WO2001001320A1

WO2001001320A1 - System and method of providing promotional prices to a user and accumulating incentives to a user

Info

Publication number: WO2001001320A1
Application number: PCT/US1999/014752
Authority: WO
Inventors: James Chong; Joseph Chan; Henry Tang; Robert Lam
Original assignee: Planet Rx
Priority date: 1999-06-28
Filing date: 1999-06-28
Publication date: 2001-01-04
Also published as: AU4727499A; WO2001001320A8

Abstract

A computer-implemented method and system for promoting a business are provided. The method can be used with an electronic network, preferably the World Wide Web. A vendor program running on a vendor system (330) displays promotional items on a promotional Web page (302). When a customer selects promotional items (306), the vendor program queries a database (304) to determine the customer's eligibility to participate in the business promotion. An ineligible customer (318) is offered the opportunity to purchase the items at a non-promotional rate (324), or to cancel the order (326). The promotional items are delivered (342) to an eligible customer (344) at the promotional rate. An eligible customer is also sent a persistent cookie (316) that is used to notify the vendor program to display a non-promotional Web page during the customer's subsequent visits to the vendor's Web site. The eligible customer is sent a URL link with an encrypted unique key (336) for associating referred new customers (400) to the customer. An incentive is rewarded (406) to the customer for each referred customer who participates in the business program. A tally Web page displays referred customer information. Incentive awards can be selected from a redemption Web page. Upon selection of an incentive award, the vendor program updates the tally and redemption pages, and the database. The vendor program makes arrangements to have the incentives delivered to the referring customer. Each additional customer is provided a URL with a unique encrypted key and has the opportunity to earn incentives by referring others to the vendor's business promotion.

Description

SYSTEM AND METHOD OF PROVIDING PROMOTIONAL PRICES TO A USER AND ACCUMULATING INCENTIVES TO A USER

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention:

The present invention relates generally to a method and system for promoting a business. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method and system for promoting an on-line business by using communications over an electronic network.

2. Description of Related Art:

Advertising has long been used to inform potential customers of the existence of and products offered by a business. With each advance in communications technology has come a corresponding advance in advertising methods. Electronic networks such as the Internet serve the function of facilitating communication among large groups of geographically- dispersed people. In addition, the Internet, and more particularly the World Wide Web ("Web") also provide opportunities for commercial enterprises to distribute and advertise their products and services.

For a business to succeed in conducting electronic commerce, the business must entice potential customers to the business' Web site. This can be accomplished through traditional advertising media such as television, radio, and newspaper ads. However, it is also extremely important for an electronic commerce enterprise to use Web-based advertising because those people who are already active users of the Web users represent a large percentage of the potential customer pool.

It would therefore be an advantage to provide a method and system for promoting a business using a computer- accessible electronic network. It would be a further advantage if such method and system used both the communication and electronic commerce functions of the Internet. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is a computer-implemented method and system for promoting a business. The method can be used with any electronic network including the Internet and, more specifically, the World Wide Web.

The business promotion can be initiated by a publicity campaign. Promotional items, such as merchandise and services, are offered to the public at a promotional rate. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, a vendor program running on a vendor system is operable to display a list of promotional items on a promotional Web page on the vendor's Web site. After a customer selects promotional items, the customer checks out of the promotional Web page using a log out procedure. When logging out of the promotional Web page, the customer is prompted by the vendor program to enter additional information that is required to process and deliver the promotional items ordered by the customer. The vendor program uses this additional information to query a database to determine the customer's eligibility to participate in the business promotion.

An ineligible customer is offered the opportunity to purchase the items at a non- promotional rate, or to cancel the order. The promotional items are delivered to an eligible customer at the promotional rate. An eligible customer is also sent a persistent cookie that is used to notify the vendor program to display a non-promotional Web page during the customer's subsequent visits to the vendor's Web site.

In the preferred embodiment, the eligible customer is sent two e-mail messages by the vendor program upon the successful order of the promotional items. The first e-mail thanks the customer for participating in the promotion.

A second e-mail message delivers the rules for the business promotion and also includes a Uniform Resource Locator ("URL") link with an encrypted unique key for the customer to forward to other potential customers. The vendor program uses this key to identify whether new customers were referred to the vendor's Web site by an existing customer and to identify the referring customer. When a referred customer uses the URL link to enter the promotional Web site, the vendor program decrypts and identifies the unique key. If the referred customer participates in the business program, an incentive is awarded to the referring customer.

