USOO854347 OB2

(12) United States Patent (10) Patent No.: US 8,543,470 B2

Grady et al. (45) Date of Patent: *Sep. 24, 2013
(54) SYSTEMAND METHOD FORTARGETING (56) References Cited
LIMITED-TIME OFFER BASED ON
LIKELIHOOD OF ACCEPTANCE AND U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
SELECTING TRANSMISSION MEDIA BASED 6,049,778 A 4/2000 Walker et al.
ON CUSTOMER INTEREST 6,587,835 B1 7/2003 Treyz et al.
7,284,033 B2 10/2007 Jhanji
7,343,317 B2 3/2008 Jokinen et al.
(75) Inventors: Patrick Grady, San Francisco, CA 7,506,805 B1 3/2009 Chakravarthy
(US); Mark Orttung, Menlo Park, CA 7,603.291 B2 10/2009 Raiyani et al.
(US) 7,681,786 B1 3/2010 Chakravarthy
7,706,808 B1 4/2010 Aggarwal et al.
7,742,954 B1 6, 2010 Handel
(73) Assignee: Rearden Commerce, Inc., Foster City, 7,806.328 B2 10/2010 Chakravarthy
CA (US) 7,925,540 B1 4/2011 Orttung
7,970,666 B1 6, 2011 Handel et al.
(*) Notice: Subject to any disclaimer, the term of this 8,055,534 B2 11/2011 Ashby et al.
patent is extended or adjusted under 35 2002fOO95333 A1 7/2002 Jokinen et al.
2002/0099613 A1* 7/2002 Swart et al. ..................... 705/26
U.S.C. 154(b) by 1007 days. 2003/00973O2 A1 5/2003 Overhultz et al.
2003. O132298 A1 7/2003 Swartz et al.
This patent is Subject to a terminal dis 2003/0154125 A1 8/2003 Mittal et al. .................... TO5/14
claimer. 2003/0194065 A1 10/2003 Langseth et al.
2004/O181461 A1 9/2004 Raiyani et al.
(21) Appl. No.: 12/573,844 (Continued)
OTHER PUBLICATIONS
(22) Filed: Oct. 5, 2009
Restaurant row selects serveclick from connectria to power its
(65) Prior Publication Data advanced online restaurant “e-scheduling'. Business Wire. New
York: Feb. 1, 2000.*
US 201O/OO234O7 A1 Jan. 28, 2010
Primary Examiner — Adam Levine
(74) Attorney, Agent, or Firm — Greenberg Traurig, LLP
Related U.S. Application Data (57) ABSTRACT
(63) Continuation of application No. 10/869,356, filed on System and method for availability based on limited-time
Jun. 15, 2004, now Pat. No. 7,599,858. offerings and transactions. One embodiment of the present
invention provides a system and method that, based on a set of
(51) Int. C. known preferences and historic transactions with customers,
G06O 30/00 (2012.01) culls from a customer database those customers most likely to
(52) U.S. C. close a transaction in a short time. The selected customers are
USPC ....................................... 705/26.4; 705/14.66 notified of the offer, and the system processes the customers
(58) Field of Classification Search responses in a timely manner, and thus allow fleeting inven
USPC ................................................... 705/26. 27.2 tories to be sold off before they expire.
See application file for complete search history. 39 Claims, 2 Drawing Sheets

103
100

EMAI
SMS
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 US 8,543,470 B2
Page 2

(56) References Cited 2006/0090.185 A1 4, 2006 Zito et al.

2006/0173747 A1 8/2006 Gantman et al.
U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS 2009, O112639 A1 4/2009 Robinson
2005/0010472 A1* 1/2005 Quatse et al. ................... TO5/14 2009/0210261 A1 8/2009 Mortimore, Jr.
2005, OO14558 A1 1/2005 Estey 2009,02484.57 A1 10/2009 Munter
2005, OO39136 A1 2/2005. Othmer 2010, 0161392 A1 6/2010 Ashby et al.
2005/0040230 A1 2/2005 Swartz et al. 2011, 0004497 A1 1/2011 Mortimore, Jr. et al.
2005/0154736 A1 7/2005 Meikleham et al. k .
2006, OO85276 A1 4, 2006 Hoech et al. cited by examiner
U.S. Patent Sep. 24, 2013 Sheet 1 of 2 US 8,543,470 B2

