Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02468386 2004-05-27
METHOD, SYSTEM AND COMPUTER PROGRAM FOR PROVIDING A
LOYALTY ENGINE ENABLING DYNAMIC ADMINISTRATION OF
LOYALTY PROGRAMS
Field of the Invention
This invention relates to creation and administration of loyalty reward
programs. This
invention relates more particularly to Internet solutions for creating and
administering
loyalty reward programs.
Background of the Invention
Numerous customer loyalty programs are known.
Customer loyalty systems also play an increasingly important role. The use of
the
Internet in the area of administering loyalty programs is also known.
For example, U.S. Application No. 10/068,469 (Published, Aug. 29, 2002),
assigned
to International Business Machines Corporation relates to a "Method, Computer
1 S System, and Computer Program Product for Processing Customer Loyalty
Data". The
invention provides for front-end devices, such as front-end input terminals
for
inputting of transaction data, such as data specifying goods or services to be
purchased by a customer. The front-end devices care be distributed in the
field, for
example in retail shops, super market and point-of sale terminals. The front-
end
devices have a spreadsheet engine which comprises the data processing kernel
of a
spreadsheet program such as Lotus 1-2-3 or Microsoft Excel. The front-end
device
advantageously can be integrated with a point-of sale, terminal for a
processing of a
customer's checkout and payment. Furthermore the invention is advantageous in
that
it allows the updating of loyalty rules without a need to separately reprogram
each of
the front-end devices in the field. Changing of loyalty rules in the database
of the
back-end computer will cause updating of the loyalt5r rules of the front-end
devices
when a synchronization occurs. Transaction data between the front-end and the
back-
end occurs via the Internet.
U.S. Application No. 09/909,194 (Published Jan. 31, 2002) in the name of
Michael A.
Wilkman, relates to a "Universal Transaction Manager Agent, Systems and
Methods".
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This invention provides a transaction engine that enables a user to match and
coordinate the use of credit accounts, debit accounts, loyalty (points)
programs,
affinity (points) programs, promotions, and currency exchanges to enhance the
purchase transaction of consumers and businesses. The enhancements may include
S financial, promotional, or other benefits for various purchases of goods and
services
thereby enabling merchants to target their incentives to consumers and
businesses
prior to or at the time of the purchase transactions.
There are a number of disadvantages to the prior art solutions.
~ Prior art solutions generally require a loyalty ID. Most customer loyalty
programs require action from the user to associate the customer loyalty
program with the consumer behaviour, for example, use of a special loyalty
card, or provision of a loyalty card number. This complicates the deployment
of the loyalty program, and also makes it less convenient for the customer to
participate.
~ Many prior art solutions are based on specific incentives, not points, so it
is
more difficult for a participant to cumulate for a big prize.
~ Rewards are generally not processed in real time, so a participant has to
wait
for approximately 24 hours to see the incentive; earned.
~ Loyalty points are generally not redeemed for a prize on site, therefore
there is
a missed opportunity to further encourage customer loyalty by means of
personal interaction.
~ Prior art solutions do not generally provide a solution that enables
customization of loyalty programs on the fly based on effectiveness and
incremental cost.
Summary of the Invention
One aspect of the present invention is a method of encouraging customer
loyalty,
including the steps of: (1) One or more members defining a loyalty program,
the
loyalty program defining loyalty rewards associated with one or more
activities; (2)
Registering one or more participants with the lo;~alty program, whereby their
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registration includes the provision of financial card data for one or more
financial
cards of each of the one or more participants; (3) Collecting financial data
corresponding to transactions of the one or more participants associated with
the one
or more members, and providing said financial data to a loyalty engine; (4)
Providing
access to the loyalty engine to the one or more members, the loyalty engine
permitting
the one or more members: (a) To define the rules defining the loyalty program,
including accumulation of loyalty reward points, anal redemption of loyalty
reward
points; (b) Monitoring the effectiveness of the loyalty program; and (c)
Modifying the
loyalty program to enhance its effectiveness.
Another aspect of the invention is a computer system that includes the
described
loyalty engine. Another aspect of the invention is a computer program product
consisting of the loyalty engine.
In a particular aspect of the invention, the completion of a survey is linked
to the
accumulation of loyalty reward points.