The referring customer is sent, by the vendor program, an electronic notification of the incentive award. The number and names of new customers who were referred by a particular customer can be displayed by the vendor program on a tally Web page on the vendor's Web site. Incentive awards for which a customer has qualified can be displayed by the vendor program on a redemption Web page on the vendor's Web site.

The referring customer can select incentive awards from the redemption page. The vendor program updates the tally and redemption Web pages, and the database with the selection information and makes arrangements to have the incentives delivered to the referring customer.

Each additional customer who is referred to the business promotion is similarly provided a URL with a unique encrypted key to deliver to prospective new customers. Thus, each customer who participates in the promotion has the opportunity to earn incentives by referring others to the vendor's business promotion.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Figure 1 is a block diagram of a computer network system according to one embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a flow chart of the method according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 3 is a system diagram illustrating customer participation in a business promotion according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 4 is a system diagram illustrating the referral of new customers in a business promotion according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is a computer-implemented method and system for promoting a business. The method can be used with any electronic network including the Internet and, more specifically, the World Wide Web. The present invention uses to advantage both the communication and electronic commerce functions of the Internet to advertise the existence of a business as well as to encourage customers to purchase items from the business on-line.

In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. It will be evident, however, to one skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without the specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form to facilitate explanation. The description of preferred embodiments is not intended to limit the scope of the claims appended hereto.

The present invention can be used for purposes including but not limited to generating a list of prospective customers, publicizing the existence of a business, and promoting the sale of specific items by a business. Any or all of the software applications or hardware configurations of the present invention can be implemented by one skilled in the art using well known programming techniques and hardware components.

In one embodiment, the present invention is implemented using a computer. Such computer can include but is not limited to a personal computer, network computer, network server computer, dumb terminal, local area network, wide area network, personal digital assistant, work station, minicomputer, and mainframe computer. The identification, search and/or comparison features of the present invention can be implemented as one or more software applications, software modules, firmware such as a programmable ROM or EEPROM, hardware such as an application-specific integrated circuit ("ASIC"), or any combination of the above.

Figure 1 is a block diagram of a computer network system 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention. In computer network system 100, a network server computer 104 is connected to a network client computer 102 through a network 110. The network interface between server computer 104 and client computer 102 can also include one or more routers, such as routers 106 and 108. The routers serve to buffer and route the data transmitted between the server and client computers.

Network 110 may be the Internet, a Wide Area Network (WAN), a Local Area Network (LAN), or any combination thereof. In one embodiment of the present invention, the server computer 104 is a World-Wide Web (WWW) server that stores data in the form of 'Web pages' and transmits these pages as Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) files over the Internet network 110 to client computer 102. It should be noted that, although only one server and client computer each are illustrated in network system 100, a network that implements embodiments of the present invention may include a large number of interconnected client and server computers.

For purposes of this application, the vendor's computers and network system will be collectively referred to as the vendor system. The use of the term vendor system is in no way intended to limit the scope of the present invention as claimed herein. As has been described above, the vendor system can include any suitable and well-known hardware and software components, and in any well-known configuration to enable the implementation of the present invention.

The present invention is also implemented using well-known programming techniques and one or more software applications that are accessible to the computer network system. For purposes of this application, these software applications will be called the "vendor program". The use of the term vendor program is in no way intended to limit the scope of the present invention as claimed herein. The vendor program, as described herein, comprises one or more software applications that are used to implement the business promotion. For example, the vendor program can comprise a Web server application for designing and maintaining the vendor's Web site, a database application for creating and addressing the database, an e-mail application for communication with customers, and a business application for verifying orders, credit card numbers, and eligibility of customers.

The vendor program can include any combination of interrelated applications, separate applications, software modules, plug-in components, intelligent agents, cookies, JavaBeans™, and Java™ applets. (Java and all Java-based marks are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the United States and other countries.) The software applications that comprise the vendor program can be stored on any storage device accessible to the vendor system, including but not limited to a hard drive, CD-ROM, DVD, magnetic tape, optical drive, programmable memory device, and Flash RAM. It will be readily apparent to one of skill in the art that the software applications can be stored on the same or different storage devices.

