distribution and Routing Application (LDRA)”), the contents of both of which are incorporated herein by reference. This application is also related to and claims the benefit of the filing date of U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 60/547,356, filed Feb. 23, 2004, entitled “Lead Distribution and Routing System Lead Augmentation: Electronic Customer Relations Management (ECRM),” the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
  • BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
  • 1. Field of the Invention
  • The present invention relates generally to the management and development of sales leads. More specifically, the disclosure relates to methods of augmenting leads with supplemental information useful for developing the leads.
  • 2. Description of Related Art
  • Many businesses involved in sales attempt to generate and utilize leads in order to create new business and increase sales. Leads can be generated in many different ways. For example, a customer of the business might refer a new customer, resulting in a lead for that new customer. Or, potential customer might request information from the company, resulting in a lead for that potential customer. Often, lists of people and associated demographic data are purchased from business that assemble and sell such lists, and the information is used to develop potential leads for would-be customers. As is well-understood in the business world, leads can manifest in a variety of different forms, and can be valuable tools for new business generation if used effectively.
  • Unfortunately, very large companies with multiple points of distribution and sales are faced with difficulties in harnessing and utilizing their leads. Although large expenditures of time and money are often incurred to generate and develop leads, effective use and implementation of the leads has proven to be a formidable task. For example, the need for a large company to distribute leads to many different sales points each having their own lead management requirements often results in universally formatted leads that are limited in the amount and type of content that they can include. Thus, sales leads generally include only very basic information, such as identification of a potential customer and identification of a product or service that the customer may be likely to purchase. The limitation of lead information due to the common constraint of having to create universally formatted sales leads makes it difficult for the ultimate recipients of the sales leads to fully develop the leads and make a sale. Also, it causes recipients to spend equal amounts of time on all sales leads, irrespective of whether some of those leads are more likely than others to lead to actual sales. Thus, sales lead recipients may waste valuable time following-up on unlikely sales leads, when the time would be better spent on sales leads with greater potential, unbeknownst to the recipient of those sales leads.
  • SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
  • In view of the various problems discussed above, there is a need for a method of and system for developing sales leads that includes the inclusion of additional useful information within the sales leads themselves.
  • In one aspect of the present invention, a method of developing a sales lead includes receiving a sales lead from a sales lead source, including an identification of a potential customer, requesting supplemental information from an information database relevant to the likelihood that the potential customer will make a purchase, receiving the supplemental information from the information database, and delivering the sales lead to a recipient for follow-up together with attractiveness information relevant to the likelihood that the potential customer will make a purchase based on the supplemental information received from the information database.
  • In another aspect of the present invention, computer-readable media embodying a program of instructions is executable by a computer to perform a method of developing a sales lead. The method includes receiving a sales lead from a sales lead source, including an identification of a potential customer, requesting supplemental information from an information database relevant to the likelihood that the potential customer will make a purchase, receiving the supplemental information from the information database, and delivering the sales lead to a recipient for follow-up together with attractiveness information relevant to the likelihood that the potential customer will make a purchase based on the supplemental information received from the information database.
  • In yet another aspect of the present invention, a lead development system includes an input port configured to receive a sales lead from a sales lead source, including an identification of a potential customer, a processor configured to request supplemental information from an information database relevant to the likelihood that the potential customer will make a purchase, the processor further configured to receive the supplemental information from the information database, and an output port configured to send the sales lead to a recipient for follow-up together with attractiveness information relevant to the likelihood that the potential customer will make a purchase based on the supplemental information received from the information database.
  • In a further aspect of the present invention, a lead development system includes means for receiving a sales lead from a sales lead source, including an identification of a potential customer, means for requesting supplemental information from an information database relevant to the likelihood that the potential customer will make a purchase, means for receiving the supplemental information from the information database, and means for delivering the sales lead to a recipient for follow-up together with attractiveness information relevant to the likelihood that the potential customer will make a purchase based on the supplemental information received from the information database.
  • It is understood that other embodiments of the present invention will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description, wherein it is shown and described only exemplary embodiments of the invention by way of illustration. As will be realized, the invention is capable of other and different embodiments and its several details are capable of modification in various other respects, all without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Accordingly, the drawings and detailed description are to be regarded as illustrative in nature and not as restrictive.
  • BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
  • Aspects of the present invention are illustrated by way of example, and not by way of limitation, in the accompanying drawings, wherein:
  • FIG. 1 illustrates components of a system for developing a sales lead;
  • FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating a method of developing a sales lead;
  • FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating an additional method of developing a sales lead; and
  • FIG. 4 illustrates computer readable media embodying a program of instructions executable by a computer to perform a method of developing a sales lead.
  • DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS
  • The detailed description set forth below in connection with the appended drawings is intended as a description of exemplary embodiments of the present invention and is not intended to represent the only embodiments in which the present invention can be practiced. The term “exemplary” used throughout this description means “serving as an example, instance, or illustration,” and should not necessarily be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments. The detailed description includes specific details for the purpose of providing a thorough understanding of the present invention. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring the concepts of the present invention.
  • FIG. 1 illustrates components of a system for developing a sales lead. A sales lead source 100 may interact with people, collect information from them, and generate sales leads relating to those people. The sales leads may be collected for the purpose of generating sales by eventual recipients of the leads. For example, a sales lead based on information collected from a person 102 may indicate to an eventual recipient 104 of the sales lead, which products or services the person 102 may be likely to purchase from the recipient. The sales lead may include identification information to assist the recipient 104 in locating the person 102 to whom the sales lead relates. In one embodiment, the sales lead may comprise software code describing the identification information. The software code may be organized into various fields that contain data representing the identification information. It will be recognized by those skilled in the art that the software code may be written in numerous different programming languages, and that the teachings herein are not limited to any particular software type. The identification information may include, for example, location information, basic demographic information, contact information and the like. The sales lead may also include product identification information related to the product or service that the person 104 may be likely to purchase. The sales lead source 100 may be, for example, data collection agency, a product manufacturer or a retailer. The recipient 104 may be, for example, a retailer or direct seller of products or services to people such as the person 102.
  • A sales lead development system including a computing system 106 may be used to perform a method of developing the sales lead that was obtained by the sales lead source 100. The computing system 106 may be in communication with an information database 108. The information database 108 may comprise, for example, an SQL server, though it will be recognized by those skilled in the art that other databases may also be implemented in accordance with the teachings herein. The information database 108 and computing system 106 may be a single entity or two or more individual entities communicatively operated to each other. The information database 108 may be at the same location as the computing system 106, as indicated by box 110. Alternatively, the information database 108 may be at a location that is remote to the computing system 106, as indicated by dividing line 112.
