CA2267388A1 - Method and device for constructing a database containing customer data and/or for organizing a discount or coupon system - Google Patents
Method and device for constructing a database containing customer data and/or for organizing a discount or coupon system Download PDFInfo
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- CA2267388A1 CA2267388A1 CA002267388A CA2267388A CA2267388A1 CA 2267388 A1 CA2267388 A1 CA 2267388A1 CA 002267388 A CA002267388 A CA 002267388A CA 2267388 A CA2267388 A CA 2267388A CA 2267388 A1 CA2267388 A1 CA 2267388A1
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- G—PHYSICS
- G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
- G06Q—INFORMATION 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
- G06Q20/00—Payment architectures, schemes or protocols
- G06Q20/38—Payment protocols; Details thereof
- G06Q20/387—Payment using discounts or coupons
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- G—PHYSICS
- G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
- G06Q—INFORMATION 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
- G06Q30/00—Commerce
- G06Q30/02—Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
- G06Q—INFORMATION 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
- G06Q30/00—Commerce
- G06Q30/02—Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
- G06Q30/0207—Discounts or incentives, e.g. coupons or rebates
- G06Q30/0226—Incentive systems for frequent usage, e.g. frequent flyer miles programs or point systems
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- G—PHYSICS
- G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
- G06Q—INFORMATION 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
- G06Q30/00—Commerce
- G06Q30/02—Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
- G06Q30/0207—Discounts or incentives, e.g. coupons or rebates
- G06Q30/0239—Online discounts or incentives
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
- G06Q—INFORMATION 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
- G06Q30/00—Commerce
- G06Q30/06—Buying, selling or leasing transactions
- G06Q30/0601—Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
- G06Q30/0621—Item configuration or customization
Abstract
The invention concerns a method of constructing a database containing customer data and/or of organizing a discount or coupon system. The invention further concerns the use of this method and computerized check-outs which can be used in the context of this method, printed check-out receipts, printed bills, printed entrance tickets, product packaging, product stickers and product tags. Finally, the invention also concerns a device for producing said product packaging, product stickers and product tags. According to the invention, products to be sold to customers or receipts handed out to customers when purchasing products or services are each provided with an individual code. When the product or service has been purchased, the customer transmits the code with data characterizing the respective customer to a data-collection station via a communication network, in particular via the internet or a telephone network. The data-collection station is designed at least to store the data characterizing the respective customer.
Description
The invention relates to a method of building up a data bank containing customer data and/or for the organisation of a rebate or coupon system. Furthermore, the invention relates to the use of such a method and also to computer-ised tills usable in the context of the method, to printed till receipts, printed invoices, printed entry cards, prod-uct packages, product labels and product tags. Finally, the invention also relates to an apparatus for manufacturing the said product packages, product labels and product tags.
It is desirable for those offering products and/or serv-ices, in particular for the manufacturers of proprietary products, to make the sale of the product and/or services offered more attractive, to achieve the greatest possible customer loyalty and finally also to be able to enter di-rectly into contact with the respective customer in order in this way to obtain knowledge of their purchasing behav-iour. The latter in turn makes it possible to adapt the particular marketing strategy being pursued as well as pos-sible to the respectively prevailing situation.
In order to achieve the above named goals, complicated re-bate systems are frequently offered in accordance with the prior art, or competitions are organised, with the high or-ganisational and technical administrative cost being disad-vantageous in each case.
The invention is based on the object of making available a system by means of which the manufacturers and offerees of products and/or services have the opportunity, with little economic cost or complexity, of making the sale of their products and/or services more attractive, of achieving the largest possible customer loyalty and, through knowledge of the customer-specific data, of entering directly into con-tact with customers and to flexibly select corresponding marketing strategies.
In accordance with the invention this object is satisfied in that products to be sold to customers or records handed out to customers on the purchase of products or services are in each case provided with an individual code and the code is transmitted by the customer after the purchase of the product or the service, together with data characteris-ing the respective customer, to a data collecting station via a communication network, in particular via Internet or a telephone network, with the data collecting station being laid out to at least store the data characterising the re-spective customer.
Thus, in accordance with the invention, an individual code, i.e. a code associated with a special purchase action is made accessible to the customer on making a purchase which the customer, after making the purchase, transmits to a data collecting station via a communication network, in particular via Internet or via a telephone network. To-gether with the code the customer also transmits data char-acteristic of himself, such as for example,his postal ad-dress or his Internet address. The last named data are then stored in the data collecting station when the data col-lecting station recognises that the code transmitted is a valid code. The way in which this validity check can take place in detail will be described in more detail in the following in the context of explaining preferred embodi-ments.
The customer is motivated to transmit the code and the data characteristic of himself by the fact that this data trans-mission enables him to participate in a bonus program or in a competition.
The method of the invention can be realised in an extremely economical manner because it is possible, without substan-tial technical cost or complexity, to provide the product packages for example, which must in any case be printed, with an additional code, or to apply a code to a record which must, in any event, be printed. Furthermore, in ac-cordance with the invention, it is no longer necessary, in comparison to customary competitions or rebate systems, to send data or addresses via the postal route, since the transfer of the code and also of the data characterising the particular customer takes place via an electronic com-munication network, in particular via Internet or a tele-phone network. This type of data transfer is associated with a substantially lower administrative cost and complex-ity for the receiver of the data and also with less cost and complexity for the customer transmitting the data.
The system of the invention can be used particularly advan-tageously when the data transmission is handled via the In-ternet. In this case, the customer can collect points or "miles" in a unitary system when purchasing products or services of the most diverse offerees participating in the system of the invention, independent of the offerees, through the transmission of the respective code. These points or miles can then be cashed in in different ways to the advantage of the customer. Thus, it is for example con-ceivable to operate "Internet shopping" with these points, to change the collected points into e-cash, to purchase rights of use of specific Internet services with the col-lected points, or to participate in exclusive competitions, with the entitlement to participate being bought by the cashing in of a specific number of the collected points.
In addition to these advantages, which are clear to the customer, the participation in the system of the invention is also of great interest to those offering products and services, in particular for those selling or offering pro-prietary articles, because the granting of a specific num-ber of points to a purchased product or to a purchased service makes the purchase of this product or of this serv-ice more attractive to the customer in comparison to those of competing offerees. The offeree of products or services with which collectable points are associated in the context of the system of the invention can thus count on increased sale of his products or services by participating in the system of the invention.
When practising the method of the invention, the code handed out with the product or with the service serves to show that the customer has actually purchased the relevant product or the relevant service, i.e. the customer shows through knowledge of the code that a corresponding purchase has been made.
In order to avoid misuse of the system of the invention, it is sensible to store the code before the purchase or of the service and without the participation of the customer in the reference memory associated with the data collecting station, to compare the code transmitted by the customer, after the transmission of the code by the customer to the data collecting station, with the code previously stored in the reference memory and finally only to take account of those transmitted codes which were already previously stored in the reference memory.
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'1 a The procedure explained above ensures that only those codes are taken into account as valid codes which have also actu-ally been handed out to customers together with an acquired product or service.
It is of particular advantage when additional information relating to the product or to the service is stored in the data collecting station, preferably in the reference mem-ory, with this information being respectively associated with the associated code and, for example, relating to the nature of the product or of the service, to the place of production or the point of sale, to the time of production or the time of sale and/or to the price of the product or of the service.
This additional information can either be contained in the code or it is stored, without the participation of the cus-tomer prior to the purchase of the product or of the serv-ice, in the reference memory of the data collecting sta-tion, in particular together with the associated code.
In the last named alternative it is of advantage that the additional information need not be contained in the code itself, which ultimately means that it is possible to oper-ate with shorter code lengths.
The storage of the additional information basically also makes it possible to obtain additional information concern-ing the purchase behaviour of a particular customer.