As used herein, the term "database" refers to a collection of information stored on one or more storage devices accessible to the vendor system, as described previously. The use of the term database is in no way intended to limit the scope of the present invention as claimed herein. The database according to the present invention can include one or more separate, interrelated, distributed, and relational databases. The database can be created and addressed using any well-known software applications such as the Oracle 8™ database. The database according to the present invention can be stored on any appropriate storage device, including but not limited to a hard drive, CD-ROM, DVD, magnetic tape, optical drive, programmable memory device, and Flash RAM. The preferred embodiment of the present invention is implemented using at least one computer with Web-based communication. However, one skilled in the art will recognize that many of the steps of the invention can be accomplished by alternative methods, such as by telephone communication.

Figure 2 is a flow chart of the business promotion according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The business promotion can be initiated by a publicity campaign. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, this publicity campaign includes a mass electronic notification by e-mail to potential customers (200). In alternative embodiments, the business promotion can be advertised to the public by any other well- known means of communication or combinations thereof, including but not limited to fax, telephone, mail, newspaper, radio, television, flyers, and Web page advertisements.

Promotional items, such as merchandise and services, are offered to the public at a promotional rate. For example, the items can be offered for free, or for a sale price. In the preferred embodiment, these items are offered on a promotional Web page. Customer A can then order items at the promotional rate (202) by selecting them from the promotional Web page. In alternative embodiments, the promotional items can be offered to the public by any other means of communication, as described above with respect to the publicity campaign. Alternative selection means can also be used, such as e-mail, fax, telephone, and mail ordering.

When Customer A "checks out" of the promotional Web site, Customer A's order is processed by the vendor system using the vendor program to determine whether Customer A is eligible to receive the selected items (204). For example, the promotional items can be restricted to first-time users only, to persons above a certain age, or to residents of specific states or countries. If it is determined that Customer A is eligible to receive the items, but not at the promotional rate, then the items are added to Customer A's order at the appropriate non-promotional rate. If it is determined that Customer A is not eligible to receive the items, then the items are not added to Customer A's order.

If it is determined that Customer A is eligible to receive the items at the promotional rate, then the items are added to Customer A's order at the promotional rate. Customer A's order is processed by the vendor system using the vendor program and is prepared for delivery. In the preferred embodiment, Customer A is sent two e-mail messages by the vendor program upon the successful completion of Customer A's order (206). The first e- mail thanks Customer A for participating in the promotion (208).

A second e-mail message is then sent by the vendor program to Customer A. This second e-mail message delivers the rules for the business promotion and includes a unique key for Customer A to forward to other potential customers (210). The vendor program uses this key to identify whether new customers were referred to the vendor's Web site by an existing customer and to identify the referring customer. In an alternative embodiment, the rules for the business promotion are delivered in the first e-mail message.

In yet another embodiment, only one e-mail is sent to the customer. This e-mail includes at least the unique key and optionally a thank-you message and the business promotion rules. It will be apparent to one skilled in the art that the information provided in the e-mail messages can be delivered to the customer by any other appropriate means of communication, such as by an applet delivered to the customer's Web browser application. For example, if Customer B is referred to the promotion by Customer A, Customer B can use the key provided by Customer A when transacting business at the promotional Web site (212). Thus, if Customer B uses Customer A's key to access the promotional Web site and then selects promotional items from the promotional Web site, the vendor program associates the referral of Customer B with Customer A (214).

Customer A is then sent, by the vendor program, an electronic notification of Customer B's participation in the promotion (216). This electronic notification is preferably an e-mail message that informs Customer A of a reward that is being provided to Customer A in response to the referral of Customer B (218).

Example 1 is an example of a computer-implemented business promotion according to a preferred embodiment of the invention. The example is provided for explanatory purposes only and is not intended in any way to limit the scope of the invention.

EXAMPLE 1

Figure 3 is a system diagram illustrating customer participation in a business promotion according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. A customer uses a computer 330 and browser application 328 to open up a Web page of the vendor's Web site 300. The customer then selects a button on the page that is linked to a promotional Web page 302. Alternatively, it is not required that a separate promotional Web page be maintained. Thus, the promotion information can be provided on any page of the vendor's Web site. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the vendor program is a Web-based

Microsoft Active Server Page ("ASP") application. The vendor program is preferably stored on the vendor's Web server, but can alternatively be stored on any component accessible to the vendor system, as has been described previously. In alternative embodiments, the vendor program can be implemented using other software applications including but not limited to Common Gateway Interface ("CGI"), or a Java™ servlet application.