In yet another particular aspect of the invention, loyalty reward points are
redeemed
by the participant printing a coupon displayed by thf; loyalty engine, and
presenting
the coupon at a location of the applicable member.
In a still other aspect of the present invention, a method, computer system,
and
computer program product is provided that enables a plurality of members to co-
operate to provide loyalty benefits jointly, by operation of the loyalty
engine.
Brief Description of the Drawings
A detailed description of the preferred embodiments) is(are) provided herein
below
by way of example only and with reference to the following drawings, in which:
Fig. l is a system resource diagram illustrating the resources of the system
of the
present invention.
Fig. 2 is a program resource diagram illustrating the main components of the
computer program of the present invention.
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Fig. 3 is a flowchart illustrating the participant/member log-in/registration
process, in
one particular implementation of the present invention.
Fig. 4 is a flowchart illustrating the processes involved in operation of the
member
area, in one particular embodiment thereof.
Fig. 5 is a further flowchart illustrating the processes involved in operation
of the
participant area, in one particular embodiment thereof.
Fig. 6 is a flowchart illustrating the processes involved in operation of the
reservation
utility of the present invention.
Fig. 7 is flowchart illustrating .the processes involved in operation of the
facility
locator or locator utility of the present invention.
Fig. 8 is a flowchart illustrating the processes involved in operation of the
member
area, which illustrates the services provided to "owners", in accordance with
a
particular aspect of the present invention.
Fig. 9 is a flowchart illustrating the processes involved in operation of the
loyalty
engine to create and administer loyalty programs, in accordance with a
particular
implementation of the present invention.
Fig. 10 is a flowchart illustrating the processes involved in a participant
completing a
survey created in accordance with the invention, in one particular embodiment
thereof.
Fig. 11 is a flowchart illustrating the processes involved in a participant
redeeming a
loyalty reward, in a particular implementation of the present invention.
Fig. 12 is a flowchart illustrating the process involved in signing up a
participant.
Fig. 13 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the Customer Relationship
Management or CRM utility of the present invention, in a particular embodiment
of
the present invention.
Fig. 14 is a flowchart illustrating a particular aspect of the reward
administration
facility, namely the processes involved in awarding prizes to participants.
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Fig. 15 is a flowchart illustrating a particular process for obtaining
financial data for
the United States.
Fig. 16 is a flowchart illustrating a particular process for obtaining
financial data for
Canada.
In the drawings, preferred embodiments of the invention are illustrated by way
of
example. It is to be expressly understood that the description and drawings
are only
for the purpose of illustration and as an aid to understanding, and are not
intended as a
definition of the limits of the invention.
Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiment
Referring to Fig. 1, there is illustrated a system resource diagram
illustrating one
aspect of the system of the present invention. By means of the Internet medium
(10),
a web server (12) is made accessible to a plurality of users (described
below).
One aspect of the server computer (12) is that it includes a server
application (14)
which consists of the computer program of the present invention. The server
computer (12) is linked to a known database (16).
In one particular implementation of the present invention, the server computer
(12)
consists of at least one Web server (e.g. an IBMTM HTTP Server), at least one
application server (e.g. .an IBMTM running WEBSPHERETM software), and at least
one database server (e.g. running IBMTM DB2). In addition, in a particular
implementation of the present invention, the server computer (12) also
includes a
server dedicated to importing real time financial data (as explained above)
One aspect of the server application (14) is that it includes a web utility
(17) for
publishing a web site (18) to the Internet (10) in a manner that is known. The
features
of the web site (18) of the present invention are described below.
The web site (18) includes a participant area (26) and a member area (28), as
illustrated in Fig. 2. Participants are generally understood as individual or
corporate
users who sign up with the web site (18) for joining one or more of the
loyalty
programs linked to the operator of the server computer (12).
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The participant area (26) consists of a series of web pages containing fields
for
obtaining sign-up information from participants. 7Che sign-up information
includes
the name and e-mail address of the particular participant. The participant
area (26)
also includes a secure area (30), provided in a manner that is known. One
aspect of
the present invention, is the collection of information from the participants
regarding
one or more of their financial cards. The financial card information enables
the
operator of the server computer (12) to track financial transactions of the
participant
linked to membexs of the web site (18), as particularized below.