A further security against misuse of the method of the in-vention can be realised if a code transmitted several times by one or more customers to the data collecting station is only taken into account by the data collecting station when first transmitted. Accordingly, through the transmission of a single code, the customer cannot simulate two or more purchase transactions although actually only one purchase was made.
It is not absolutely essential for the correct carrying out of the method of the invention that all codes handed out in connection with products or services are fundamen-tally distinguished from one another. On the contrary, it is sufficient if those codes which are transmitted within a particular time interval to the data collecting station are distinguished from one another with at least a specific probability. It is, however, preferred if all the codes transmitted within a particular time interval to the data collecting station are distinguished from one another.
The above named measure is particularly of relevance when not only the customer's address but also his purchase be-haviour is to be determined, or when a rebate or coupon system is to be established by means of the method of the invention in which, for example, one obtains some kind of award from a specific number of purchased products or col-lected points onwards.
It is of advantage when at least an element of the code consists of a random number. It is preferred if a pseudo random number is used here, and the pseudo random number generator that is used must ensure that a11 the random num-bers generated within a specific time interval are distin-guished from one another. Should a pseudo random number generator of this kind also actually generate a number which was generated at an earlier time within a defined time interval, then this newly generated random number would be rejected and a new random number generated which is distinguished from the random numbers previously gener-ated within the time interval.
The codes containing the random numbers can be centrally generated, stored in the reference memory of the data col-lecting station and made available to the respective offer-ees of products or services, so that these can hand out the generated code to the particular customer in connection with their product or their service.
In just the same way it is possible for the codes to be generated by the offerees of the products or of the serv-ices themselves, for example by,means of a suitable random number generator, and then communicated to a central posi-tion, in particular to the reference memory of the data collection station. When various offerees generate codes, then it must be ensured that two offerees do not generate the same code. This can, for example, be achieved in that an invariable code identifying the particular offeree or the particular random number generator is added to the code in addition to the random number generated.
With the two above named alternatives it is ensured that codes handed out in connection with the products or serv-ices are already present in the reference memory of the data collecting station at the time they are handed out so that a check can be made whether a code transmitted by a customer to the data collecting station is valid.
The code of the invention preferably consists of a sequence of numbers and/or a sequence of letters/numbers and/or of a bar code and/or of magnetically, optically or electroni-cally stored data. It is particularly preferred when the code is made so that it is readable by a machine. This is then advantageous if the customer, for example, operates a PC connected to the Internet, with the PC being equipped with an apparatus for reading a machine-readable code. In this case, the data transfer can be made particularly sim-ple for the customer. The possibility of misuse is also re-duced through the use of a machine-readable code, in par-ticular a bar code, because a code of this kind can only be decoded by means of a corresponding reading device. Thus, it can for example by precluded that a code located on a product package is noted by someone who does not purchase the product at a11 who could then simulate the purchase of the product by the transfer of the noted code.
Should the code not be applied to a product itself or to a product package, but rather records be used as a code car-rier, then it is sensible to use receipts printed out by computerised tills for this purpose. In this way it is not necessary to generate additional records for the realisa-tion of the method of the invention, since the invoices which are in any case produced can simply be additionally provided with the code of the invention. .
In a modification of the method of the invention it is also possible to transmit a code generated in the computerised till to the data collecting station directly from the com-puterised till together with data characterising the cus-tomer. The customer must in this case only advise the till operator of the data characterising him in a suitable man-ner. Further action on the part of the customer is then no longer necessary.
The code of the invention can naturally also be applied to entry cards, telephone invoices sent by post and the like, apart from applying it to product packages or invoices Furthermore, it is possible to form at least a part of the code to be transmitted by a commercially customary bar code price label. Information is in any event contained in these bar code price labels concerning the respectively acquired product, so that this data no longer has to be separately recorded in the code of the invention or transmitted to the data collecting station. For example, it is possible to transmit the code which is printed onto an invoice printed out by a computerised till, and which for example brings about protection against misuse through a random number contained therein, in addition to the codes which are printed on the bar code price labels.
Another possibility or an additional possibility of pre-cluding misuse of the method of the invention lies in ar-ranging the code at a position of a product package or a product label which is not visible and/or not accessible from the outside, in particular by printing it thereon, by punching it therein or by adhering it therAto. In this man-ner, a situation is avoided in which a customer with free access to product packages exhibited in a multiple store notes the code present on the product package and transmits it to the data collecting station without having purchased the product. In the last named case, only the customer who has actually purchased the product and opened the package can see the code to be transmitted, so that misuse is pre-cluded.
As a result of the information obtained on the purchasing behaviour of the customer a situation can for example be achieved in which customers can be individually wooed, with the advertising being in each case specifically matched to the purchasing behaviour that has been established.
In order to enable more targeted advertising, customer-specific data such as for example the name, the postal ad-dress, the telephone number, the age, the sex and/or the profession of the customer can be stored in the data col-lecting station. In particular, it is sensible to store the network address, and in particular the Internet address of the customer in the data collecting station, since then the automatic transmission of advertising messages via the net-work or via the Internet is possible, which is advanta-geously associated with significantly lower cost than the transmission of advertising messages by post.
For specific applications it can also be interesting to store in the data collecting station the time of the data transmission by the customer to the data collecting sta-tion. If, for example, the time of manufacture of a product which is also contained in the code is transmitted, then in this way a determination can be made, at least with a cer-tain probability, as to the amount of time~which elapses between the manufacture and the sale of a product.
If a situation is to be achieved with the system of the in-vention in which a frequently repeating contact to the cus-tomer is to be established over a longer period of time, i.e. that the customer, in particular in connection with a rebate or coupon system, makes contact several times with the data collecting station - always after the purchase of a product or of a service - then the system of the inven-tion can be realised particularly economically in the man-ner which will subsequently be described.
Customer-specific data, in particular the name, postal ad-dress and/or the network address, are only stored when a customer first makes contact with the data collecting sta-tion, whereupon a code number or a characteristic code is associated with the customer when contact is first made.
This is in particular possible when the communication be-tween the customer and the data collecting station takes place via a telephone network.
The allotting of the code number or of a characteristic code also ensures, in an advantageous manner, that the cus-tomer can be identified by means of the code number or the characteristic code in a11 further contacts which take place after the first contact, so that for these further contacts no customer-specific data need any longer be transmitted, but rather it is only necessary to transmit the code number or the characteristic code and the code as-sociated with the respectively purchased product or serv-ice. The last named transmission can take place fully auto-matically, at least at the data collecting station side.
This embodiment of the method of the invention is particu-larly preferably usable when the data transmission takes place via a telephone network since in this case the cus-tomer-specific data can be found on first making contact, for example via a call centre, whereupon a11 further cus-tomer contacts can then be dealt with fully automatically.
In this case the call centre then conducts a conversation with the customer when contact is first made during which the customer divulges the desired data and a code number or a characteristic code is given to the customer by the call centre. The call centre then brings about the storage of the customer-specific data and also of the code number or characteristic code.
When the customer subsequently makes contact an automatic message then asks the customer whether he already has a code number or not. The customer can then answer this ques-tion by means of a keyboard input, whereupon he is either switched through to the call centre - on first making con-tact - or an automated process takes place at the data col-lecting station in the case of a further contact. In the context of this automated process the customer is asked, by means of a message, to feed in the code associated with the product or service via the telephone keyboard after he has identified himself by means of his code number or charac-teristic code which is likewise fed in via the telephone keyboard.
In the described manner, all further contacts after the first contact has been made can take place fully automati-cally at the data collecting station side without human as-sistance, which offers a considerable economic advantage.
An advantageous use of the method of the invention is that a customer, after he has made a certain number of purchases which correspond to a particular value, or after he has collected a certain number of points, receives an immediate reward via the communication network, in particular via the Internet. This reward can, for example, take the form of a credit of a certain amount of money (e-cash), or can take place by granting certain Internet shopping rights or by granting user rights which can be exploited via the Inter-net.