At the promotional Web page, the customer is offered a promotional item such as free merchandise or services. The customer selects the promotional item 306 and indicates that all selections have been completed in any suitable well-known manner, for example, by clicking on a button, picture, or list. In the currently preferred embodiment, the customer is required to log in 314 to the vendor's Web site at the time of checkout 312 to provide additional identification information. When the customer logs in to the vendor's Web site, the vendor program queries the database 304 to determine the customer's eligibility for the promotion. Information stored in the database relating to eligibility to participate in the promotion can include a list of previous participants' names, addresses, credit card numbers, and e-mail addresses. A determination of eligibility can include whether the customer has previously participated in the promotion, whether the customer has claimed some but not all available promotional items, and whether the customer meets age, residency, and employment requirements of the business promotion.

For example, if the customer has previously claimed one or all promotional items, the database query will locate flags indicating the customers previous participation in the promotion. The customer's order will reflect the sale at a non-promotional rate of the ordered items which the customer is not eligible to receive at the promotional rate. Alternatively, the vendor can refuse to deliver the selected promotional items to an ineligible customer. In the preferred embodiment, an ineligible customer 318 is notified by a banner display on the vendor's web site that the promotional rate will not be applied for the selected items. The customer is given the option to agree to purchase the selected items at a non- promotional rate 324 or to cancel the order 326. The ineligible customer can also be notified by any other appropriate method, including e-mail, fax, telephone call, and mail.

In the presently preferred embodiment, the customer communicates a rejection of the purchase or of an agreement to pay the non-promotional rate to the vendor program through Web-based communication, as has been previously described. Alternatively, the customer can assent to the purchase price by any other appropriate means, including but not limited to e-mail, fax, telephone call, and mail. If the customer agrees to purchase the items at the non- promotional rate, the vendor program generates an invoice for the customer's review.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the vendor program bills the customer's credit card online 340. If the customer's credit card information is already stored in the database, the credit card can be charged automatically. Alternatively, the customer can transmit the credit card number to the vendor program through text boxes provided on the vendor's Web site.

If the customer is eligible to receive the selected promotional items, the vendor program adds the selected promotional item to the customer's order or "shopping cart". In one embodiment of the present invention, this order of promotional merchandise and/or services is subject to further modification or cancellation by the customer. The vendor program then makes arrangements to have the items delivered 342 to the customer 344 at the promotional rate. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the promotional Web page displays a banner notifying the customer of the amount of money the customer has saved by obtaining the items at the promotional rate rather than at the non-promotional rate.

One or more persistent "cookies" 316 are also sent from the vendor program to an eligible customer's Web browser application in response the customer's entering the business promotion. A cookie is a state object that is sent from a Web server to a client (in this case, from the vendor to the customer). The cookie includes a description of the range of Uniform Resource Locators ("URLs") for which that state is valid. Any future requests made by the customer to the vendor program that fall within the particular range for the cookie will also include a transmittal to the vendor program of the current value of the state object.

In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the cookie contains an encrypted session ID that identifies the particular session during which the promotional item was selected. When the customer enters the vendor's web site at any time in the future, the vendor program preferably uses Java Script to detect the cookie. The persistent cookie is used to identify that the customer has already participated in the business promotion. Upon detection of the cookie, the vendor program displays to the customer a different web page than the promotional page. For example, if a customer has already participated in a promotion and is no longer eligible to select promotional items, the vendor program can display a web page that advertises items that can be purchased by the customer.

The persistent cookie can be configured to expire on a certain date. Alternatively, the cookie can be made to expire by the vendor program, for example, if a new business promotion for which the customer is eligible is initiated. It is also possible for the vendor program to send the customer a different persistent cookie for each promotion, with the multiple cookies remaining active on the customer's computer simultaneously.

Alternative embodiments of the present invention do not require the use of cookies. For example, the concept of a session can be duplicated in a database. Additionally, a file can be placed on the customer's computer. This can be accomplished by providing a file for the customer to download, or by using an applet. Session information can then be stored in this file for later use by the vendor program.

The vendor program can also generate a copy of an invoice to be delivered to the customer along with the promotional items. The vendor program can optionally maintain an electronic copy of the invoice that is accessible to the customer through the vendor's Web site.