The financial cards include a wide variety of cards such as banking cards or
credit
cards. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, however, the financial card
data
consists of credit card data, including a credit card number and expiry date.
In a
particular embodiment of the present invention, the participant area (26)
lists a
number of different credits cards and enables participants to select one or
more of
them, and provide the associated data.
The financial card data is stored to the database (16) based on processes
defined by
the database management utility (22). In one particular implementation of the
invention, financial card data is encrypted and stored to the database (16) in
an
encrypted form to maintain the security thereof. Alternatively, the financial
card data
is stored to the database (16) such that retrieval of the financial card data
from the
database ( 16) is restricted.
Once the requisite sign-up data has been provided by the participant, the
participant is
registered to the server computer (12), and by operation of the administration
utility
(24) the registered participant is provided access to the functions of the
server
application (14) accessible to participants and described below.
In another aspect of the present invention, the server application (14) is
adapted to
authenticate participants so as to verify the identity of a participant
logging on to the
web site (18). In one particular implementation of the present invention, upon
completion of the sign-in process described above, the administration utility
(24)
defines a unique identifier for the participant by operation of a random
number
generator, in a manner that is known. In the same particular implementation of
the
present invention, the unique identifier consists of a passphrase or
equivalent which is
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communicated to the participant by means of an e-mail created and sent by
operation
of the communication utility (20). Thereafter, the participant uses the
passphrase to
login to the web site (18), which is passed to the administration utility (24)
in order
for the participant to obtain access to the functions of the server
application (14)
described below.
One or more members also sign up with the operator of the server computer
(12). The
members consist of businesses who are interested in obtaining access to the
loyalty
solution provided by the operator of the server computer (12). The web site
(18) also
includes the member area (28) that provides access to functions (including
administrative functions) described below. Members also sign-up with the
administration utility (24) by providing requisite identification data, and by
obtaining
authentication data, in accordance with processes similar to the sign-up
procedures for
participants identified above. The sign-up of members with the administration
utility
(24) enables access by members to participant data linked to the particular
member, as
described below.
In another aspect of the present invention, the operator of the server
computer (12)
obtains identification data for the members from the operator of the financial
cards.
In one particular implementation of the present invention, members provide
their
credit card merchant authorization. This generally consists of an alphanumeric
code
that identifies the particular merchant or member.
In an aspect of a particular implementation of the present invention, the
operator of
the server computer (12) obtains consent from the member and the participant
to enter
into an arrangement with the one or more financial card companies selected by
the
participant, as described above. The operator of the server computer (12)
creates a
data link with the holder of financial card data for each participant.
For example, the operator of the server computer (12) approaches an entity
processing
credit card transactions or transaction processor (32), and provides
parameters for
filtering the credit card transaction data for the participant to obtain
credit card
transaction data of interest, namely credit card transactions of the
participant
associated with one or more members who have registered with the operator of
the
web site (18). The filtering generally occurs by means of a database query
made by
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the transaction processor (32) based on a data set that includes the credit
card number
of the participant and the merchant authorization number of a particular
member.
The transaction processor (32) provides financial data (34) to the operator of
the
server computer (12), which includes: an identifier for the participant, an
identifier of
the member from which a purchase was made, the settlement date and the amount
that
the participant spent with the member. The transfer of the financial data (34)
occurs
through a secure manner, for example, using secure transmissions such as
Secure
Sockets Layer (SSL) or encryption/decryption using a known method such as PKI.
As a measure for improving security, the parameter s provided by the operator
of the
server computer (12) to the transaction processor (32) include a unique data
tag (36)
defined by the operator of the server computer that is not the same as the
participant's
financial card data. The financial data (34) includes the data tag (36) and
not the
financial card data such as the participant's credit card information.
In one particular implementation of the present invention, the data tag (36)
consists of
identifying the financial card of the participant by providing to the
transaction
processor (32) (and then receiving as part of the financial data (34)) only
some of the
numbers comprising the financial card data such as a credit card number. For
example, in a particular implementation of this aspect of the invention, the
first four
digits of a credit card are left out. With current credit card numbers, the
remaining
digits are sufficient for the transaction processor (32;) to identify the
participant. If
there is a breach of security, however, this information will not be
sufficient to
commit fraud using the information.