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U.S. Patent Sep. 24, 2013 Sheet 2 of 2 US 8,543,470 B2

200 201
RECEIVE OFFER

202
CATEGORIZE

203
PULL MATCHING
CUSTOMERS

204
RANK CUSTOMERS

210 205
TRANSFER TO TRANSACTION SET EXPRATION
ENGINE F NEEDED TIMEIDATE

209 206
RECEIVE RESPONSES SEND NOTIFICATION

207
UPDATE RANKINGS

208
OFFEREXPRED YES

FIG. 2
 US 8,543,470 B2
1. 2
SYSTEMAND METHOD FORTARGETING BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
LIMITED-TIME OFFER BASED ON
LIKELIHOOD OF ACCEPTANCE AND The invention is illustrated by way of example and not
SELECTING TRANSMISSION MEDIA BASED limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings, in
ON CUSTOMER INTEREST which like references indicate similar or identical elements,
and in which:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a system-level overview of
APPLICATIONS an embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a method to be performed typically
The present application is a continuation application of 10 by computers in executing the embodiment of the invention.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/869,356, filed Jun. 15, DETAILED DESCRIPTION
2004, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,599,858, the disclosure of which is
incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. In the following detailed description of the present inven
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
15 tion numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide
a thorough understanding of the present invention. However,
This invention relates generally to the offering of products it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that the present
invention may be practiced without these specific details. In
and services, and more particularly to the offering of products other instances, well-known structures and devices are shown
and services available based on limited time offerings. in block diagram form, rather than in detail, in order to avoid
COPYRIGHT NOTICEAPERMISSION
obscuring the present invention.
Reference in the specification to “one embodiment” or “an
embodiment indicate that a particular feature, structure, or
A portion of the disclosure of this patent document con characteristic described in connection with the embodiment
tains material, which is subject to copyright protection. The 25 is included in at least one embodiment of the invention. The
copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduc appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment in various
tion by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to
as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or the same embodiment.
records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatso FIG. 1 illustrates a limited-time availability-based transac
ever. The following notice applies to the Software and data as 30 tion system 100, in accordance with one embodiment. The
described below and in the drawings hereto: Copyright (C) system includes a customer database 110 that may include a
2001, Gazoo, Inc., All Rights Reserved. variety of data about customers. The database may include
(but is not limited to) personal information (e.g., name,
BACKGROUND address, etc.), declared preferences (e.g., type of restaurant,
35 service levels, price ranges, etc.), calendar information (e.g.,
Many products and services have only a limited time of information on the customer's availability and location at
usability. For example, if there are vacant seats on an airplane different dates and times). The database may also include
flight, when the flight takes off, the usability of (and the current variables (e.g., current location determined by tech
revenue from) these seats is lost. As another example, the nological devices such as a global positioning system in their
usability of (and the revenue from) a hotel room is lost if the 40 car or the e911 information from their cell phone, current
room remains unoccupied overnight. A third example would financial status, etc.) The current variables may also include
be a table at a popular restaurant. As a lunch hour or evening information gleaned from purchases, such as a recently
passes, the revenue and value from an unused table is lost. booked airline ticket that tells the system the customer is
Many people might be interested in taking advantage of Such likely to be at the ticket's destination, and previous purchase
opportunities at the last minute if the price is low enough, if 45 information, such as specific reservations made for services
the service is convenient enough, or if the service is particu and current purchase status. In another example, the system
larly scarce, but they may not have the opportunity, the inter would know restaurants a customer has visited (for both busi
est, or the time to search an auction site for Such products and ness and pleasure).
services. In one embodiment, for a given transaction, the system 100
What is needed is a system and method that, based on a set 50 would be able to generalize preferences from the specifics.
of known preferences and historic transactions with custom For example, if the person has reserved tables at restaurants in
ers, could cull from a customer database the customers most a given price range for business consistently, the system
likely to close a transaction, and thus allow fleeting invento would conclude that the person prefers that price range for
ries to be sold off before they expire and allow customers to business meals. In some cases, based on Such data, the system