In the presently preferred embodiment, a customer's database entries are updated by the vendor program after an order of promotional item(s) has been placed. If the database had no previous entries for the customer, new entries are generated. A customer's database entries are also updated to reflect whether the customer was referred to the promotional Web site by another customer. This feature will be discussed below in further detail.

After checkout(s) the eligible customer 332 receives one or more e-mail messages from the vendor program to confirm the order and deliver the rules for the business promotion. When the customer places an order, the vendor program automatically initiates the sending of the e-mail messages. The vendor program retrieves the information necessary to send the messages from the database, generates and delivers the e-mail messages. This information can also be provided by any other appropriate means, such as fax.

In the preferred embodiment, the customer receives two e-mails after checkout. The first e-mail 334 is an order ship confirmation ("OSC"). The second e-mail 338 is a "thank you" message with the promotional rules and a key. The promotional rules inform the customer of any additional benefits or reward(s) that will accrue to the customer for the successful referral of one or more additional new customers to the promotional Web site. For example, additional promotional items, or other incentives can be awarded to the referring customer when a referred customer selects promotional items from the vendor promotional Web site. The second e-mail message includes a key 336 that is used by the vendor program to track referred customers. A Uniform Resource Locator ("URL") link to the promotional Web site is generated by the vendor program for each particular customer who participates in the business promotion. This URL contains a unique key for each customer. The URL link containing the unique key is inserted into the text of the second e-mail message.

Personal information for the customer can be stored inside the URL link. The key is encrypted to limit tampering with this personal information. In the preferred embodiment, the URL contains a personal identification number ("PIN number") as a part of its query string. When the URL is generated by the vendor program, an algorithm is used to compute a checksum for that PIN number. The PIN number is preferably encrypted using the Blowfish algorithm, which uses Base64. However, any other suitable encryption algorithm can also be used. The resulting encrypted string is then URL encoded for use in the link. This encrypted PIN and its checksum are then incorporated into a URL link to be sent to the customer in the second e-mail message. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the customer can provide the URL link containing the encrypted key to other potential customers. Figure 4 is a system diagram illustrating the referral of new customers in a business promotion according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The potential new customer 400 can then click on the URL link containing the encrypted key to enter a page on the vendor's Web site 300, preferably the promotional Web page 302.

In response thereto, the vendor program takes the passed key 402, decrypts it, and queries the database to determine whether the key has been tampered with 404. If not, the vendor program matches the information in the key with the information in the database. This same process can be used to track multiple levels of referrals by attaching PINs to track the "ancestors" of the referred customers. In the preferred embodiment, the key persists throughout the life of the particular Web session.

If the key is determined to be valid, the database 304 is updated with the information that the customer has referred an additional new customer to the promotional Web site. The key thereby facilitates tracking of a customer's referral incentives. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, this process is transparent to the referring customer. When the new customer performs an action that qualifies under the business promotion rules, such as placing an order or selecting promotional items, the referring customer's account is credited with the appropriate incentive for referring the new customer 406. Each new customer who is referred to the promotional site is offered the opportunity to participate in the business promotion, for example, by also receiving incentives for referring additional customers to the promotional Web site.

When a promotional incentive is awarded to a referring customer, the vendor program sends an e-mail message 408 to notify the referring customer. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, this third e-mail message contains at least two award URL links. The first award URL links the referring customer to a tally Web page 416. When the referring customer uses the first award URL to enter the tally Web page, the first award URL link passes a key to the tally Web page. This key is operable to direct the vendor's software application to display on the tally Web page a list of names of the new customers referred by the particular customer. A grand prize counter can also be created to determine which customer(s) has referred the largest number of new customers to the promotional site. The tally Web page can optionally display a ranking showing how close the customer is to winning the grand prize. This ranking can be accomplished by any appropriate means including using the vendor program to sort the list of customers by the total number of referred customers associated with each customer on the list.

In the preferred embodiment, the vendor program determines whether the referring customer has logged into the vendor's Web site. If the referring customer is logged in, the tally Web page queries the database and displays the names of referred customers for whom an incentive is being awarded. If the customer is not logged into the site, the tally Web page displays only the number of referred new customers accredited to the customer's account and the customer's ranking in relation to winning the grand prize.

The second award URL links the customer to a redemption Web page 414. At the redemption Web page, the customer can select incentive(s) awarded as a result of the customer's successful referrals of new customers. In alternative embodiments of the present invention, the tally page and the award page can be integrated as a single Web page. The grand prize listings can be displayed as a separate Web page, or as a part of the tally page, the award page, or the integrated tally/award page.