  • Information for populating the information database 108 may be obtained, for example, from third party service providers or other sources of public information that may be relevant to targeted product sales. Information may also be obtained, for example, from proprietary sources such as from product retailers themselves. Proprietary information may include information regarding contact made between a retailer or sales lead source and potential consumers, such as telephone inquiries by a potential consumer, brochure requests, marketing campaign mailing lists, and the like. Proprietary information may also include data regarding sales history of previous customers, for example. Such proprietary information may be collected from customers or potential customers at the time of a sale or sales pitch, or via post-sales surveys, then retained for use in the information database 108 for developing future leads, as will be described in further detail below. The information database 108 may also include information regarding the location of particular lead recipients, which can be matched to location information of a person identified in a sales lead in order to direct a lead to the most appropriately or conveniently located recipient. Moreover, the information database 108 may include relationship information regarding particular lead recipients and their known customers, which can also be matched to location information of a person identified in a sales lead in order to direct a lead to recipients with whom a customer has had previous contact. Additionally, the information database may include data indicative of a previous customer's perceived experience with a particular lead recipients, so that sales leads can be directed to recipients with whom an identified person had a positive experience, and diverted from recipients with whom an identified person had a negative experience.
  • The information database 108 may include supplemental information such as information about the products or services offered by the recipient 104, information about the person 102, or information about other details relevant to developing the sales lead. For example, the information database 108 may include statistical information indicative of how demographic information relates to the probability of a particular person consummating a sale. The information database 108 may also include information regarding purchase histories of past customers of the recipient 104, such as which products or services a past customer has purchased, the frequency with which such purchases have been made, the most recent date of such a purchase, and other related statistical information. The information database 108 may also include current ownership information, such as which products the person 102 currently owns. Such information may indicate whether the person 102 owns products sold by the recipient 104, or similar products sold by competitors of the recipient 104. The information database 108 may also include information such as decision factors important to the person 102 when making purchase decisions, financial attributes of the person 102, and other purchase potential indicia. The information database 108 may also include information indicative of the person's ongoing contact with a lead recipient 104, such as post-purchase service calls and the like. It will be recognized by those skilled in the art that many other types of supplemental information may be useful for evaluating the sales lead, and that the examples discussed above are illustrative but not exhaustive.
  • FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary method of developing a sales lead. The method may be performed by a computing system, such as one having the components illustrated in FIG. 1. In the exemplary method, at block 200 a computing system receives a sales lead from a sales lead source. At block 202, the computing system may request supplemental information from the information database 202. The request may be formatted as a query to the information database. Multiple requests may be submitted by the computing system, and programming logic to manage a queue of requests may be implemented in accordance with the teachings herein. Requests may be initialized in real-time, such as by a computing system configured to enhance sales leads as they are received. Alternatively, requests may be submitted in batch processes, such as at certain pre-programmed times of the day. As discussed above, the supplemental information may be relevant to the person, product, service or other subject of the sales lead. A database management system may identify information in the information database that is relevant to the sales lead, and return the identified supplemental information to the computing system. At block 204, the computing system receives the supplemental information, which it may then use to evaluate and develop the sales lead.
  • At block 206, the computing system may determine “attractiveness information” for the sales lead, based upon the received supplemental information. As used herein, the term “attractiveness information” refers to information indicative of the likelihood or probability that a sales lead can be developed into an actual sale. For example, attractiveness information may include a rating of the sales lead as compared to other sales leads, a calculated probability that a given sales lead can be developed into an actual sale, or other indicia of the value of the sales lead. Because the supplemental information is relevant to the person, products or other aspects of the sales lead, and because it may be indicative of the probability that the sales lead will result in an eventual sale, the supplemental information can be utilized to determine how likely it is that the person identified in the sales lead will make a purchase. This determination may constitute attractiveness information for the sales lead.
  • As an example, a received sales lead may include information about a person and information about a product he is interested in purchasing. The personal information may include the person's name, basic demographic information, address, and contact telephone number. The product information may include a type of consumer product that the person is in the market to purchase. After the computing system receives this particular sales lead, it may formulate a relevant query, with which it may request supplemental information about the person or the, product from an information database. The information database may contain, for example, data related to which versions of the product type identified in the sales lead are most popular in the demographics that are identified in the sales lead. This supplemental “popularity” information may be sent back to the computing system, which can in turn use the information to assess how attractive the sales lead is for the given person and product. For example, if the identified product type is not very popular in the identified demographic, the lead may not be likely to result in a sale and may thus be an unattractive lead. If, on the other hand, the identified product type is prevalent among members of the identified demographic, the lead may be more likely to result in a sale and may thus be considered an attractive lead. This determination constitutes attractiveness information that can be quantified and added to the sales lead in order to supplement its contents and make them more useful to the eventual recipient, as will be discussed in further detail below. It is to be understood that the foregoing example is only one type of attractiveness information that can be assessed, and uses only one type of supplemental information that may be useful in determining attractiveness information.
  • Once the attractiveness information is determined, it may be added to the sales lead, as indicated at block 208. For example, the sales lead may be formatted as a data object having various fields for personal identification information, product identification, and the like. A separate field may be included in the sales lead to contain attractiveness information where available. Thus, when attractiveness information may be determined as explained above, the information may be inserted into the field, thereby modifying the sales lead by including the new information. The modified sales lead thus enhanced, as it includes both the original information and the newly determined attractiveness information. As such, the modified sales lead is more useful to an eventual recipient, because it includes not just the basic sales lead information, but also information that can assist the recipient in quickly and efficiently determining the value of the sales lead as a potential sale generator. By knowing whether or not a particular lead is attractive, a sales lead recipient may, for example, classify numerous received leads in order of priority, such that greater priority is given to the attractive leads, and fewer efforts are spent on the leads that have been determined to be unattractive.
  • FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating an additional method of developing a sales lead. The additional method is applicable to the method illustrated in FIG. 2, in which supplemental information may be requested and retrieved from an informational database. This is indicated at arrow 300. After the supplemental information is received at block 302, as described above, the computing system may use it to calculate a value for the sales lead, as indicated at block 304. The value may be a numerical measure of the attractiveness of the lead. For example, after the computing system determines based on the supplemental information whether the sales lead is attractive or unattractive, it may assign a low value to an unattractive lead and a high value to a very attractive lead. It will be recognized by those skilled in the art that numerous scoring mechanisms are possible and that various types of values may be calculated according to the various types of supplemental information that are available for sales leads. At block 306, the calculated value is added to the sales lead. Finally, at block 308 the sales lead is delivered along with the value to the lead recipient. The recipient may access the value from the sales lead in order to quickly evaluate the potential of the lead to generate an actual sale.
  • FIG. 4 illustrates computer readable media embodying a program of instructions executable by a computer to perform a method of developing a sales lead. A computing system 106 may be the same computing system described above with reference to FIG. 1. The computing system 106 may include input and output ports configured to receive sales lead and supplemental data and transmit queries and modified sales leads, respectively. The computing system 106 may instead include a combined input/output port for this purpose. The computing system 106 may include a memory system having a hard drive, or may include a memory drive such as a CD Rom, disc drive or other type of drive, to receive computer readable media 400. The computer readable media 400 may embody a program of instructions that is executable by the computing system 106 to perform the methods described above, or any portion thereof.
  • The previous description of the disclosed embodiments is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the present invention. Various modifications to these embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Thus, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims (20)