The server application (14) also includes a loyalty engine (38). 'The loyalty
engine
(38) is best understood as an aspect of the database management utility (22),
configured to execute the loyalty operations described in the invention. The
loyalty
engine (38) is linked to the database (16). The loyalty engine (38) creates on
the
database (16) a loyalty account (40) for each participant, which is used to
record the
then current loyalty credits accumulated by the participant by operation of
the present
invention. There is generally a loyalty account (40) per participant, per
member
registered to the web site (18).
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Upon receipt of financial data (34) at the communication utility (20), the
loyalty
engine (38) is operable to process the financial data (34) and credit the
appropriate
loyalty account (40). Another aspect of the loyalty engine (38} is that it
applies for
each member/participant the then applicable loyalty rules (42) for calculating
the
loyalty benefit that is available to each participant, based on the balance of
their
loyalty account (40).
The loyalty engine (38) includes a reward administration utility (44). 'This
is a utility
that is accessible to members via the member area (28). It allows the members
to
define and dynamically update the parameters for award and redemption of
awards for
the loyalty accounts (40) for participants associated with the particular
members. The
reward administration utility (44) provides a series of interfaces for
defining:
~ Activities required to earn loyalty points (e.g. purchase meeting a
certain threshold, purchase at a particular location that is currently
underutilized, purchase at high capacity time intervals, and so on).
~ Quantum of loyalty points assigned to particular activities.
~ Prizes available by redemption of loyalty points (prizes include
discounts).
~ Number of loyalty points required for particular prizes.
The rules (if any) for obtaining certain prizes by purchasing a top-up of
loyalty points for monetary (non-loyalty point) consideration. For
example, members can be permitted to purchase points (e.g. by credit
card) for a defined amount.
It should be understood that the members are permitted to adjust the values
associated
with any particular loyalty program on the fly, if they so desire. This
combined with
the reporting functions of the present invention described above enable the
members
to customize loyalty benefits that maximize their revenue andlor profitability
(or
achieve other objectives).
Another aspect of the present invention is that the reward administration
utility (44)
includes or provides access to a series of reward program templates that
assist in
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designing a reward program. Another aspect of the reward administration
utility (44)
is that it provides access to text and graphics (such as charts) assisting in
the design of
an effective reward program. In one particular implementation of the present
invention, web pages are displayed in the member area (28) that are used to
obtain
input from the member required to design/implement a particular reward
program;
and that also contain.general information on designing effective reward
programs.
Yet another aspect of the present invention is that members report on the
effectiveness
of reward programs operated by means of the preaent invention, and the reward
administration utility (44) recommends alterations to the reward program that
are
likely to achieve improvement of results.
The participants that log in to the participant area (28), are provided access
to one or
more web pages linked to their loyalty accounts) (40;1. The information
displayed on
these web pages are updated in a manner that is known by operation of the
server
application (14), that obtains access from the loyalty engine (38) of the then
current
1 S loyalty account (40) values. The participants who have logged in to the
participant
area (28) are also provided access to some aspects of the loyalty engine (38)
for the
purpose of redemption of their loyalty points.
In a particular implementation of the present invention, the loyalty engine
(38) creates
a coupon for a particular member upon receipt of a request from the
participant to
make an authorized redemption. The participant prints the coupon and presents
same
for the applicable reward at business premises of the member. In a particular
aspect
of the present invention, the coupon includes a unique identifier such as a
coupon tag
or bar code data.
It is preferable for the member to report to the operator of the server
computer (12)
when a particular coupon has been delivered for the applicable reward. This
data is
then accessed by the reporting utility (46) to assess thc; effectiveness of
the reward, as
explained below.
Another aspect of the present invention, is that the redemption activities of
the
participant are preferably tied to the participant filling out one or more
surveys (50)
regarding the member. This may be required by the operator of the server
computer
( 12):
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~ Upon sign-up.
~ Prior to redemption of a reward.
The surveys can be designed to obtain feedback from customers on a number of
different matters. The loyalty engine (38) includea a survey design utility.