When the customer selects an incentive from the redemption Web page, the vendor program updates 418 the redemption Web page, the tally page, and the database to reflect the new amount of incentives, if any, still accruing to the customer. The vendor program then makes arrangements to have the incentives delivered 342 to the customer 344.

While the invention is described in conjunction with the preferred embodiments, this description is not intended in any way as a limitation to the scope of the invention. Modifications, changes, and variations which are apparent to those skilled in the art can be made in the arrangement, operation and details of construction of the invention disclosed herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

One skilled in the art will readily recognize that, in an embodiment that features Web- based interaction between the customer and the vendor, there are many different ways in which the vendor and customer can communicate through the Web page graphical user interface. For example, this communication can be implemented using elements including but not limited to a dialog box, check box, combo box, command button, list box, group box, slider bar, text box.

In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, all customers use computer- implemented methods to interact with the vendor, for example, using a Web page or e-mail. However, in alternative embodiments, one or more such customers participating in the business promotion can communicate with the vendor using other methods of communication, including but not limited to telephone, fax, and mail.

The present invention can be implemented automatically or can use manual interaction to facilitate the operation of the business promotion. For example, the vendor program can generate a list of customers who are to receive a particular e-mail message. The vendor can then manually direct an e-mail software application to send the appropriate e-mail messages to the customer.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A business promotion method comprising the steps of: viewing, using a computer, a Web site listing at least one promotional item that can be selected at a promotional price by a first customer; transmitting, using a computer, the first customer's request to select a promotional item from the Web site; receiving, on the computer, a confirmation of the first customer's eligibility to participate in the business promotion by receiving the promotional item at the promotional price; receiving, on the computer, a unique key in response to the first customer's participating in the business promotion; and the first customer receiving an incentive for each new customer who uses the unique key in the selection of a promotional item from the Web site.

2. The method of Claim 1 , further comprising the step of generating a database containing information related to each customer who selects a promotional item from the Web site.

3. The method of Claim 1, further comprising the step of receiving, on a computer, a notification as to whether the customer is eligible to receive the selected merchandise and services at the price.

4. The method of Claim 1 ,further comprising the steps of: receiving, on a computer, a persistent cookie in response to the first customer's participating in the business promotion; and receiving, on a computer, a non-promotional Web page during any subsequent visit of the first customer to the Web site in response to the presence of the persistent cookie.

5. The method of Claim 1 , further comprising the step of permitting each new customer who is eligible to select a promotional item from the Web site to participate in the business promotion.

6. A business promotion method comprising the steps of: receiving, on a computer, a selection from a customer of at least one promotional item from a promotional Web page of a vendor's Web site; adding, using a computer, the selected promotional item to the customer's order; querying, using a computer, a database to determine whether the customer is eligible to receive the promotional item at a promotional rate; and assessing, using a computer, any charges to the customer for the selected promotional item.

7. The method of Claim 6, further comprising the step of delivering to the customer, using a computer, at least one electronic confirmation of the customer's selected promotional item from the promotional Web page.

8. The method of Claim 6, further comprising the steps of: transmitting to the customer, using a computer, a persistent cookie for use with a Web browser running on a computer; and transmitting to the customer, using a computer and in response to the presence of the persistent cookie, a non-promotional Web page during any subsequent visit of the customer to the vendor's Web site.

9.The method of Claim 6, further comprising the steps of: delivering to the customer, using a computer, at least one unique key for use in identifying the customer; determining, using a computer, for each new customer who has selected a promotional item from the vendor's Web site, whether the new customer has used the unique key; and providing an incentive award to the customer for each new customer who has used the unique key when selecting a promotional item from the vendor's Web site.

10. The method of Claim 9, further comprising the step of associating the key with a Uniform Resource Locator link to the a page of the vendor's Web site.

11. The method of Claim 9, further comprising the step of the customer transmitting the key to at least one new customer.

12. The method of Claim 9, further comprising the step of delivering to the customer, using a computer, at least one electronic message notifying the customer that an incentive has been awarded to the customer.

13. The method of Claim 9, further comprising the step of generating a Web page for use in allowing a customer to check, using a computer, any incentive awards provided to the customer.