It is in particular also possible to give the customer ac-cess rights to a predetermined Internet address, in par-ticular a free line to a chat room as a reward in depend-ence on specific data stored in the data collecting station with respect to a customer. In this manner only those In-ternet participants can, for example, obtain access to spe-cific chat rooms who have purchased a specific quantity of proprietary articles within a specific period of time.
A targeted and individual wooing of a customer is particu-larly economically practicable in the context of the method of the invention, in particular when contact is automati-cally established with the customer via a communication network, in particular via the Internet, in dependence on specific data stored with respect to a customer in the data collecting station. The selection of the respective adver-tising message can then take place preferably in dependence on the stored data, so that individual advertising messages adapted for example to the specific purchasing behaviour of the respective customer are transmitted. In just the same way it is naturally possible to correspondingly and differ-entially woo customers of different age groups or different sexes.
In the context of the invention protection is also claimed for apparatus for manufacturing product packages, product labels and/or product tags usable in the context of the method of the invention, with the apparatus having a unit for marking the product packages, product labels and/or product tags with a code. A pseudo random number generator of the above described kind which is suitable for generat-ing the code of the invention can additionally be inte-grated into this apparatus. Furthermore, the apparatus can have a device by means of which the code generated in the apparatus can be transmitted to the data collecting sta-tion, in particular to its reference memory.
The device for effecting the marking is preferably designed so that the code can be applied to a position of the fin-ished product package which is not visible from the out-side, in particular to the rear side of an already printed or yet to be printed package section.
In the context of the invention protection is also claimed for a computerised till which has a unit for generating or for receiving a code in accordance with the invention and a printing mechanism for printing this code onto a receipt.
The computerised till can furthermore be equipped with a random number generator to generate at least an element of a code of the invention. It is of advantage here when a de-vice is provided to avoid the generation of two identical codes within a specific time interval.
It is likewise preferred when the computerised till has a connection for a communication network, in particular an Internet connection, by which the generated or printed codes, and/or an additional information generated by the computerised till, can be transmitted to the data collect-ing station. If the codes are not generated in the comput-erised till, it is also possible, via the said connection for the communication network, to transfer codes which are generated at a central position, in particular in the data collecting station, from the central position to the com-puterised till, where these codes are then printed onto the receipts.
A connection of this kind for a communication network is in particular significant when a comparison is to be made in the data collecting station, in the manner already de-scribed above, of the code which is either generated by the computerised till or by a central position with the code transmitted by the customer, in order to preclude the pos-sibility of misuse in this way.
It is particularly advantageous when a device is contained in the computerised till which makes it possible for the code generated to be transmitted only package-wise, in par-ticular at predetermined times or in predetermined time in-tervals, in order to minimise the connection costs which arise in this way. .
In the context of the invention protection is also claimed for printed till receipts, printed invoices or printed en-try cards for use in the method of the invention, with a code in accordance with the invention being applied to the above named articles, and indeed in addition to the custom-ary particulars, such as price, date, point of sale, prod-uct specification and the like. The code can for example be printed thereon; punched therein, adhered thereto or accom-pany the articles in some other manner.
In the context of the invention, protection is also claimed for product packages, product labels and/or product tags in which the code of the invention is arranged at a position which is not visible and/or not accessible on a filled and closed product package.
Finally, protection is claimed in the context of the inven-tion for a method for building up a data bank containing customer data and/or of organising a rebate or coupon sys-tem in which products to be sold to customers or records handed out to customers on the purchase of products or services are each provided with a code and the customer is motivated to subsequently transmit the code together with data characterising the respective customer to a data col-lecting station via a communication network, in particular via a telephone network or via Internet. This method can be further developed in accordance with the above described examples.
The preferred embodiment of the method of the invention will be described in the following with reference to the drawings in which are shown:
Figure 1 a diagrammatic representation of the principle of cooperation of individual components for the re-alisation of the method of the invention, Figure 2 a product package in accordance with the inven-tion, and Figure 3 a receipt printed in accordance with the inven-tion.
Figure 1 shows a data collection station 1 which is equipped with a code generator 2, with a customer and point data bank 3 and also with a reference memory 4. The coop-eration of these components 2, 3, 4 is controlled by a con-trol unit 5.
When appropriately energised by the control unit 5, the code generator 2 generates a packet of codes which differ from one another. An additional information, for example a product specification and a product price, is in each case associated with the generated codes via the control unit 5, for example by manual input. This information is then stored together with the generated code in mutually associ-ated form in the reference memory 4. The reference memory 4 thus consists essentially of a table in which a product specification and a product price is associated with each code.
The codes generated by the code generator 2 are transmitted packet-wise - without the said additional information - via an Internet connection 6 to a production unit 7 in which product packages are manufactured and filled.
This production unit 7 has an apparatus 8 in which package sections are generated. These package sections then pass to a unit 9 which is designed to receive the code transmitted by the code generator 2. The codes received by the unit 9 are printed onto the package sections by a printing mecha-nism which is likewise contained in the unit 9. The print-ing mechanism is arranged so that the code is ultimately placed at a position of the finished product package which is not visible from the outside.
In the context of the printing process it is ensured that an individual code is printed onto each package section, i.e. within a defined period of time, for example within one or two years, no two package sections are produced which have the same code.
The package sections which are printed in the named manner now pass into a packaging unit 10 in which the product packages are finished and filled.
Starting from the code generator 2, packets of codes are transmitted from the code generator 2 via the Internet con-nection 6 not only to the production unit 7, but rather also to a computerised till 11.
The computerised till 11 has a unit 12 for receiving codes or code packets transmitted via the Internet connection 6.
The received codes are then printed by a printing mechanism 13 onto till receipts which are to be printed out by the computerised till 11, with it being ensured that an indi-vidual code is associated with each till receipt, i.e. no two identical codes are printed onto different till re-ceipts, at least within a specific period of time.
The control 5 contained in the data collecting station 1 controls the code generator 2 in such a way that it is en-sured that the production unit 7 for manufacturing product packages and the computerised till 11 respectively receive differing codes, so that no code exists which is simultane-ously applied to a product package and to a receipt. On in-tegration of a plurality of production units 7 and/or a plurality of computerised tills 11 into the method of the invention the control unit 5 accordingly ensures that codes which are always different are always transmitted to all attached units 7, 11 - at least within specific time inter-vals.
A customer 14 acquires, via customary distribution paths, products which are provided on the inner side with codes which have been applied by the unit 9. Furthermore, re-ceipts printed out by the computerised till 11 are handed out to the customer 14 in the context of the purchase of specific products or services and these receipts are pro-vided with a code printed by the unit 13.
The customer 14 thus obtains knowledge in the described manner of codes which were previously generated by the code generator 2 and were transmitted either to the production unit 7 or to the computerised till 11.
The customer 14 transmits the codes which have been brought to his attention to the data collecting station 1 by means of his PC 16 and the Internet interface 17 attached thereto. In doing so, the customer 14 first feeds in data characterising himself in order to identify himself to the data collecting station 1. This leads, on a first contact, to a new data set being laid on in the data collecting sta-tion 1 for the customer 14 in the customer and point data bank 3. On a second or further contact, the customer simply identifies himself with reference to a code number allotted in the context of the first contact.
With future technologies it is also conceivable that the code will be transmitted on purchase of the product direct by wireless or by wire from a computerised till 11 into a mobile customer PC from which the further transmission to the data collecting station 1 then takes place. In this case the code input which is to be effected by the customer can then be spared.
In accordance with the above named identification of the customer 14 a check is made in the data collecting station 1 at 18 whether the code transmitted is a valid code. For this purpose, the transmitted code is compared with the codes stored in the reference memory 4. If the transmitted code is present in the reference memory 4, then this is a valid code. Otherwise the code is invalid.