The
S survey design utility (48) includes a series of survey templates as well as
instructions
for designing an effective survey (50). The parameters of each survey created
by a
member are stored to the database ( 16). The server application ( 14) is
adapted to
publish the various surveys (50) as a web page accessible to the participants
via the
participant area (26).
The surveys (50) generally consist of a plurality fields that are completed by
participants. The data from the various completed surveys is then stored to
the
database (16) in a manner that is known. The data included by participants
into the
various surveys (50) associated with a particular member is available to that
member.
This data can be utilized for a number of business purposes, including service
improvements. One aspect of the surveys (50) is to solicit feedback on the
effectiveness of the loyalty program overall. This data can be used by members
to
adjust their loyalty programs by operation of the loyalty engine (38), in
response to
the feedback provided by the survey.
Members will generally associate a reward incentive 'with the completion of a
survey
(50).
One of the advantages of the present invention is that it provides ready
access to the
data included in the surveys (50). It has generally been found to be difficult
to have
customers fill out surveys, and therefore the response ratios have been quite
low.
Providing the survey on-line, in combination with a loyalty program familiar
to the
participant, and particularly as part of an activity that will result in or is
associated
with a loyalty reward, has been found to improve this ratio significantly.
It should be understood that the present invention enables members to receive
information regarding the activities of participants in real time. By
operation of the
reporting utility (46) (in co-operation with the communication utility (20),
for
example, escalation procedures can be established such that if a customer
fills out a
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survey (50) indicating that s/he was "NOT SATISFIED" with a particular product
or
services, an alert can be communicated to the member, which is used to create
an
action item (such as a call to particular participant to obtain details on the
circumstances leading to the negative survey entry, and with a view to a
accommodating the participant).
The reporting utility (46) enables a plurality of reporting functions based on
the
financial data (34), activities of participants in relation to their loyalty
account (40),
and survey data, including:
~ A mapping system (52) that tells (and displays in a map) to the
member where participants making purchases originate from.
An incentive tracking system (54) that allows the member to track
loyalty points that have been redeemed, including at particular
locations.
~ The incentive tracking system (54) also allows the member to track
how much each incentive makes or costs. Fox example, the member
enters by logging on to the server application (14), and updating the
records of the incentive tracking system (54) by operation of a suitable
web interface. The reporting utility (46) cooperates with the incentive
tracking system (54) such that the incremental revenue and incremental
cost is recorded in an incentive reward file. At any point, the member
can determine the incremental revenue, costs and net by individual or
all incentives, by operation of the reporting utility (46).
It should be understood that a number of other related functions can be added
to the
reporting utility (46) in a manner that is known.
The functions of the reporting utility (46) enable the members to assess the
effectiveness of specific loyalty reward programs and to make adjustments on
an
ongoing basis by operation of the reward administration utility (44).
In another aspect of the present invention, the server application ( 14)
supports
relationships between particular members and sponsors. Sponsors may provide,
for
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example, certain goods or services for promotional purposes, which goods or
services
are used by members as a loyalty reward. The server application (14) also
defines a
sponsor area (56) on the web site (18) which enables sponsors to review:
~ Data regarding sponsor's goods/services that have been redeemed.
~ Particulars of such redemptions (including for example geographic
location).
~ Data regarding particular participants who have redeemed
goods/services of the sponsor.
The advantage for sponsors is that it enables the distribution of
goods/services into
target markets of interest at a relatively small cost. For example, in the
case of a
member who is a golf course, the sponsor might be an athletic clothing
manufacturer
(e.g. of golf shirts). Brand promotion is often a costly exercise involving
the
organization of golf tournaments, visits to the golf course, placements of
goods, and
follow up sales calls. The provision of golf shirts as part of a loyalty
reward program
administered by the golf course can reduce a number of the customary steps in
the
brand promotion process. More importantly, promotion of the golf shirt brand
will
enhance the perceived value of the reward being provided by the golf course.
Consequently, the present invention provides incentives for the golf course to
promote
the brand of the golf shirt manufacturer.
This merely illustrates some of the cross-promotional benefits of the present
invention. The present invention acts as a platform for a plurality of
companies for
testing cross-promotional activities, obtaining feedback real time on how
participants
rate offers and theix effectiveness, and making adjustments to cross-
promotional
elements of a particular loyalty program over time. This provides better
coverage to
companies, and also more targeted marketing to selected market groups. This
merely
illustrates some of the cross-promotional benefits of the present invention.