14. The method of Claim 6, further comprising the step of delivering to the customer, using a computer, at least one electronic message providing rules of the business promotion.

15. A method of using a computer to promote a business, comprising the steps of: publishing a list of at least one promotional item available at a promotional rate to a customer on a promotional page of a vendor's Web site that is accessible by an electronic network; receiving the customer's selection of at least one promotional item from the promotional page; determining the customer's eligibility to receive the selected promotional item at the promotional rate; providing the selected promotional item at the promotional rate to the customer in response to the selection from the promotional page; providing an incentive to the customer for referring at least one new customer to the promotional page; and providing an incentive award to each new customer for referring at least one additional new customer to the promotional page.

16. The method of Claim 15 , further comprising the step of associating a unique key for use in identifying the customer with a Uniform Resource Locator link to a page of the vendor's Web site.

17. The method of Claim 16, further comprising the step of encrypting the unique key.

18. The method of Claim 16, further comprising the step of delivering the Uniform Resource Locator and associated unique key to the customer.

19. The method of Claim 18, further comprising the step of the customer transmitting the Uniform Resource Locator and associated unique key to a prospective customer.

20. The method of Claim 19, further comprising the step of the prospective customer using the Uniform Resource Locator and associated unique key to enter the vendor's Web site.

21. The method of Claim 20, further comprising the step of decrypting the unique key to identify the customer.

22. The method of Claim 16, further comprising the step of providing an incentive award to the customer for each prospective customer who has used the unique key in a selection of a promotional item from the vendor's Web site.

23. A system for promoting a business, comprising: means for creating a list of at least one promotional items available at a promotional rate to a customer; means for publishing the list on a promotional page of a vendor's Web site accessible by an electronic network; means for receiving the customer's selection of at least one promotional item from the promotional page; means for providing the promotional item to the customer in response to the selection from the promotional page; means for providing an incentive award to the customer for referring at least one new customer to the promotional page; and means for providing an incentive award to each new customer for referring at least one additional customer to the promotional page.

24. The system of Claim 23, further comprising means for identifying a customer who has referred at least one new customer to the promotional page.

25. The system of Claim 23, further comprising means for determining a customer's eligibility to receive the selected promotional item at the promotional rate.

26. The system of Claim 23, further comprising means for displaying a non-promotional page during any subsequent visit to the vendor's Web site of a customer who has previously selected a promotional item from the promotional page.

27. A system for promoting a business, comprising: a vendor system comprising at least a first computer with a vendor program operable thereon, the vendor program comprising at least one software application adapted to implement a business promotion; at least a second computer for a first customer's accessing the vendor system to participate in the business promotion; wherein the vendor program is operable to provide at least one promotional item to the first customer at a promotional rate; wherein the vendor program is operable to receive any selection of a promotional item by the first customer and to determine the first customer's eligibility to participate in the business promotion; and wherein the vendor program is operable to assign at least one incentive award to the first customer for any eligible second customer referred to the business promotion by the first customer.

28. A system comprising: at least a first computer for receiving from a customer a selection of merchandise and services from a promotional Web page; at least a second computer for adding the selected merchandise and services to the customer's order; a database accessible to the second computer for storing information regarding the customer's eligibility for the selected merchandise and services at a promotional rate; wherein the second computer delivers at least one electronic confirmation of the customer's selected merchandise and services from the promotional page; and wherein the second computer delivers to the customer at least one notification of any charges associated with the selection of merchandise and services from the promotional page.

29. A system for on-line promotion of a business, comprising: a memory device having embodied therein information relating to at least one promotional item; a processor in communication with the memory device, the processor configured to: create a listing of the at least one promotional item; make available the listing prospective customers; determine any charges assessable to a first customer who selects at least one item from the listing; determine whether the first customer has been referred to the listing by a second customer; and if the first customer has been referred to the listing by the second customer, provide an incentive award to the second customer in response to the first customer's selection of at least one item from the listing.

30. A system for promoting a business through an electronic network, comprising: a memory device having embodied therein information relating to at least one promotional item; a processor in communication with the memory device, the processor configured to: receive a listing of the at least one promotional item; provide the listing to at least a first customer; receive from the first customer a selection of at least one promotional item from the listing; transmit the selection to a provider for providing the selected promotional item to the first customer; provide the first customer with an identification key; and provide the first customer with an incentive award for each additional customer who uses the identification key in association with a selection of at least one promotional item from the listing.