If now a valid code transmission from the customer 14 to the data collecting station 1 is determined, then the cus-tomer and point-data bank 3 is correspondingly actualised, i.e. the point account of the customer 14 is increased.
The additional information associated with the transmitted code and stored in the data collecting station 1 before the code transmission are in particular transferred from the reference memory 4 into the customer and point data bank 3 and associated with the respective customer 14. This data then gives information concerning the purchasing behaviour of the customer 14.
Furthermore, the value of the transmitted code is checked, whereupon a corresponding number of points is credited to the customer 14, to his point account present in the cus-tomer and point data bank 3.
After a code transmitted by the customer 14 has been recog-nised as valid, this code is cancelled in the reference memory 4 to avoid the code being recognised a second time as a valid code should the customer, for example, send the same code to the data collecting station l~again.
This procedure can be repeated by the customer 14 with each new code which is made accessible to him via product pack-ages or till receipts. In this manner, points can be col-lected by the customer 14 which he can then cash in in the initially described manner for a correspondingly devised reward.
Accordingly, the point account of the customer 14 grows with each valid code transmitted by the customer 14 to the data collecting station 1 and additional data concerning his purchase behaviour is stored in the customer and point data bank 3. This data can be utilised in the initially likewise described manner by the offeree of the products or services purchased by the customer 14, in particular for the adaptation of the respective marketing strategy or for the transmission of advertising messages.
It is of advantage when the data collecting station 1 can determine with reference to the code transmitted by the customer 14, or with reference to the additional informa-tion stored in the reference memory 4 with respect to this code, from which product offeree or service offeree the customer 14 obtained knowledge of the respective code. In this case, for example on establishing an Internet connec-tion between the customer 14 and the data collecting sta-tion 1, an advertisement relating to the respective offeree can be blended in or a switch can be made to the home page of the respective offeree. Through the last named measure, the offeree can enter into direct interactive contact with the customer 14.
When the customer 14 wishes to learn the state of his point account, or to trade in the collected points against a re-ward, then he can enter into contact with the data collect-ing station 1 via the Internet connection 19 and trigger the desired actions.
In the context of the above described method codes are transmitted by the code generator 2 to the computerised till 11. It is preferable when codes of different value are transmitted here, i.e. codes which correspond to different point values and for these codes to be applied to the re-ceipts to be printed in dependence on the amount of the purchase that is made. In this way a situation can be achieved in which for a purchase with a high value a higher number of points can also be collected. Attention must naturally be paid in this respect to ensuring that a suffi-cient supply of codes of different value is always stored in the computerised till 11.
On transmission of the codes from the code generator 2 to the computerised till 11 the transmitted codes are simulta-neously stored in the reference memory 4 together with an identification of the computerised till 11, so that a de-termination can be made in the data collecting station 1, on transmission of the code from the customer 14 to the data collection station 1, regarding the computerised till 11 at which the customer 14 made his purchase. Prior to transmission of the code from the customer 14 to the data collecting station 1 the code of the computerised till 11 represents an additional information stored in the refer-ence memory 4.
As an alternative to the described method it is also possi-ble to generate the codes in the production unit 7 and/or in the computerised till 11 itself and to transmit the gen-erated codes via an Internet connection to~the reference memory 4 of the data collecting station 1. At the same time as this code transmission the respective additional infor-mation is then also transmitted from the units 7, 11.
The last named alternative is in particular of advantage with respect to the computerised till 11 since on printing a receipt handed out to the customer 14 the computerised till knows what type of products the customer 14 has pur-chased and which prices are respectively associated with these products. Furthermore, the computerised till 11 has knowledge concerning the date of the purchase that is made.
A11 this additional information can be transmitted from the computerised till 11 to the reference memory 4 for the pur-pose of later evaluation in the customer and point data bank 3.
With this method it is necessary for an element of the code generated in the units 7, 11 to represent an individual and unchanging code for the units 7, 11 in order to ensure in this way that non-identical codes are generated in differ-ent units 7, 11. Furthermore, a random number generator must be present in the units 7, 11 which is programmed so that at least codes generated within a specific time period are different from one another.
Figure 2 shows a product package 21 which can be used in the context of the method of the invention.
A code 22 is printed onto the inner side of the cover part 20a of the product package 21 and is not visible when the package 21 is closed.
Figure 3 shows a record 23 which can be used in the context of the method of the invention which, in addition to the customarily printed data 24 also has a code 25 in accor-dance with the invention. In contrast to the product pack-age 21 in accordance with Fig. 2, the code 25 does not have to be hidden on the record 23, because the record is in any event only handed out to the customer who has made the cor-responding purchase. A misuse is thus not possible.
It is desirable for those offering products and/or serv-ices, in particular for the manufacturers of proprietary products, to make the sale of the product and/or services offered more attractive, to achieve the greatest possible customer loyalty and finally also to be able to enter di-rectly into contact with the respective customer in order in this way to obtain knowledge of their purchasing behav-iour. The latter in turn makes it possible to adapt the particular marketing strategy being pursued as well as pos-sible to the respectively prevailing situation.
In order to achieve the above named goals, complicated re-bate systems are frequently offered in accordance with the prior art, or competitions are organised, with the high or-ganisational and technical administrative cost being disad-vantageous in each case.
The invention is based on the object of making available a system by means of which the manufacturers and offerees of products and/or services have the opportunity, with little economic cost or complexity, of making the sale of their products and/or services more attractive, of achieving the largest possible customer loyalty and, through knowledge of the customer-specific data, of entering directly into con-tact with customers and to flexibly select corresponding marketing strategies.
In accordance with the invention this object is satisfied in that products to be sold to customers or records handed out to customers on the purchase of products or services are in each case provided with an individual code and the code is transmitted by the customer after the purchase of the product or the service, together with data characteris-ing the respective customer, to a data collecting station via a communication network, in particular via Internet or a telephone network, with the data collecting station being laid out to at least store the data characterising the re-spective customer.
Thus, in accordance with the invention, an individual code, i.e. a code associated with a special purchase action is made accessible to the customer on making a purchase which the customer, after making the purchase, transmits to a data collecting station via a communication network, in particular via Internet or via a telephone network. To-gether with the code the customer also transmits data char-acteristic of himself, such as for example,his postal ad-dress or his Internet address. The last named data are then stored in the data collecting station when the data col-lecting station recognises that the code transmitted is a valid code. The way in which this validity check can take place in detail will be described in more detail in the following in the context of explaining preferred embodi-ments.
The customer is motivated to transmit the code and the data characteristic of himself by the fact that this data trans-mission enables him to participate in a bonus program or in a competition.
The method of the invention can be realised in an extremely economical manner because it is possible, without substan-tial technical cost or complexity, to provide the product packages for example, which must in any case be printed, with an additional code, or to apply a code to a record which must, in any event, be printed. Furthermore, in ac-cordance with the invention, it is no longer necessary, in comparison to customary competitions or rebate systems, to send data or addresses via the postal route, since the transfer of the code and also of the data characterising the particular customer takes place via an electronic com-munication network, in particular via Internet or a tele-phone network. This type of data transfer is associated with a substantially lower administrative cost and complex-ity for the receiver of the data and also with less cost and complexity for the customer transmitting the data.
The system of the invention can be used particularly advan-tageously when the data transmission is handled via the In-ternet. In this case, the customer can collect points or "miles" in a unitary system when purchasing products or services of the most diverse offerees participating in the system of the invention, independent of the offerees, through the transmission of the respective code. These points or miles can then be cashed in in different ways to the advantage of the customer. Thus, it is for example con-ceivable to operate "Internet shopping" with these points, to change the collected points into e-cash, to purchase rights of use of specific Internet services with the col-lected points, or to participate in exclusive competitions, with the entitlement to participate being bought by the cashing in of a specific number of the collected points.