get access to extremely convenient, highly sought after, or 55 100 may reconcile the differences between “do as I say”
well priced services. (stated preferences) and “do as I do' (customer history).
In one embodiment, database 101 contains offers that come
SUMMARY in real time over connection 102 from promotion partners, for
example Such as hotels, airlines, flower shops, etc. The types
One embodiment of the present invention provides a sys 60 of services and/or products that can be made available is
tem and method that, based on a set of known preferences and nearly unlimited, but the system 100, in one embodiment, is
historic transactions with customers, culls from a customer applicable to products and/or services that have an expiration
database those customers most likely to close a transaction in deadline after which in most cases they are no longer Suitable,
a short time. The selected customers are notified of the offer, valuable or available for consumption. The offers may even
and the system processes the customers responses in a timely 65 include merchandise Such as groceries, etc., and are not lim
manner, and thus allow fleeting inventories to be sold off ited to traditionally considered products, such as airline seats
before they expire. and hotel rooms. The offers may include occasion driven
 US 8,543,470 B2
3 4
things, such as for example birthday gifts, Surprise parties, more of the offers expire or the consumer rejects the offer, the
anniversary trips etc. (the product may not expire, but the system would offer the service to the next highest ranked
occasion may be missed). The offers may also include Ser CuStOmer.
vices originally scheduled for a later date or time (due to In some cases, the user may respond directly in real time.
availability constraints at the time of booking the service) For example, in the case of Voice transmission, the user may
which have become available. Examples of this type include answer the phone. The user's responses to the Voice message
appliance repair technicians or an appointment for automo are transmitted via link 132 into the transaction engine 121,
bile repair service. which then processes the transaction and sends the processed
The features/information about availability of the service transaction over link 103 to the appropriate promotion part
or product of the offer may include date, time, and location, 10 ner. Other communication media or responses that are not real
and price. For example, a table at a sought after restaurant or time may be received by channel response unit 140 from the
an appointment at a difficult-to-book spa or hair salon may various channels 141 and be transported via link 142 into
become available. The service/product may become available transaction engine 121. It is clear that a wide variety of tech
at the last minute at a discounted rate. As an example, the nologies may be used to implement this communication,
restaurant may choose to offer its menu at a significant dis 15 without departing from the spirit of the present invention.
count if they have not received as many reservations as hoped It is further clear that in most cases 140 and 130 will be one
for the next day. In another example, a businessman traveling system, Such as a contact center infrastructure or similar, or a
to New York may get an offer for a table at a sought after dedicated communication box that can do both outgoing and
restaurant in NYC for his night there, matching the type and incoming communication at the same time. Well known sys
price range of a similar one he visited on his last trip to NYC. tems, such as IVR, VoiceXML e-mail, chat, SMS etc. may
In one embodiment, the system 100 further includes a rules also be used, separately or in conjunction, and may be aug
engine 120, which follows a set of prepared rules to combine mented with call center or contact center to offer live human
the availability information about an offer (inventory, price, interaction, as is well known in the art. Also, links 102 and
location, etc.) with customers whose information is in the 103 for receiving and transmitting information between the
database. In one embodiment, a ranking system is used to 25 promotion partners and the system may be the same, or may
select a suitable set of customers for each offer. Criteria in the be one link for each promotion partner, or may be a variety of
ranking system may include one or more of the following links to promotion partner exchanges offering last-minute
examples: likelihood of the offer being accepted by particular products and services.
customer, loyalty bonus (“we owe them the offer'), previous In one embodiment, the ability of the system to consider
dollars spent by a customer, loyalty points accrued by a cus 30 the good of the customers is considered. For example, while
tomer, etc. Additional criteria may also be considered. potential customers may be ranked for receiving offers, it may
In one embodiment, the rules engine might take into be likely that an established system would very quickly get to
account preferences the customer has set for receiving offers, a state where customers are barraged with many more offers
the time of day, the consumer's previous acceptance rate for than they want to look at. Thus, when the system receives
similar offers, how quickly the customer responded to previ 35 multiple offers from multiple promotion partners for a single
ous offers, and other factors. The rules are geared toward customer, in one embodiment, the system 100 may rank the
serving the consumer's best interests, as the customer other offers based on the customer's interests, both stated and