1. A method of developing a sales lead, comprising:
receiving a sales lead from a sales lead source, including an identification of a potential customer;
requesting supplemental information from an information database relevant to the likelihood that the potential customer will make a purchase;
receiving the supplemental information from the information database; and
delivering the sales lead to a recipient for follow-up together with attractiveness information relevant to the likelihood that the potential customer will make a purchase based on the supplemental information received from the information database.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein the information database is located remotely from the sales lead source.
3. The method of claim 1 wherein the receiving the sales lead, the requesting the supplemental information, the receiving the supplemental information, and the delivering the sales lead is performed at a location.
4. The method of claim 3 wherein the information database is located remotely from the location.
5. The method of claim 3 wherein the information database is at the location.
6. The method of claim 5 further comprising storing the sales lead in the information database.
7. The method of claim 1 wherein the information database includes information about products that the potential customer has owned and the received supplemental information includes the ownership information.
8. The method of claim 1 wherein the information database includes information about a product that the potential customer currently owns and the receiving the supplemental information includes this ownership information.
9. The method of claim 8 wherein the product that the potential customer currently owns is of the same type as a product that is the subject of the sales lead.
10. The method of claim 1 further comprising calculating a value representing the likelihood that the sales lead would lead to a purchase based at least in part on the supplemental information.
11. The method of claim 10 wherein the attractiveness information that is delivered to the recipient includes the value.
12. The method of claim 1 wherein the lead source comprises an automobile distributor.
13. The method of claim 1 wherein the recipient comprises an automobile dealer.
14. Computer-readable media embodying a program of instructions executable by a computer to perform a method of developing a sales lead, the method comprising:
receiving a sales lead from a sales lead source, including an identification of a potential customer;
requesting supplemental information from an information database relevant to the likelihood that the potential customer will make a purchase;
receiving the supplemental information from the information database; and
delivering the sales lead to a recipient for follow-up together with attractiveness information relevant to the likelihood that the potential customer will make a purchase based on the supplemental information received from the information database.
15. The computer-readable media of claim 14, wherein the method further comprises calculating a value representing the likelihood that the sales lead would lead to a purchase based at least in part on the supplemental information.
16. The computer-readable media of claim 15, wherein the attractiveness information that is delivered to the recipient includes the value.
17. A lead development system, comprising:
an input port configured to receive a sales lead from a sales lead source, including an identification of a potential customer;
a processor configured to request supplemental information from an information database relevant to the likelihood that the potential customer will make a purchase;
the processor further configured to receive the supplemental information from the information database; and
an output port configured to send the sales lead to a recipient for follow-up together with attractiveness information relevant to the likelihood that the potential customer will make a purchase based on the supplemental information received from the information database.
18. The lead development system of claim 17 wherein the processor is further configured to calculate a value representing the likelihood that the sales lead would lead to a purchase based at least in part on the supplemental information.
19. The lead development system of claim 18 wherein the attractiveness information that is delivered to the recipient includes the value.
20. A lead development system, comprising:
means for receiving a sales lead from a sales lead source, including an identification of a potential customer;
means for requesting supplemental information from an information database relevant to the likelihood that the potential customer will make a purchase;
means for receiving the supplemental information from the information database; and
means for delivering the sales lead to a recipient for follow-up together with attractiveness information relevant to the likelihood that the potential customer will make a purchase based on the supplemental information received from the information database.
US10/979,631 2003-08-22 2004-11-02 Augmentation of lead with attractiveness information from external source Abandoned US20050171859A1 (en)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US10/979,631 US20050171859A1 (en) 2003-08-22 2004-11-02 Augmentation of lead with attractiveness information from external source