In addition to these advantages, which are clear to the customer, the participation in the system of the invention is also of great interest to those offering products and services, in particular for those selling or offering pro-prietary articles, because the granting of a specific num-ber of points to a purchased product or to a purchased service makes the purchase of this product or of this serv-ice more attractive to the customer in comparison to those of competing offerees. The offeree of products or services with which collectable points are associated in the context of the system of the invention can thus count on increased sale of his products or services by participating in the system of the invention.
When practising the method of the invention, the code handed out with the product or with the service serves to show that the customer has actually purchased the relevant product or the relevant service, i.e. the customer shows through knowledge of the code that a corresponding purchase has been made.
In order to avoid misuse of the system of the invention, it is sensible to store the code before the purchase or of the service and without the participation of the customer in the reference memory associated with the data collecting station, to compare the code transmitted by the customer, after the transmission of the code by the customer to the data collecting station, with the code previously stored in the reference memory and finally only to take account of those transmitted codes which were already previously stored in the reference memory.
i S
'1 a The procedure explained above ensures that only those codes are taken into account as valid codes which have also actu-ally been handed out to customers together with an acquired product or service.
It is of particular advantage when additional information relating to the product or to the service is stored in the data collecting station, preferably in the reference mem-ory, with this information being respectively associated with the associated code and, for example, relating to the nature of the product or of the service, to the place of production or the point of sale, to the time of production or the time of sale and/or to the price of the product or of the service.
This additional information can either be contained in the code or it is stored, without the participation of the cus-tomer prior to the purchase of the product or of the serv-ice, in the reference memory of the data collecting sta-tion, in particular together with the associated code.
In the last named alternative it is of advantage that the additional information need not be contained in the code itself, which ultimately means that it is possible to oper-ate with shorter code lengths.
The storage of the additional information basically also makes it possible to obtain additional information concern-ing the purchase behaviour of a particular customer.
A further security against misuse of the method of the in-vention can be realised if a code transmitted several times by one or more customers to the data collecting station is only taken into account by the data collecting station when first transmitted. Accordingly, through the transmission of a single code, the customer cannot simulate two or more purchase transactions although actually only one purchase was made.
It is not absolutely essential for the correct carrying out of the method of the invention that all codes handed out in connection with products or services are fundamen-tally distinguished from one another. On the contrary, it is sufficient if those codes which are transmitted within a particular time interval to the data collecting station are distinguished from one another with at least a specific probability. It is, however, preferred if all the codes transmitted within a particular time interval to the data collecting station are distinguished from one another.
The above named measure is particularly of relevance when not only the customer's address but also his purchase be-haviour is to be determined, or when a rebate or coupon system is to be established by means of the method of the invention in which, for example, one obtains some kind of award from a specific number of purchased products or col-lected points onwards.
It is of advantage when at least an element of the code consists of a random number. It is preferred if a pseudo random number is used here, and the pseudo random number generator that is used must ensure that a11 the random num-bers generated within a specific time interval are distin-guished from one another. Should a pseudo random number generator of this kind also actually generate a number which was generated at an earlier time within a defined time interval, then this newly generated random number would be rejected and a new random number generated which is distinguished from the random numbers previously gener-ated within the time interval.
The codes containing the random numbers can be centrally generated, stored in the reference memory of the data col-lecting station and made available to the respective offer-ees of products or services, so that these can hand out the generated code to the particular customer in connection with their product or their service.
In just the same way it is possible for the codes to be generated by the offerees of the products or of the serv-ices themselves, for example by,means of a suitable random number generator, and then communicated to a central posi-tion, in particular to the reference memory of the data collection station. When various offerees generate codes, then it must be ensured that two offerees do not generate the same code. This can, for example, be achieved in that an invariable code identifying the particular offeree or the particular random number generator is added to the code in addition to the random number generated.
With the two above named alternatives it is ensured that codes handed out in connection with the products or serv-ices are already present in the reference memory of the data collecting station at the time they are handed out so that a check can be made whether a code transmitted by a customer to the data collecting station is valid.
The code of the invention preferably consists of a sequence of numbers and/or a sequence of letters/numbers and/or of a bar code and/or of magnetically, optically or electroni-cally stored data. It is particularly preferred when the code is made so that it is readable by a machine. This is then advantageous if the customer, for example, operates a PC connected to the Internet, with the PC being equipped with an apparatus for reading a machine-readable code. In this case, the data transfer can be made particularly sim-ple for the customer. The possibility of misuse is also re-duced through the use of a machine-readable code, in par-ticular a bar code, because a code of this kind can only be decoded by means of a corresponding reading device. Thus, it can for example by precluded that a code located on a product package is noted by someone who does not purchase the product at a11 who could then simulate the purchase of the product by the transfer of the noted code.
Should the code not be applied to a product itself or to a product package, but rather records be used as a code car-rier, then it is sensible to use receipts printed out by computerised tills for this purpose. In this way it is not necessary to generate additional records for the realisa-tion of the method of the invention, since the invoices which are in any case produced can simply be additionally provided with the code of the invention. .
In a modification of the method of the invention it is also possible to transmit a code generated in the computerised till to the data collecting station directly from the com-puterised till together with data characterising the cus-tomer. The customer must in this case only advise the till operator of the data characterising him in a suitable man-ner. Further action on the part of the customer is then no longer necessary.
The code of the invention can naturally also be applied to entry cards, telephone invoices sent by post and the like, apart from applying it to product packages or invoices Furthermore, it is possible to form at least a part of the code to be transmitted by a commercially customary bar code price label. Information is in any event contained in these bar code price labels concerning the respectively acquired product, so that this data no longer has to be separately recorded in the code of the invention or transmitted to the data collecting station. For example, it is possible to transmit the code which is printed onto an invoice printed out by a computerised till, and which for example brings about protection against misuse through a random number contained therein, in addition to the codes which are printed on the bar code price labels.
Another possibility or an additional possibility of pre-cluding misuse of the method of the invention lies in ar-ranging the code at a position of a product package or a product label which is not visible and/or not accessible from the outside, in particular by printing it thereon, by punching it therein or by adhering it therAto. In this man-ner, a situation is avoided in which a customer with free access to product packages exhibited in a multiple store notes the code present on the product package and transmits it to the data collecting station without having purchased the product. In the last named case, only the customer who has actually purchased the product and opened the package can see the code to be transmitted, so that misuse is pre-cluded.
As a result of the information obtained on the purchasing behaviour of the customer a situation can for example be achieved in which customers can be individually wooed, with the advertising being in each case specifically matched to the purchasing behaviour that has been established.
In order to enable more targeted advertising, customer-specific data such as for example the name, the postal ad-dress, the telephone number, the age, the sex and/or the profession of the customer can be stored in the data col-lecting station. In particular, it is sensible to store the network address, and in particular the Internet address of the customer in the data collecting station, since then the automatic transmission of advertising messages via the net-work or via the Internet is possible, which is advanta-geously associated with significantly lower cost than the transmission of advertising messages by post.
For specific applications it can also be interesting to store in the data collecting station the time of the data transmission by the customer to the data collecting sta-tion. If, for example, the time of manufacture of a product which is also contained in the code is transmitted, then in this way a determination can be made, at least with a cer-tain probability, as to the amount of time~which elapses between the manufacture and the sale of a product.
If a situation is to be achieved with the system of the in-vention in which a frequently repeating contact to the cus-tomer is to be established over a longer period of time, i.e. that the customer, in particular in connection with a rebate or coupon system, makes contact several times with the data collecting station - always after the purchase of a product or of a service - then the system of the inven-tion can be realised particularly economically in the man-ner which will subsequently be described.
Customer-specific data, in particular the name, postal ad-dress and/or the network address, are only stored when a customer first makes contact with the data collecting sta-tion, whereupon a code number or a characteristic code is associated with the customer when contact is first made.
This is in particular possible when the communication be-tween the customer and the data collecting station takes place via a telephone network.