wise might lose interest in receiving future offers. implied by past transactions (similar to the way the system
After processing by the rules engine 120, the rules engine ranks the customers based on the Supplier's interests, not
then transmits the offers to an output channel 130, which 40 shown).
transmits the offers via at least one of various notification The system could then reject some offers automatically
media 131, such as email, short message service (SMS), without sending them to the customer. The system might also
instant messaging (IM), and Voice call or message (shown in rank how the offers are presented to the customer. For
FIG. 1 as examples). Additional media may also be used. Such example, offers over a given threshold might warrant a phone
as chat, notes, personalized TV ads, web site ads, to name just 45 call to the customer, offers lower than that threshold but
a few. higher than a lower threshold might warrant an email, and
In one embodiment, the offers are good for a limited time, offers with a score lower than the lower of the two thresholds
such as the next five minutes, the next half-hour, the next hour, might be automatically rejected. In a simple situation, the
etc. Depending on the required purchase cost and the nature user, for example, may limit the number of offers per hour or
of the product or service, the time the product/service is 50 per day. In other examples, like intelligent spam filters, the
available could be even several days. For example, an offer for user may instead of just rejecting offers, block offers of spe
an expensive cruise could be extended for several days to cific kind, vendor or time of day etc.
weeks, but a less costly product/service such as a last-minute FIG. 2 presents a flow diagram 200 of a typical example of
weekend getaway or the last bunch of roses to be delivered, transaction system activity, in accordance with one embodi
might only be extendable for five minutes etc. 55 ment. An offer is received in process 201. In process 202, the
In one embodiment, an offered product/service may be offer is categorized. The promotion partner may categorize
offered as “guaranteed availability', indicating that the offer the offer and the system may simply accept and record the
is only made available to the number of consumers for which categorization, or in other cases the rules engine may catego
inventory can be guaranteed. In this case, the system 100 rize the offer. Process 203 pulls matching customers likely to
manages the guaranteed offer process. In one embodiment, 60 be interested in the offer. Some examples of criteria taken into
the fact that the offer is categorized as a guaranteed availabil account include customers either who have indicated interest
ity offer may affect how the customers are ranked, or selected in this transaction category or who have done similar trans
to receive the offer. For example, customers who respond actions in the past and whose schedule and location permit
quickly may be ranked higher relative to other potential cus them to use the product or service. Process 204 proceeds to
tomers. In one embodiment, the system would offer the ser 65 rank the customers, based on ranking criteria discussed above
Vice to the highest scoring customer (or customers if multiple in the description of FIG. 1. The ranking may be based on
customers can be guaranteed inventory). As soon as one or rules requested or Supplied by the promotion partners offer
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5 6
ing the products and/or services, or in other cases may be of a plurality of various transmission media which is
based on rules of the transaction system 100. selected based on a customer interest threshold.
Based on the product/service and the offer parameters, an 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising guaranteeing
expiration time/date is set in process 205, and then in process availability of the offer to the one or more selected customers
206 the offer is sent out via media and channels described in by limiting the offer to a number of customers matching a
FIG. 1. In process 208, the system checks to determine number of products or services available.
whether the offer has expired. If the offer has expired, the sale 3. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing a
of the offered product/service is suspended. Expiration may next customer in the sequence the offer when the offer expires
be triggered by an event, for example Such as a flight leaving for or is rejected by the at least one of the selected customers.
(respectively closing of check-in), or in other cases, the prod 10
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the offer is for a product
uct may have been sold and is no longer available. If the offer or service concerning at least one of travel, lodging, enter
has not expired, the product or service is still available. In tainment, and dining.
process 209, responses are checked, and in process 210, 5. The method of claim 1, further comprising categorizing
responses are transferred to the transaction engine 121 for the offer into a predetermined category.
further processing. Accordingly, a new set of expiration times 15
may be issued. For example, one hour before a flight the 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the information on
system may start sending out messages, giving top-ranked customers comprises at least one of personal information,
customers a five or ten minute window to respond. If no declared preferences, calendar information, current vari