Applications Claiming Priority (4)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US49737803P 2003-08-22 2003-08-22
US54735604P 2004-02-23 2004-02-23
US10/872,648 US7539621B2 (en) 2003-08-22 2004-06-21 Systems and methods of distributing centrally received leads
US10/979,631 US20050171859A1 (en) 2003-08-22 2004-11-02 Augmentation of lead with attractiveness information from external source

Related Parent Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
US10/872,648 Continuation-In-Part US7539621B2 (en) 2003-08-22 2004-06-21 Systems and methods of distributing centrally received leads

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
US20050171859A1 true US20050171859A1 (en) 2005-08-04

Family

ID=34198993

Family Applications (2)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
US10/872,648 Expired - Fee Related US7539621B2 (en) 2003-08-22 2004-06-21 Systems and methods of distributing centrally received leads
US10/979,631 Abandoned US20050171859A1 (en) 2003-08-22 2004-11-02 Augmentation of lead with attractiveness information from external source

Family Applications Before (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
US10/872,648 Expired - Fee Related US7539621B2 (en) 2003-08-22 2004-06-21 Systems and methods of distributing centrally received leads

Country Status (2)

Country Link
US (2) US7539621B2 (en)
WO (1) WO2005020032A2 (en)

Cited By (26)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20070073607A1 (en) * 2005-09-29 2007-03-29 Lev Eydelman On-line system for buyer seller matching and negotiation
US20080109445A1 (en) * 2006-11-03 2008-05-08 Richard Williams Systems and methods of enhancing leads
US20080109294A1 (en) * 2006-11-03 2008-05-08 Richard Williams Systems and methods of enhancing leads
US20080201204A1 (en) * 2007-01-09 2008-08-21 Autobytel Inc. Systems and methods relating to a lead distribution engine with quality assessment of lead sources
US20080201205A1 (en) * 2007-01-09 2008-08-21 Autobytel Inc. Systems and methods relating to an opportunity distribution engine and distribution simulation
US20080201203A1 (en) * 2007-01-09 2008-08-21 Autobytel Inc. Systems and methods relating to a lead distribution engine that uses margin scores
US20080201184A1 (en) * 2007-01-09 2008-08-21 Autobytel Inc. Systems and methods relating to a lead distribution engine that accommodates internal and imported destination exclusion rules
US20080201202A1 (en) * 2007-01-09 2008-08-21 Autobytel Inc. Systems and methods relating to a lead distribution engine that accommodates internal and imported destination relationships
US20090171761A1 (en) * 2007-12-31 2009-07-02 Zag.Com, Inc., A Delaware Corporation Systems and Methods of Matching Purchase Requests with Consummated Sales
US20090187513A1 (en) * 2008-01-22 2009-07-23 Zag.Com Inc., A Delaware Corporation Systems and methods for upfront vehicle pricing
US20100070343A1 (en) * 2008-09-09 2010-03-18 TrueCar.com System and method for aggregation, analysis, presentation and monetization of pricing data for vehicles and other commodities
US7778885B1 (en) 2006-12-04 2010-08-17 Lower My Bills, Inc. System and method of enhancing leads
US20100332291A1 (en) * 2009-06-30 2010-12-30 Adp, Inc. System, process, and computer program product for evaluating leads
US20110161197A1 (en) * 2009-12-30 2011-06-30 Oded Noy System, method and computer program product for predicting value of lead
US8285656B1 (en) 2007-03-30 2012-10-09 Consumerinfo.Com, Inc. Systems and methods for data verification
US20130066677A1 (en) * 2011-09-12 2013-03-14 Scott William Killoh System and method for media and commerce management
US8868480B2 (en) 2011-07-01 2014-10-21 Truecar, Inc. Method and system for selection, filtering or presentation of available sales outlets
US20150006248A1 (en) * 2013-06-28 2015-01-01 Linkedln Corporated System and method to determine a company account interest score or sales lead interest score
US9110916B1 (en) 2006-11-28 2015-08-18 Lower My Bills, Inc. System and method of removing duplicate leads
US9767491B2 (en) 2008-09-09 2017-09-19 Truecar, Inc. System and method for the utilization of pricing models in the aggregation, analysis, presentation and monetization of pricing data for vehicles and other commodities
US9811847B2 (en) 2012-12-21 2017-11-07 Truecar, Inc. System, method and computer program product for tracking and correlating online user activities with sales of physical goods
US10108989B2 (en) 2011-07-28 2018-10-23 Truecar, Inc. System and method for analysis and presentation of used vehicle pricing data
US10296929B2 (en) 2011-06-30 2019-05-21 Truecar, Inc. System, method and computer program product for geo-specific vehicle pricing
US10373198B1 (en) 2008-06-13 2019-08-06 Lmb Mortgage Services, Inc. System and method of generating existing customer leads
US10453093B1 (en) 2010-04-30 2019-10-22 Lmb Mortgage Services, Inc. System and method of optimizing matching of leads
US10504159B2 (en) 2013-01-29 2019-12-10 Truecar, Inc. Wholesale/trade-in pricing system, method and computer program product therefor