The allotting of the code number or of a characteristic code also ensures, in an advantageous manner, that the cus-tomer can be identified by means of the code number or the characteristic code in a11 further contacts which take place after the first contact, so that for these further contacts no customer-specific data need any longer be transmitted, but rather it is only necessary to transmit the code number or the characteristic code and the code as-sociated with the respectively purchased product or serv-ice. The last named transmission can take place fully auto-matically, at least at the data collecting station side.
This embodiment of the method of the invention is particu-larly preferably usable when the data transmission takes place via a telephone network since in this case the cus-tomer-specific data can be found on first making contact, for example via a call centre, whereupon a11 further cus-tomer contacts can then be dealt with fully automatically.
In this case the call centre then conducts a conversation with the customer when contact is first made during which the customer divulges the desired data and a code number or a characteristic code is given to the customer by the call centre. The call centre then brings about the storage of the customer-specific data and also of the code number or characteristic code.
When the customer subsequently makes contact an automatic message then asks the customer whether he already has a code number or not. The customer can then answer this ques-tion by means of a keyboard input, whereupon he is either switched through to the call centre - on first making con-tact - or an automated process takes place at the data col-lecting station in the case of a further contact. In the context of this automated process the customer is asked, by means of a message, to feed in the code associated with the product or service via the telephone keyboard after he has identified himself by means of his code number or charac-teristic code which is likewise fed in via the telephone keyboard.
In the described manner, all further contacts after the first contact has been made can take place fully automati-cally at the data collecting station side without human as-sistance, which offers a considerable economic advantage.
An advantageous use of the method of the invention is that a customer, after he has made a certain number of purchases which correspond to a particular value, or after he has collected a certain number of points, receives an immediate reward via the communication network, in particular via the Internet. This reward can, for example, take the form of a credit of a certain amount of money (e-cash), or can take place by granting certain Internet shopping rights or by granting user rights which can be exploited via the Inter-net.
It is in particular also possible to give the customer ac-cess rights to a predetermined Internet address, in par-ticular a free line to a chat room as a reward in depend-ence on specific data stored in the data collecting station with respect to a customer. In this manner only those In-ternet participants can, for example, obtain access to spe-cific chat rooms who have purchased a specific quantity of proprietary articles within a specific period of time.
A targeted and individual wooing of a customer is particu-larly economically practicable in the context of the method of the invention, in particular when contact is automati-cally established with the customer via a communication network, in particular via the Internet, in dependence on specific data stored with respect to a customer in the data collecting station. The selection of the respective adver-tising message can then take place preferably in dependence on the stored data, so that individual advertising messages adapted for example to the specific purchasing behaviour of the respective customer are transmitted. In just the same way it is naturally possible to correspondingly and differ-entially woo customers of different age groups or different sexes.
In the context of the invention protection is also claimed for apparatus for manufacturing product packages, product labels and/or product tags usable in the context of the method of the invention, with the apparatus having a unit for marking the product packages, product labels and/or product tags with a code. A pseudo random number generator of the above described kind which is suitable for generat-ing the code of the invention can additionally be inte-grated into this apparatus. Furthermore, the apparatus can have a device by means of which the code generated in the apparatus can be transmitted to the data collecting sta-tion, in particular to its reference memory.
The device for effecting the marking is preferably designed so that the code can be applied to a position of the fin-ished product package which is not visible from the out-side, in particular to the rear side of an already printed or yet to be printed package section.
In the context of the invention protection is also claimed for a computerised till which has a unit for generating or for receiving a code in accordance with the invention and a printing mechanism for printing this code onto a receipt.
The computerised till can furthermore be equipped with a random number generator to generate at least an element of a code of the invention. It is of advantage here when a de-vice is provided to avoid the generation of two identical codes within a specific time interval.
It is likewise preferred when the computerised till has a connection for a communication network, in particular an Internet connection, by which the generated or printed codes, and/or an additional information generated by the computerised till, can be transmitted to the data collect-ing station. If the codes are not generated in the comput-erised till, it is also possible, via the said connection for the communication network, to transfer codes which are generated at a central position, in particular in the data collecting station, from the central position to the com-puterised till, where these codes are then printed onto the receipts.
A connection of this kind for a communication network is in particular significant when a comparison is to be made in the data collecting station, in the manner already de-scribed above, of the code which is either generated by the computerised till or by a central position with the code transmitted by the customer, in order to preclude the pos-sibility of misuse in this way.
It is particularly advantageous when a device is contained in the computerised till which makes it possible for the code generated to be transmitted only package-wise, in par-ticular at predetermined times or in predetermined time in-tervals, in order to minimise the connection costs which arise in this way. .
In the context of the invention protection is also claimed for printed till receipts, printed invoices or printed en-try cards for use in the method of the invention, with a code in accordance with the invention being applied to the above named articles, and indeed in addition to the custom-ary particulars, such as price, date, point of sale, prod-uct specification and the like. The code can for example be printed thereon; punched therein, adhered thereto or accom-pany the articles in some other manner.
In the context of the invention, protection is also claimed for product packages, product labels and/or product tags in which the code of the invention is arranged at a position which is not visible and/or not accessible on a filled and closed product package.
Finally, protection is claimed in the context of the inven-tion for a method for building up a data bank containing customer data and/or of organising a rebate or coupon sys-tem in which products to be sold to customers or records handed out to customers on the purchase of products or services are each provided with a code and the customer is motivated to subsequently transmit the code together with data characterising the respective customer to a data col-lecting station via a communication network, in particular via a telephone network or via Internet. This method can be further developed in accordance with the above described examples.
The preferred embodiment of the method of the invention will be described in the following with reference to the drawings in which are shown:
Figure 1 a diagrammatic representation of the principle of cooperation of individual components for the re-alisation of the method of the invention, Figure 2 a product package in accordance with the inven-tion, and Figure 3 a receipt printed in accordance with the inven-tion.
Figure 1 shows a data collection station 1 which is equipped with a code generator 2, with a customer and point data bank 3 and also with a reference memory 4. The coop-eration of these components 2, 3, 4 is controlled by a con-trol unit 5.
When appropriately energised by the control unit 5, the code generator 2 generates a packet of codes which differ from one another. An additional information, for example a product specification and a product price, is in each case associated with the generated codes via the control unit 5, for example by manual input. This information is then stored together with the generated code in mutually associ-ated form in the reference memory 4. The reference memory 4 thus consists essentially of a table in which a product specification and a product price is associated with each code.
The codes generated by the code generator 2 are transmitted packet-wise - without the said additional information - via an Internet connection 6 to a production unit 7 in which product packages are manufactured and filled.
This production unit 7 has an apparatus 8 in which package sections are generated. These package sections then pass to a unit 9 which is designed to receive the code transmitted by the code generator 2. The codes received by the unit 9 are printed onto the package sections by a printing mecha-nism which is likewise contained in the unit 9. The print-ing mechanism is arranged so that the code is ultimately placed at a position of the finished product package which is not visible from the outside.
In the context of the printing process it is ensured that an individual code is printed onto each package section, i.e. within a defined period of time, for example within one or two years, no two package sections are produced which have the same code.
The package sections which are printed in the named manner now pass into a packaging unit 10 in which the product packages are finished and filled.
Starting from the code generator 2, packets of codes are transmitted from the code generator 2 via the Internet con-nection 6 not only to the production unit 7, but rather also to a computerised till 11.
The computerised till 11 has a unit 12 for receiving codes or code packets transmitted via the Internet connection 6.
The received codes are then printed by a printing mechanism 13 onto till receipts which are to be printed out by the computerised till 11, with it being ensured that an indi-vidual code is associated with each till receipt, i.e. no two identical codes are printed onto different till re-ceipts, at least within a specific period of time.