customers respond within that window, the offer may then be ables, and prior history.
sent to the next lower ranked group of customers. 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the implicit expiration
The processes described above can be stored in a memory of the offer is related to an event.
of a computer, system, or machine as a set of instructions to be 8. The method of claim 6, wherein the current variables
executed. In addition, the instructions to perform the pro comprise at least one of current locations, current financial
cesses described above could alternatively be stored on other status, current calendar status, and information gleaned from
forms of machine-readable media, including magnetic and 25 current purchases to determine current location.
optical disks. For example, the processes described could be 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining a like
stored on machine-readable media, such as magnetic disks or lihood of accepting the offer for each of a plurality of cus
optical disks, which are accessible via a disk drive (or com tomers comprises comparing features of the offer with at least
puter-readable medium drive). Further, the instructions can one preference a customer has designated for receiving an
be downloaded into a computing device over a data network 30 offer and a customer's previous acceptance rate for similar
in a form of compiled and linked version. offers.
Alternatively, the logic to perform the processes as dis 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the selecting a set of
cussed above could be implemented in additional computer customers from the plurality of customers is based on at least
and/or machine readable media, such as discrete hardware one of loyalty bonus, previous dollars spent by a customer,
components as large-scale integrated circuits (LSIS), appli 35 and loyalty points accrued by a customer.
cation-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), firmware such as 11. The method of claim 1, wherein the sequentially pro
electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EE viding the offer to at least one or more of the selected cus
PROM’s); and electrical, optical, acoustical and other forms tomers in the order of the ranking comprises providing the
of propagated signals (e.g., carrier waves, infrared signals, offer via at least one of email, short message service, instant
digital signals, etc.), etc. 40 messaging, telephonic media, a personalized television ad,
Whereas many alterations and modifications of the present and a personalized website ad.
invention will no doubt become apparent to a person of ordi 12. The method of claim 1, further comprising ranking
nary skill in the art after having read the foregoing descrip multiple offers for a customer based on at least one of a
tion, it is to be understood that any particular embodiment declared preference of the customer and prior purchasing
shown and described by way of illustration is in no way 45 history of the customer.
intended to be considered limiting. Therefore, references to 13. The method of claim 12, further comprising providing
details of various embodiments are not intended to limit the less than all the multiple offers based on the ranking of the
scope of the claims which in themselves recite only those multiple offers.
features regarded as essential to the invention. 14. A non-transitory tangible computer readable medium
50 that provides instructions that when executed by a machine
The invention claimed is: will cause said machine to perform operations comprising:
1. A computer implemented method comprising: receiving, via a computing device, an offer that has an
receiving, via a computing device, an offer that has an explicit or implicit expiration;
explicit or implicit expiration; determining a likelihood of accepting the offer for each of
determining, via a set of instructions executed on a 55 a plurality of customers, the likelihood being deter
machine, a likelihood of accepting the offer for each of mined by applying predetermined rules based on the
a plurality of customers, the likelihood being deter characteristics of the offer and information on custom
mined by applying predetermined rules based on the ers;
characteristics of the offer and information on custom selecting a set of customers from the plurality of customers
ers; 60 based on the likelihood of accepting the offer and pre
Selecting a set of customers from the plurality of customers determined criteria; and
based on the likelihood of accepting the offer and pre ranking the selected customers based on the likelihood of
determined criteria; accepting the offer;
ranking the selected customers based on the likelihood of sequentially providing the offer to at least one or more of
accepting the offer; and 65 the selected customers in the order of the ranking via one
sequentially providing the offer to at least one or more of of a plurality of various transmission media which is
the selected customers in the order of the ranking via one selected based on a customer interest threshold.
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15. The tangible computer readable medium of claim 14, mined by applying predetermined rules based on the
further comprising guaranteeing availability of the offer to characteristics of the offer and information on custom
the one or more selected customers by limiting the offer to a ers;
number of customers matching a number of products or Ser selecting a set of customers from the plurality of customers