The.
present invention acts as a platform for a plurality of members (merchants) to
use
cross-promotional activities, for increased cost effectiveness. Members
receive
feedback when customers evaluate and rate reward offers, providing real time
feedback on their effectiveness as well as the performance of the recent
service.
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Participating members directly access cross-promotional offers among other
participating members and negotiate these directly with other participating
members.
The system provides better coverage to members than they get from other
methods
and allows targeted marketing to selected market groups. The system also
provides
S direct tracking of incremental spending by location and identifies to the
member
where the participant comes from.
Figs. 3-16 illustrate particular aspects of the present invention.
Fig. 3 is a flowchart illustrating the log-in/registration process for
participants and
members, as defined by operation of the administration utility.
Fig. 4 is a flowchart illustrating the processes involved in a particular
embodiment of
the participant area (26). In this embodiment of the present invention, the
server
application (14) includes a reservation utility (58). The reservation utility
(58) is a
known utility for making reservations by a series of web interfaces. 'This is
a useful
resource to associate with the server computer (12) where the member sells
goods or
services in relation to which it is useful to make a reservation. This is the
case with
golf courses, restaurants, in-store seminars at hardware stores, and the like.
This is
particularly advantageous as it then enables the members to provide loyalty
rewards to
participants that also involve a reservation either at a location of the
member, or an
affiliated member or sponsor (e.g. a loyalty reward provided by one member is
dinner
at the restaurant of another member or sponsor, where the reservation is
booked by
operation of the reservation utility (58). Fig. 4 illustrates operation of the
reservation
utility in relation to a member facility that is a golf course.
Fig. S illustrates further processes involved in a particular embodiment of
the
participant area (26), including the registration/log-in process for
participants whereby
2S the financial card information for participants is obtained. Fig. S also
illustrates a
particular feature of the present invention whereby participants are invited
by means
of a web page to invite others whom they know to also become participants.
Fig. 6 illustrates in greater deal the operation of the reservation utility
(58), in a
particular embodiment of the thereof.
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Fig. 7 illustrates the operation of the locator utility (60), which is a
feature of the
server application (14), in one particular embodiment thereof. The locator
utility (60)
permits participants to search for particular locations/facilities of a
particular member
based on geography. The locator utility (60) is a known utility that enables
participants to perform a look-up function from a table of member locations to
find
the location closest to a defined geographic location provided by the
participant.
Fig. 8 illustrates a plurality of functions provided in association to the
member area
(28), and in particular the preferences set by members by operation of the
administration facility (24) defining preferences regarding reservation times,
financial
card data statistics, facility maps, and audit of reservations.
Fig. 9 illustrates a plurality of processes enabled by operation of the
loyalty engine
(38) for the creation of loyalty programs, in accordance with one particular
aspect of
the present invention.
Fig. 10 is a flowchart that illustrates a plurality of processes enabled by
operation of
loyalty engine (38) in relation to surveys (50) for completion by
participants.
Fig. 11 is another flowchart that illustrates a plurality of processes related
to the
redemption of loyalty rewards by participants, by operation of the loyalty
engine (38).
Fig. 12 is a further flowchart that illustrates certain processes related to
the
registration of participants to the web site (18).
Fig. 13 illustrates a further aspect of the server application (14) of the
present
invention consisting of a Customer Relationship Management or CRM utility
(62).
The CRM utility (62) is a known software utility that enables managed
communications with customers. The CRM utility (62) can incorporate numerous
typical CRM functions as part of a web-enabled ASP application part of the
server
application ( 14). For example, as illustrated in Fig. 13, the CRM utility
(62) is
operable in co-operation with the communication facility (20) to send messages
to a
participant mailing list, including for example emails regarding special
promotions.
Fig. 14 is a flowchart illustrating a particular aspect of the reward
administration
facility, namely the processes involved in awarding prizes to participants.
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Other extensions of the present invention are possible. Additional features
can be
added to the server application, and its various utilities described in this
disclosure,
without departing from the invention.