The control 5 contained in the data collecting station 1 controls the code generator 2 in such a way that it is en-sured that the production unit 7 for manufacturing product packages and the computerised till 11 respectively receive differing codes, so that no code exists which is simultane-ously applied to a product package and to a receipt. On in-tegration of a plurality of production units 7 and/or a plurality of computerised tills 11 into the method of the invention the control unit 5 accordingly ensures that codes which are always different are always transmitted to all attached units 7, 11 - at least within specific time inter-vals.
A customer 14 acquires, via customary distribution paths, products which are provided on the inner side with codes which have been applied by the unit 9. Furthermore, re-ceipts printed out by the computerised till 11 are handed out to the customer 14 in the context of the purchase of specific products or services and these receipts are pro-vided with a code printed by the unit 13.
The customer 14 thus obtains knowledge in the described manner of codes which were previously generated by the code generator 2 and were transmitted either to the production unit 7 or to the computerised till 11.
The customer 14 transmits the codes which have been brought to his attention to the data collecting station 1 by means of his PC 16 and the Internet interface 17 attached thereto. In doing so, the customer 14 first feeds in data characterising himself in order to identify himself to the data collecting station 1. This leads, on a first contact, to a new data set being laid on in the data collecting sta-tion 1 for the customer 14 in the customer and point data bank 3. On a second or further contact, the customer simply identifies himself with reference to a code number allotted in the context of the first contact.
With future technologies it is also conceivable that the code will be transmitted on purchase of the product direct by wireless or by wire from a computerised till 11 into a mobile customer PC from which the further transmission to the data collecting station 1 then takes place. In this case the code input which is to be effected by the customer can then be spared.
In accordance with the above named identification of the customer 14 a check is made in the data collecting station 1 at 18 whether the code transmitted is a valid code. For this purpose, the transmitted code is compared with the codes stored in the reference memory 4. If the transmitted code is present in the reference memory 4, then this is a valid code. Otherwise the code is invalid.
If now a valid code transmission from the customer 14 to the data collecting station 1 is determined, then the cus-tomer and point-data bank 3 is correspondingly actualised, i.e. the point account of the customer 14 is increased.
The additional information associated with the transmitted code and stored in the data collecting station 1 before the code transmission are in particular transferred from the reference memory 4 into the customer and point data bank 3 and associated with the respective customer 14. This data then gives information concerning the purchasing behaviour of the customer 14.
Furthermore, the value of the transmitted code is checked, whereupon a corresponding number of points is credited to the customer 14, to his point account present in the cus-tomer and point data bank 3.
After a code transmitted by the customer 14 has been recog-nised as valid, this code is cancelled in the reference memory 4 to avoid the code being recognised a second time as a valid code should the customer, for example, send the same code to the data collecting station l~again.
This procedure can be repeated by the customer 14 with each new code which is made accessible to him via product pack-ages or till receipts. In this manner, points can be col-lected by the customer 14 which he can then cash in in the initially described manner for a correspondingly devised reward.
Accordingly, the point account of the customer 14 grows with each valid code transmitted by the customer 14 to the data collecting station 1 and additional data concerning his purchase behaviour is stored in the customer and point data bank 3. This data can be utilised in the initially likewise described manner by the offeree of the products or services purchased by the customer 14, in particular for the adaptation of the respective marketing strategy or for the transmission of advertising messages.
It is of advantage when the data collecting station 1 can determine with reference to the code transmitted by the customer 14, or with reference to the additional informa-tion stored in the reference memory 4 with respect to this code, from which product offeree or service offeree the customer 14 obtained knowledge of the respective code. In this case, for example on establishing an Internet connec-tion between the customer 14 and the data collecting sta-tion 1, an advertisement relating to the respective offeree can be blended in or a switch can be made to the home page of the respective offeree. Through the last named measure, the offeree can enter into direct interactive contact with the customer 14.
When the customer 14 wishes to learn the state of his point account, or to trade in the collected points against a re-ward, then he can enter into contact with the data collect-ing station 1 via the Internet connection 19 and trigger the desired actions.
In the context of the above described method codes are transmitted by the code generator 2 to the computerised till 11. It is preferable when codes of different value are transmitted here, i.e. codes which correspond to different point values and for these codes to be applied to the re-ceipts to be printed in dependence on the amount of the purchase that is made. In this way a situation can be achieved in which for a purchase with a high value a higher number of points can also be collected. Attention must naturally be paid in this respect to ensuring that a suffi-cient supply of codes of different value is always stored in the computerised till 11.
On transmission of the codes from the code generator 2 to the computerised till 11 the transmitted codes are simulta-neously stored in the reference memory 4 together with an identification of the computerised till 11, so that a de-termination can be made in the data collecting station 1, on transmission of the code from the customer 14 to the data collection station 1, regarding the computerised till 11 at which the customer 14 made his purchase. Prior to transmission of the code from the customer 14 to the data collecting station 1 the code of the computerised till 11 represents an additional information stored in the refer-ence memory 4.
As an alternative to the described method it is also possi-ble to generate the codes in the production unit 7 and/or in the computerised till 11 itself and to transmit the gen-erated codes via an Internet connection to~the reference memory 4 of the data collecting station 1. At the same time as this code transmission the respective additional infor-mation is then also transmitted from the units 7, 11.
The last named alternative is in particular of advantage with respect to the computerised till 11 since on printing a receipt handed out to the customer 14 the computerised till knows what type of products the customer 14 has pur-chased and which prices are respectively associated with these products. Furthermore, the computerised till 11 has knowledge concerning the date of the purchase that is made.
A11 this additional information can be transmitted from the computerised till 11 to the reference memory 4 for the pur-pose of later evaluation in the customer and point data bank 3.
With this method it is necessary for an element of the code generated in the units 7, 11 to represent an individual and unchanging code for the units 7, 11 in order to ensure in this way that non-identical codes are generated in differ-ent units 7, 11. Furthermore, a random number generator must be present in the units 7, 11 which is programmed so that at least codes generated within a specific time period are different from one another.
Figure 2 shows a product package 21 which can be used in the context of the method of the invention.
A code 22 is printed onto the inner side of the cover part 20a of the product package 21 and is not visible when the package 21 is closed.
Figure 3 shows a record 23 which can be used in the context of the method of the invention which, in addition to the customarily printed data 24 also has a code 25 in accor-dance with the invention. In contrast to the product pack-age 21 in accordance with Fig. 2, the code 25 does not have to be hidden on the record 23, because the record is in any event only handed out to the customer who has made the cor-responding purchase. A misuse is thus not possible.
Claims (38)
1. Method of building up a data bank (3) containing custourer data and/or for the organisation of a rebate or coupon system in which products (21) to be sold to customers (14) or records handed out to customers (14) on the purchase of products (21) or services are in each case provided with an individual code (22, 25) and the code (22, 25) is transmitted by the customer (14) after the purchase of the product (21) or the service, together with data characterising the respective customer (14), to a data collecting station (1) via a communication network, in particular via Internet or a telephone network, with the data collecting station being laid out to at least store the data characterising the respective customer (14).
2. Method in accordance with claim 1, characterised in that the code (22, 25) is stored before the acquisition of the product (21) or of the service, without the participation of the customer (14), in a reference memory (4) associated with the data collecting station (1); in that, after the transmission of the code (22, 25) by the customer (14) to the data collecting station (1), a comparison takes place of this code (22, 25) transmitted by the customer (14) with the code (22, 25) previously deposited in the reference memory (4); and in that the data collecting station (1) only takes account of those transmitted codes (22, 25) which were previously deposited in the reference memory (4).
3. Method in accordance with claim 2, characterised in that additional information relating to the product (21) or the service is stored in the data collecting station (1), preferably in the reference memory (4), with this information being respectively associated with the associated code (22, 25) and, for example, relating to the nature of the product (21) or of the service, to the place of manufacture (7) or the point of sale (11), to the time of manufacture or the time of sale and/or to the price of the product (21) or of the service.