Families Citing this family (26)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US7711691B2 (en) * 2003-09-15 2010-05-04 Coyne Patrick J Project management system, method, and network, employing ODBC-compliant database and SQL servers
CA2579873A1 (en) * 2006-02-27 2007-08-27 Synergize Innovations Inc. Lead management system
US11887175B2 (en) 2006-08-31 2024-01-30 Cpl Assets, Llc Automatically determining a personalized set of programs or products including an interactive graphical user interface
US20080071606A1 (en) * 2006-09-05 2008-03-20 Sean Whiteley Method and system for email-based "push" lead management tool for customer relationship management
US20080091820A1 (en) * 2006-10-12 2008-04-17 Norman John G Multiple-listing referral tracking system
US7752236B2 (en) * 2006-11-03 2010-07-06 Experian Marketing Solutions, Inc. Systems and methods of enhancing leads
US20080300962A1 (en) * 2007-05-31 2008-12-04 Christopher Robert Cawston Lead distribution and tracking with integrated corporate data usage and reporting capabilities
US20080300961A1 (en) * 2007-05-31 2008-12-04 Christopher Robert Cawston Lead distribution and tracking with integrated corporate data usage and reporting capabilities with message templating
US20110078085A1 (en) * 2007-06-07 2011-03-31 Clement Gregory R System and method for real estate business collaboration and knowledge acquisition and sharing
WO2008157326A2 (en) * 2007-06-14 2008-12-24 Versata Development Group, Inc. System and method for prime lead data commercialization
US8214396B2 (en) * 2008-04-17 2012-07-03 Google Inc. Lead management
TWI418993B (en) * 2008-06-27 2013-12-11 Ind Tech Res Inst System and method for establishing personal social network, trusted network and social networking system
US20100063890A1 (en) * 2008-09-09 2010-03-11 Compucredit Corporation Methods and Systems for Generating, Qualifying, and Processing Leads
US8566141B1 (en) * 2008-12-03 2013-10-22 Lower My Bills, Inc. System and method of applying custom lead generation criteria
US8781931B1 (en) 2009-05-26 2014-07-15 Island Intellectual Property Llc Method and system for allocating deposits over a plurality of depository institutions
US20110060643A1 (en) * 2009-08-12 2011-03-10 Garry Davis Customizable apparatus and system for the automatic management and evaluation of business lead creation and development
US20110087504A1 (en) * 2009-10-13 2011-04-14 Lawrence Koa System and method for aggregating data of multiple lead providers
US8296176B1 (en) * 2010-01-15 2012-10-23 Adchemy, Inc. Matching visitors as leads to lead buyers
US20120059662A1 (en) * 2010-09-03 2012-03-08 Huisman Jr John E Automated lead processing systems and methods
US8666792B1 (en) * 2012-10-18 2014-03-04 BoomTown, LLC System and method for prioritizing real estate opportunities in a lead handling system based on weighted lead quality scores
WO2014129965A1 (en) * 2013-02-22 2014-08-28 Lim Xian Liang Sales leads analysis and management system
US9904725B1 (en) 2014-12-29 2018-02-27 Velocify, Inc. Computer system for generation, storage, and analysis of connection data and utilization of connection data in scoring and distribution systems
US9805344B1 (en) 2015-01-23 2017-10-31 Island Intellectual Property, Llc Notification system and method
US20170308858A1 (en) * 2016-04-25 2017-10-26 Big Wave Systems, LLC System and method for assigning leads to salespeople
US10540670B1 (en) 2016-08-31 2020-01-21 Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company System and method for analyzing electronic gaming activity
US11477144B1 (en) * 2018-11-09 2022-10-18 SendSmart, Inc. Communication systems with message intervention and CRM integration

Citations (18)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5227874A (en) * 1986-03-10 1993-07-13 Kohorn H Von Method for measuring the effectiveness of stimuli on decisions of shoppers
US5899978A (en) * 1996-10-07 1999-05-04 Title America Titling system and method therefor
US5930764A (en) * 1995-10-17 1999-07-27 Citibank, N.A. Sales and marketing support system using a customer information database
US6041310A (en) * 1996-12-12 2000-03-21 Green Ford, Inc. Method and system for automobile transactions
US6067525A (en) * 1995-10-30 2000-05-23 Clear With Computers Integrated computerized sales force automation system
US6076064A (en) * 1992-01-31 2000-06-13 Rose, Jr.; R. Edward Uniform system for verifying and tracking the title of articles or objects of value
US6078892A (en) * 1998-04-09 2000-06-20 International Business Machines Corporation Method for customer lead selection and optimization
US6097792A (en) * 1996-07-01 2000-08-01 Teledynamics Group, Inc. Interactive method and apparatus for the generation of leads
US6282517B1 (en) * 1999-01-14 2001-08-28 Autobytel.Com, Inc. Real time communication of purchase requests
US6341270B1 (en) * 1998-11-10 2002-01-22 Aether Systems, Inc. Method for providing vendor notification marketing in an electronic commerce network environment
US20020103577A1 (en) * 2001-01-30 2002-08-01 Newport Archie L. Integrated vehicle information system
US6546374B1 (en) * 1998-11-10 2003-04-08 Aether Systems, Inc. Apparatus for providing instant vendor notification in an electronic commerce network environment
US6587838B1 (en) * 1999-01-25 2003-07-01 Aether Systems, Inc. Method and system for conducting real time electronic commerce
US6609108B1 (en) * 1999-11-05 2003-08-19 Ford Motor Company Communication schema of online system and method of ordering consumer product having specific configurations
US6636790B1 (en) * 2000-07-25 2003-10-21 Reynolds And Reynolds Holdings, Inc. Wireless diagnostic system and method for monitoring vehicles
US20030204437A1 (en) * 2002-04-30 2003-10-30 Joerg Flender Survey data processing
US7043531B1 (en) * 2000-10-04 2006-05-09 Inetprofit, Inc. Web-based customer lead generator system with pre-emptive profiling
US7577579B2 (en) * 2001-05-31 2009-08-18 Dentsu Tec Inc. Method of predicting sales based on triple-axis mapping of customer value

Family Cites Families (8)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5930754A (en) * 1997-06-13 1999-07-27 Motorola, Inc. Method, device and article of manufacture for neural-network based orthography-phonetics transformation
US7249322B2 (en) 2000-06-12 2007-07-24 Reynolds And Reynolds Holdings, Inc. E2 automobile dealership information management system
US6901374B1 (en) 2000-11-29 2005-05-31 Reynolds & Reynolds Holdings, Inc. Loyalty link method and apparatus for integrating customer information with dealer management information
US20020065707A1 (en) 2000-11-30 2002-05-30 Glacier Advertising Ltd. Automobile customer information generation and transmission system
US7487110B2 (en) * 2001-01-30 2009-02-03 International Business Machines Corporation Automotive information communication exchange system, method, and program product
US20020184269A1 (en) 2001-03-14 2002-12-05 Satoshi Imagou Document management systems for and methods of sharing documents
US7143094B2 (en) * 2001-07-18 2006-11-28 International Business Machines Corporation Method and apparatus for ensuring data consistency amongst a plurality of disparate systems having multiple consumer channels
US7353184B2 (en) 2002-03-07 2008-04-01 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. Customer-side market segmentation