vices available. based on the likelihood of accepting the offer and pre
16. The tangible computer readable medium of claim 14, determined criteria;
further comprising providing a next customer in the sequence ranking the selected customers based on the likelihood of
accepting the offer; and
the offer when the offerexpires for or is rejected by the at least sequentially providing the offer to at least one or more of
one of the selected customers. the selected customers in the order of the ranking via one
10
17. The tangible computer readable medium of claim 14, of a plurality of various transmission media which is
wherein the offer is for a product or service concerning at selected based on a customer interest threshold.
least one of travel, lodging, entertainment, and dining. 28. The computer system of claim 27, further comprising
18. The tangible computer readable medium of claim 14, guaranteeing availability of the offer to the one or more
further comprising categorizing the offer into a predeter 15
selected customers by limiting the offer to a number of cus
mined category. tomers matching a number of products or services available.
19. The tangible computer readable medium of claim 14, 29. The computer system of claim 27, further comprising
providing a next customer in the sequence the offer when the
wherein the information on customers comprises at least one offer expires for or is rejected by the at least one of the
of personal information, declared preferences, calendar infor selected customers.
mation, current variables, and prior history. 30. The computer system of claim 27, wherein the offer is
20. The tangible computer readable medium of claim 14, for a product or service concerning at least one of travel,
wherein the implicit expiration of the offer is related to an lodging, entertainment, and dining.
event. 31. The computer system of claim 27, further comprising
21. The tangible computer readable medium of claim 19, categorizing the offer into a predetermined category.
wherein the current variables comprise at least one of current 25 32. The computer system of claim 27, wherein the infor
locations, current financial status, current calendar status, and mation on customers comprises at least one of personal infor
information gleaned from current purchases to determine mation, declared preferences, calendar information, current
current location. variables, and prior history.
22. The tangible computer readable medium of claim 14, 33. The computer system of claim 27, wherein the implicit
wherein the determining a likelihood of accepting the offer 30 expiration of the offer is related to an event.
for each of a plurality of customers comprises comparing 34. The computer system of claim 32, wherein the current
features of the offer with at least one preference a customer variables comprise at least one of current locations, current
has designated for receiving an offer and a customer's previ financial status, current calendar status, and information
ous acceptance rate for similar offers. gleaned from current purchases to determine current location.
23. The tangible computer readable medium of claim 14, 35 35. The computer system of claim 27, wherein the deter
wherein the selecting a set of customers from the plurality of mining a likelihood of accepting the offer for each of a plu
customers is based on at least one of loyalty bonus, previous rality of customers comprises comparing features of the offer
dollars spent by a customer, and loyalty points accrued by a with at least one preference a customer has designated for
CuStOmer. receiving an offer and a customer's previous acceptance rate
40 for similar offers.
24. The tangible computer readable medium of claim 14, 36. The computer system of claim 27, wherein the selecting
wherein the sequentially providing the offer to at least one or
more of the selected customers in the order of the ranking a set of customers from the plurality of customers is based on
comprises providing the offer via at least one of email, short at least one of loyalty bonus, previous dollars spent by a
message service, instant messaging, telephonic media, a per customer, and loyalty points accrued by a customer.
Sonalized television ad, and a personalized website ad. 45 37. The computer system of claim 27, wherein the sequen
25. The tangible computer readable medium of claim 14, tially providing the offer to at least one or more of the selected
further comprising ranking multiple offers for a customer customers in the order of the ranking comprises providing the
based on at least one of a declared preference of the customer offer via at least one of email, short message service, instant
and prior purchasing history of the customer. messaging, telephonic media, a personalized television ad,
26. The tangible computer readable medium of claim 25, 50 and a personalized website ad.
further comprising providing less than all the multiple offers 38. The computer system of claim 27, further comprising
based on the ranking of the multiple offers. ranking multiple offers for a customer based on at least one of
27. A computer system comprising a declared preference of the customer and prior purchasing
at least one server configured for: history of the customer.
receiving, via a computing device, an offer that has an 55 39. The computer system of claim 38, further comprising
explicit or implicit expiration; providing less than all the multiple offers based on the rank
determining a likelihood of accepting the offer for each of ing of the multiple offers.
a plurality of customers, the likelihood being deter k k k k k