4. Method in accordance with claim 3, characterised in that the additional information is stored before the acquisition of the product (21) or of the service, without the participation of the customer (14), in the data collecting station (1), in particular together with the associated code (22, 25) in the reference memory (4) of the data collecting station (1).
5. Method in accordance with claim 3, characterised in that the additional information is contained in the code (22, 25).
6. Method in accordance with one of the preceding claims, characterised in that a code (22, 25) transmitted a plurality of times by one or more customers (14) to the data collecting station (1) is taken into account by the data collecting station (1) only on the first transmission.
7. Method in accordance with one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the codes (22, 25) which can be transmitted within a specific time interval can be distinguished from one another with at least a specific probability.
8. Method in accordance with one of the preceding claims, characterised in that a11 the codes (22, 25) to be transmitted within a specific time interval are distinguishable from one another.
9. Method in accordance with one of the preceding claims, characterised in that at least one element of the code (22, 25) consists of a random number.
10. Method in accordance with one of the preceding claims, characterised in that at last an element of the code (22, 25) consists of a pseudo random number with it being ensured that a11 the random numbers generated within a specific time interval are distinguishable from one another.
11. Method in accordance with one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the code (22, 25) consists of a sequence of numbers and/or a sequence, of letters/numbers and/or of a bar code and/or of magnetically, optically or electronically stored data.
12. Method in accordance with one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the code (22, 25) is designed to be machine-readable.
13. Method in accordance with one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the records (23) having the code (25) are formed as invoices printed out by a computerised till computer (11), as telephone bills, as entry cards or the like.
14. Method in accordance with one of the preceding claims, characterised in that at least a part of the code (22, 25) is formed by a commercially customary bar code price label.
15. Method in accordance with one of the claims 1 to 12, characterised in that the code (22) is arranged at a position (20a) of a product package (21) or of a product label which is not visible and/or not accessible from the outside, and is in particular printed thereon, punched therein or adhered thereon.
16. Method in accordance with one of the preceding claims, characterised in that customer-specific data, such as for example the name, the postal address, the telephone number, the age, the sex and/or the profession of the customer is stored in the data collecting station (1).
17. Method in accordance with one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the network address, in particular the Internet address of the customer (14) is stored in the data collecting station (1).
18. Method in accordance with one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the time of the code transmission to the data collecting station (1) is stored in the data collecting station (1).
19. Method in accordance with one of the preceding claims, characterised in that, when a customer (14) first makes contact with the data collecting station (1), customer-specific data, in particular the name, postal address and/or network address are stored and a characteristic number or code is allotted to the customer (14).
20. Method in accordance with claim 19, characterised in that the data collecting station (1) identifies the customer (14) on further contacts which take place after the first contact has been made with reference to the characteristic number or to the characteristic code.
21. Method in accordance with one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the data transmission from the customer (14) to the data collecting station (1) is initiated, at least from the second time contact is made onwards, by telephone keyboard inputs made by the customer (14), with the data to be transferred, preferably the code to be transferred, consisting of numbers, in particular exclusively of numbers.
22. Use of a data bank built up in accordance with one of the claims 1 to 21, characterised in that a customer (14), after having acquired a specific number of products (21), or services, or products or services which correspond to a specific value, receives a reward, preferably via the communication network, and in particular a reward transmitted via the Internet.
23. Use in accordance with claim 22, characterised in that the reward takes place by the crediting of a specific amount of money, (e-cash), by the granting of specific Internet shopping rights, or by the granting of rights of use which can be used via Internet.
24. Use of a data bank built up in accordance with one of the claims 1 to 21, characterised in that, in dependence on specific data stored with respect to a customer (14) in the data collecting station (1), contact is made with the customer (14) automatically via the communication network, in particular via Internet, with advertising messages preferably being transmitted.
25. Use in accordance with claim 24, characterised in that the selection of the respective advertising message takes place in dependence on the stored data, so that individual advertising offers adapted for example to the purchasing behaviour of the customer (14) can be transmitted.
26. Apparatus for manufacturing product labels and/or product tags usable in the context of the method of one of the claims 1 to 25, characterised in that a unit (g) is provided for the marking of the product packages (21), product labels and/or product tags with a code (22) in accordance with one of the preceding claims.
27. Apparatus in accordance with claim 26, characterised in that the unit (g) for the marking is laid out in such a way that the code (22) can be applied to a position (20a) of the finished product package (21) which is not visible from the outside, in particular to the rear side of an already printed or yet to be printed package section.
28. Computerised till, characterised in that a unit (12) for generating or for receiving a code (25) in accordance with one of the preceding claims and a printing mechanism (13) for printing this code onto a record (23) are provided.
29. Computerised till in accordance with claim 28, characterised in that a random number generator is provided for generating at least one element of a code (25) in accordance with one of the preceding claims.
30. Computerised till in accordance with claim 29, characterised in that an apparatus is provided for avoiding the generation of two identical codes (25) within a specific time interval.
31. Computerised till in accordance with one of the claims 28 to 30, characterised in that a connection (12) is provided for a communication network, in particular an Internet connection, via which the generated or printed codes (25) and/or the additional information produced by the computerised till (11) can be transmitted in accordance with claim 3 to the data collecting station (1).
32. Computerised till in accordance with claim 31, characterised in that codes (25) which are generated in the data collecting station (1) and are to be printed by the computerised till (11) can be received via the connection (12) for the communication network
33. Computerised till in accordance with one of the claims 28 to 32, characterised in that the data transmission via the communication network takes place packet-wise, in particular at predetermined times or in predetermined time intervals.
34. Printed cash receipt, printed invoice or printed entry card for use in a method in accordance with one of the claims 1 to 27, characterised in that a code (25) in accordance with one of the preceding claims is printed thereon in addition to particulars of price (24) and optionally further information, such as date, point of sale, product specifications and the like.
35. Product package, product label and/or product tag for use in a method in accordance with one of the claims 1 to 27, characterised in that a code (22) is printed thereon, punched thereinto, adhered thereon or supplied therewith in accordance with one of the preceding claims.
36. Product package, product label and/or product tag in accordance with claim 35, characterised in that the code (22) is arranged at a non-visible and/or non-accessible position (20a) of a filled and closed product package (21).
37. Method of building up a data bank (3) containing customer data and/or of organising a rebate or coupon system in which products (21) to be sold to customers (14) or records (23) handed out to customers (14) on the purchase of products (21) or services are each provided with a code (22, 25) and the customer (14) is motivated to subsequently transmit the code (22, 25) together with data characterising the respective customer (14) to a data collecting station (1) via a communication network, in particular via a telephone network or via Internet.
38. Method in accordance with claim 37, characterised by one or more features of the claims 1 to 27.
Applications Claiming Priority (3)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| DE19641092.4 | 1996-10-04 | ||
| DE19641092A DE19641092A1 (en) | 1996-10-04 | 1996-10-04 | Method for setting up a database containing customer data |
| PCT/EP1997/000005 WO1998015907A1 (en) | 1996-10-04 | 1997-01-02 | Method and device for constructing a database containing customer data and/or for organizing a discount or coupon system |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA2267388A1 true CA2267388A1 (en) | 1998-04-16 |
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| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA002267388A Expired - Lifetime CA2267388A1 (en) | 1996-10-04 | 1997-01-02 | Method and device for constructing a database containing customer data and/or for organizing a discount or coupon system |
Country Status (9)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| US (1) | US6039244A (en) |
| EP (1) | EP0929874B1 (en) |
| AT (1) | ATE202229T1 (en) |
| AU (1) | AU724093C (en) |
| CA (1) | CA2267388A1 (en) |
| DE (2) | DE19641092A1 (en) |
| DK (1) | DK0929874T3 (en) |
| ES (1) | ES2160920T3 (en) |
| WO (1) | WO1998015907A1 (en) |
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| AU724093B2 (en) | 2000-09-14 |
| WO1998015907A1 (en) | 1998-04-16 |
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