Patent Citations (19)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5227874A (en) * 1986-03-10 1993-07-13 Kohorn H Von Method for measuring the effectiveness of stimuli on decisions of shoppers
US6076064A (en) * 1992-01-31 2000-06-13 Rose, Jr.; R. Edward Uniform system for verifying and tracking the title of articles or objects of value
US5930764A (en) * 1995-10-17 1999-07-27 Citibank, N.A. Sales and marketing support system using a customer information database
US5966695A (en) * 1995-10-17 1999-10-12 Citibank, N.A. Sales and marketing support system using a graphical query prospect database
US6067525A (en) * 1995-10-30 2000-05-23 Clear With Computers Integrated computerized sales force automation system
US6097792A (en) * 1996-07-01 2000-08-01 Teledynamics Group, Inc. Interactive method and apparatus for the generation of leads
US5899978A (en) * 1996-10-07 1999-05-04 Title America Titling system and method therefor
US6041310A (en) * 1996-12-12 2000-03-21 Green Ford, Inc. Method and system for automobile transactions
US6078892A (en) * 1998-04-09 2000-06-20 International Business Machines Corporation Method for customer lead selection and optimization
US6341270B1 (en) * 1998-11-10 2002-01-22 Aether Systems, Inc. Method for providing vendor notification marketing in an electronic commerce network environment
US6546374B1 (en) * 1998-11-10 2003-04-08 Aether Systems, Inc. Apparatus for providing instant vendor notification in an electronic commerce network environment
US6282517B1 (en) * 1999-01-14 2001-08-28 Autobytel.Com, Inc. Real time communication of purchase requests
US6587838B1 (en) * 1999-01-25 2003-07-01 Aether Systems, Inc. Method and system for conducting real time electronic commerce
US6609108B1 (en) * 1999-11-05 2003-08-19 Ford Motor Company Communication schema of online system and method of ordering consumer product having specific configurations
US6636790B1 (en) * 2000-07-25 2003-10-21 Reynolds And Reynolds Holdings, Inc. Wireless diagnostic system and method for monitoring vehicles
US7043531B1 (en) * 2000-10-04 2006-05-09 Inetprofit, Inc. Web-based customer lead generator system with pre-emptive profiling
US20020103577A1 (en) * 2001-01-30 2002-08-01 Newport Archie L. Integrated vehicle information system
US7577579B2 (en) * 2001-05-31 2009-08-18 Dentsu Tec Inc. Method of predicting sales based on triple-axis mapping of customer value
US20030204437A1 (en) * 2002-04-30 2003-10-30 Joerg Flender Survey data processing

Non-Patent Citations (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Title
Daniels, Chris. "Start them up: why first-time car buyers are on the road to being loyal Mazda customers". Marketing Magazine. 105.42, Oct. 23, 2000: 10 *

Cited By (88)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20070073607A1 (en) * 2005-09-29 2007-03-29 Lev Eydelman On-line system for buyer seller matching and negotiation
US7962402B2 (en) * 2005-09-29 2011-06-14 Lev Eydelman On-line system for buyer seller matching and negotiation
US8271313B2 (en) 2006-11-03 2012-09-18 Experian Marketing Solutions, Inc. Systems and methods of enhancing leads by determining propensity scores
US20080109445A1 (en) * 2006-11-03 2008-05-08 Richard Williams Systems and methods of enhancing leads
US20080109294A1 (en) * 2006-11-03 2008-05-08 Richard Williams Systems and methods of enhancing leads
US8027871B2 (en) 2006-11-03 2011-09-27 Experian Marketing Solutions, Inc. Systems and methods for scoring sales leads
US8626563B2 (en) 2006-11-03 2014-01-07 Experian Marketing Solutions, Inc. Enhancing sales leads with business specific customized statistical propensity models
US8135607B2 (en) 2006-11-03 2012-03-13 Experian Marketing Solutions, Inc. System and method of enhancing leads by determining contactability scores
US10204141B1 (en) 2006-11-28 2019-02-12 Lmb Mortgage Services, Inc. System and method of removing duplicate leads
US9110916B1 (en) 2006-11-28 2015-08-18 Lower My Bills, Inc. System and method of removing duplicate leads
US11106677B2 (en) 2006-11-28 2021-08-31 Lmb Mortgage Services, Inc. System and method of removing duplicate user records
US8214262B1 (en) 2006-12-04 2012-07-03 Lower My Bills, Inc. System and method of enhancing leads
US7778885B1 (en) 2006-12-04 2010-08-17 Lower My Bills, Inc. System and method of enhancing leads
US20190259046A1 (en) * 2006-12-04 2019-08-22 Lmb Mortgage Services, Inc. System and method of enhancing leads
US10255610B1 (en) * 2006-12-04 2019-04-09 Lmb Mortgage Services, Inc. System and method of enhancing leads
US10977675B2 (en) * 2006-12-04 2021-04-13 Lmb Mortgage Services, Inc. System and method of enhancing leads
US8326676B2 (en) 2007-01-09 2012-12-04 Autobytel Inc. Systems and methods relating to a lead distribution engine that uses margin scores
US8321256B2 (en) 2007-01-09 2012-11-27 Autobytel Inc. Systems and methods relating to an opportunity distribution engine and distribution simulation
US20080201184A1 (en) * 2007-01-09 2008-08-21 Autobytel Inc. Systems and methods relating to a lead distribution engine that accommodates internal and imported destination exclusion rules
US20080201204A1 (en) * 2007-01-09 2008-08-21 Autobytel Inc. Systems and methods relating to a lead distribution engine with quality assessment of lead sources
US8255270B2 (en) 2007-01-09 2012-08-28 Autobytel Inc. Systems and methods relating to a lead distribution engine that accommodates internal and imported destination relationships
US20080201205A1 (en) * 2007-01-09 2008-08-21 Autobytel Inc. Systems and methods relating to an opportunity distribution engine and distribution simulation
US20080201202A1 (en) * 2007-01-09 2008-08-21 Autobytel Inc. Systems and methods relating to a lead distribution engine that accommodates internal and imported destination relationships
US20080201203A1 (en) * 2007-01-09 2008-08-21 Autobytel Inc. Systems and methods relating to a lead distribution engine that uses margin scores
US8352306B2 (en) 2007-01-09 2013-01-08 Autobytel Inc. Systems and methods relating to a lead distribution engine with quality assessment of lead sources
US10437895B2 (en) 2007-03-30 2019-10-08 Consumerinfo.Com, Inc. Systems and methods for data verification
US8285656B1 (en) 2007-03-30 2012-10-09 Consumerinfo.Com, Inc. Systems and methods for data verification
US11308170B2 (en) 2007-03-30 2022-04-19 Consumerinfo.Com, Inc. Systems and methods for data verification
US9342783B1 (en) 2007-03-30 2016-05-17 Consumerinfo.Com, Inc. Systems and methods for data verification
US20090171761A1 (en) * 2007-12-31 2009-07-02 Zag.Com, Inc., A Delaware Corporation Systems and Methods of Matching Purchase Requests with Consummated Sales
US8515817B2 (en) * 2007-12-31 2013-08-20 Truecar, Inc. Systems and methods of matching purchase requests with consummated sales
US20090187513A1 (en) * 2008-01-22 2009-07-23 Zag.Com Inc., A Delaware Corporation Systems and methods for upfront vehicle pricing
US10373198B1 (en) 2008-06-13 2019-08-06 Lmb Mortgage Services, Inc. System and method of generating existing customer leads
US10565617B2 (en) 2008-06-13 2020-02-18 Lmb Mortgage Services, Inc. System and method of generating existing customer leads
US11704693B2 (en) 2008-06-13 2023-07-18 Lmb Mortgage Services, Inc. System and method of generating existing customer leads
US9818140B2 (en) 2008-09-09 2017-11-14 Truecar, Inc. System and method for sales generation in conjunction with a vehicle data system
US10262344B2 (en) 2008-09-09 2019-04-16 Truecar, Inc. System and method for the utilization of pricing models in the aggregation, analysis, presentation and monetization of pricing data for vehicles and other commodities
US9111308B2 (en) 2008-09-09 2015-08-18 Truecar, Inc. System and method for calculating and displaying price distributions based on analysis of transactions
US9129325B2 (en) 2008-09-09 2015-09-08 Truecar, Inc. System and method for aggregation, analysis, presentation and monetization of pricing data for vehicles and other commodities
US20100070343A1 (en) * 2008-09-09 2010-03-18 TrueCar.com System and method for aggregation, analysis, presentation and monetization of pricing data for vehicles and other commodities
US9020843B2 (en) 2008-09-09 2015-04-28 Truecar, Inc. System and method for aggregation, analysis, presentation and monetization of pricing data for vehicles and other commodities
US9727904B2 (en) 2008-09-09 2017-08-08 Truecar, Inc. System and method for sales generation in conjunction with a vehicle data system
US9754304B2 (en) 2008-09-09 2017-09-05 Truecar, Inc. System and method for aggregation, analysis, presentation and monetization of pricing data for vehicles and other commodities
US9767491B2 (en) 2008-09-09 2017-09-19 Truecar, Inc. System and method for the utilization of pricing models in the aggregation, analysis, presentation and monetization of pricing data for vehicles and other commodities
US11580567B2 (en) 2008-09-09 2023-02-14 Truecar, Inc. System and method for aggregation, analysis, presentation and monetization of pricing data for vehicles and other commodities
US11580579B2 (en) 2008-09-09 2023-02-14 Truecar, Inc. System and method for the utilization of pricing models in the aggregation, analysis, presentation and monetization of pricing data for vehicles and other commodities
US9904948B2 (en) 2008-09-09 2018-02-27 Truecar, Inc. System and method for calculating and displaying price distributions based on analysis of transactions
US9904933B2 (en) 2008-09-09 2018-02-27 Truecar, Inc. System and method for aggregation, analysis, presentation and monetization of pricing data for vehicles and other commodities
US10679263B2 (en) 2008-09-09 2020-06-09 Truecar, Inc. System and method for the utilization of pricing models in the aggregation, analysis, presentation and monetization of pricing data for vehicles and other commodities
US11250453B2 (en) 2008-09-09 2022-02-15 Truecar, Inc. System and method for sales generation in conjunction with a vehicle data system
US10217123B2 (en) 2008-09-09 2019-02-26 Truecar, Inc. System and method for aggregation, analysis, presentation and monetization of pricing data for vehicles and other commodities
US11244334B2 (en) 2008-09-09 2022-02-08 Truecar, Inc. System and method for calculating and displaying price distributions based on analysis of transactions
US10810609B2 (en) 2008-09-09 2020-10-20 Truecar, Inc. System and method for calculating and displaying price distributions based on analysis of transactions
US10269031B2 (en) 2008-09-09 2019-04-23 Truecar, Inc. System and method for sales generation in conjunction with a vehicle data system
US10269030B2 (en) 2008-09-09 2019-04-23 Truecar, Inc. System and method for calculating and displaying price distributions based on analysis of transactions
US11182812B2 (en) 2008-09-09 2021-11-23 Truecar, Inc. System and method for aggregation, analysis, presentation and monetization of pricing data for vehicles and other commodities
US8521615B2 (en) 2008-09-09 2013-08-27 Truecar, Inc. System and method for sales generation in conjunction with a vehicle data system
US8219464B2 (en) 2008-09-09 2012-07-10 Truecar, Inc. System and method for sales generation in conjunction with a vehicle data system
US11107134B2 (en) 2008-09-09 2021-08-31 Truecar, Inc. System and method for the utilization of pricing models in the aggregation, analysis, presentation and monetization of pricing data for vehicles and other commodities
US9020844B2 (en) 2008-09-09 2015-04-28 Truecar, Inc. System and method for calculating and displaying price distributions based on analysis of transactions
US20110191264A1 (en) * 2008-09-09 2011-08-04 TrueCar.com System and method for sales generation in conjunction with a vehicle data system
US10853831B2 (en) 2008-09-09 2020-12-01 Truecar, Inc. System and method for sales generation in conjunction with a vehicle data system
US10489809B2 (en) 2008-09-09 2019-11-26 Truecar, Inc. System and method for sales generation in conjunction with a vehicle data system
US10489810B2 (en) 2008-09-09 2019-11-26 Truecar, Inc. System and method for calculating and displaying price distributions based on analysis of transactions
US10846722B2 (en) 2008-09-09 2020-11-24 Truecar, Inc. System and method for aggregation, analysis, presentation and monetization of pricing data for vehicles and other commodities
US10515382B2 (en) 2008-09-09 2019-12-24 Truecar, Inc. System and method for aggregation, enhancing, analysis or presentation of data for vehicles or other commodities
US8484067B2 (en) * 2009-06-30 2013-07-09 Adp, Inc. System, process, and computer program product for evaluating leads
US20100332291A1 (en) * 2009-06-30 2010-12-30 Adp, Inc. System, process, and computer program product for evaluating leads
US20110161197A1 (en) * 2009-12-30 2011-06-30 Oded Noy System, method and computer program product for predicting value of lead
US8589250B2 (en) 2009-12-30 2013-11-19 Truecar, Inc. System, method and computer program product for predicting value of lead
US11430009B2 (en) 2010-04-30 2022-08-30 Lmb Mortgage Services, Inc. System and method of optimizing matching of leads
US10453093B1 (en) 2010-04-30 2019-10-22 Lmb Mortgage Services, Inc. System and method of optimizing matching of leads
US10296929B2 (en) 2011-06-30 2019-05-21 Truecar, Inc. System, method and computer program product for geo-specific vehicle pricing
US11532001B2 (en) 2011-06-30 2022-12-20 Truecar, Inc. System, method and computer program product for geo specific vehicle pricing
US10740776B2 (en) 2011-06-30 2020-08-11 Truecar, Inc. System, method and computer program product for geo-specific vehicle pricing
US10467676B2 (en) 2011-07-01 2019-11-05 Truecar, Inc. Method and system for selection, filtering or presentation of available sales outlets
US8868480B2 (en) 2011-07-01 2014-10-21 Truecar, Inc. Method and system for selection, filtering or presentation of available sales outlets
US9189800B2 (en) 2011-07-01 2015-11-17 Truecar, Inc. Method and system for selection, filtering or presentation of available sales outlets
US10108989B2 (en) 2011-07-28 2018-10-23 Truecar, Inc. System and method for analysis and presentation of used vehicle pricing data
US11392999B2 (en) 2011-07-28 2022-07-19 Truecar, Inc. System and method for analysis and presentation of used vehicle pricing data
US10733639B2 (en) 2011-07-28 2020-08-04 Truecar, Inc. System and method for analysis and presentation of used vehicle pricing data
US20130066677A1 (en) * 2011-09-12 2013-03-14 Scott William Killoh System and method for media and commerce management
US11132724B2 (en) 2012-12-21 2021-09-28 Truecar, Inc. System, method and computer program product for tracking and correlating online user activities with sales of physical goods
US10482510B2 (en) 2012-12-21 2019-11-19 Truecar, Inc. System, method and computer program product for tracking and correlating online user activities with sales of physical goods
US9811847B2 (en) 2012-12-21 2017-11-07 Truecar, Inc. System, method and computer program product for tracking and correlating online user activities with sales of physical goods
US11741512B2 (en) 2012-12-21 2023-08-29 Truecar, Inc. System, method and computer program product for tracking and correlating online user activities with sales of physical goods
US10504159B2 (en) 2013-01-29 2019-12-10 Truecar, Inc. Wholesale/trade-in pricing system, method and computer program product therefor
US20150006248A1 (en) * 2013-06-28 2015-01-01 Linkedln Corporated System and method to determine a company account interest score or sales lead interest score

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
US7539621B2 (en) 2009-05-26
WO2005020032A8 (en) 2005-04-14
WO2005020032A3 (en) 2005-06-23
WO2005020032A2 (en) 2005-03-03
US20050044036A1 (en) 2005-02-24

Similar Documents

Publication Publication Date Title
US20050171859A1 (en) Augmentation of lead with attractiveness information from external source
US6868389B1 (en) Internet-enabled lead generation
US9299078B2 (en) Targeting messages
US7523087B1 (en) Determining and/or designating better ad information such as ad landing pages
JP4907561B2 (en) Provide content source history information and transaction volume information to users
US8510178B2 (en) Computer-based analysis of seller performance
US8321267B2 (en) Method, system and apparatus for targeting an offer
US7680796B2 (en) Determining and/or using location information in an ad system
US11669866B2 (en) System and method for delivering a financial application to a prospective customer
US8484067B2 (en) System, process, and computer program product for evaluating leads
US20120253928A1 (en) Methods and Apparatus for Portfolio and Demand Bucket Management Across Multiple Advertising Exchanges
US20020062241A1 (en) Apparatus and method for coding electronic direct marketing lists to common searchable format
US20020128910A1 (en) Business supporting system and business supporting method
US20070192194A1 (en) Metalevel electronic marketplace for advertising
CN102027500A (en) Method and system for targeted content placement
US20030216956A1 (en) Method and system for marketing to potential customers
US20210304247A1 (en) Systems and methods for allocating electronic advertising opportunities
US8190496B2 (en) Method and system of directed advertising
WO2001004777A2 (en) Method, system, and article of manufacture for conducting and tracking marketing campaigns
WO2002001456A1 (en) E-commerce real time demand and pricing system and method
US8788336B1 (en) Estimating cost and/or performance information for an advertisement in an advertising system
CN113516496A (en) Advertisement conversion rate pre-estimation model construction method, device, equipment and medium thereof
US7246077B1 (en) Systems and methods for generating highly responsive prospect lists
JP2002109182A (en) System and method for processing information and recording medium
Ma et al. Examining comparative shopping agents from two types of search results

Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
AS Assignment

Owner name: HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD., JAPAN

Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:HARRINGTON, GERARD;DANIELS, GREG;WADA, EUGENE;AND OTHERS;REEL/FRAME:015862/0282;SIGNING DATES FROM 20050210 TO 20050328

STCB Information on status: application discontinuation

Free format text: ABANDONED -- FAILURE TO RESPOND TO AN OFFICE ACTION