Rich media personal selling system

ABSTRACT :-

The present invention provides a system and method for providing a sales professional with the ability to create and tailor web-sites comprising rich media content for a potential customer. In this manner a potential customer is presented with a personalised sales message thereby possibly increasing the potential for a sale. The present invention provides an end-to-end integrated system enabling this procedure. Initially, the system enables the obtaining of information relating to potential customers (end users) who may be directed to a personalised sales web-site. Using this collected information and previously collected customer information from other sources or previous interactions, the system creates and directs a potential customer to a personalized web-site for the particular sales campaign. During a customer's interaction with the personalized sales web-site, information relating to this customer is additionally collected and stored within the system enabling the system to personalize future sales campaigns directed to this particular customer. Optionally, the system may also be used in a web-conference, simplifying the experience of rich media and posting progress on the personalised sales web-site, thereby potentially enabling other members of the sales team to be aware of client interactions through the access of this personalised sales web-site.

1. 
   

CLAIMS(18)

1. A method for generating a personalised sales web-site for an end user, said method comprising the steps of:

a) generating a custom web-site for a particular sales campaign, said custom web-site enabling electronic access by the end user;

b) collecting and storing one or more first events, said first events defining the end user's interaction with the custom web-site;

c) generating a personalised sales web-site, said personalised sales web-site being a web-site created according to parameters based on the collected first events and the particular sales campaign;

d) sending a message including an identifier to the end user, said identifier enabling the end user to locate the personalised sales web-site, the end user subsequently being able to electronically access the personalised sales web-site; and

e) collecting and storing one or more second events, said second events defining the end user's interaction with the personalised sales web-site;

wherein the collected and stored first and second events can be used to generate a second personalised sales web-site.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the custom web-site or the personalised sales web-site or both, comprise rich media content.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein end user interaction with the custom web-site and the personalised sales web-site occurs via a global communication network.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the global communication network is the Internet.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the identifier is a hyperlink.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the end user is identified by an email address or other personal identifier.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein said first events further comprise personal end user information.

8. A system for generating a personalised sales web-site for an end user, said system comprising:

a) means for generating a custom web-site for a particular sales campaign, said custom web-site enabling electronic access by the end user;

b) means for collecting and storing one or more first events, said first events defining the end user's interaction with the custom web-site;

c) means for generating a personalised sales web-site, said personalised sales web-site being a web-site created according to parameters based on the collected first events and the particular sales campaign;

d) means for sending a message including an identifier to the end user, said identifier enabling the end user to locate the personalised sales web-site, the end user subsequently being able to electronically access the personalised sales web-site; and

e) means for collecting and storing one or more second events, said second events defining the end user's interaction with the personalised sales web-site;

wherein the collected and stored first and second events can be used to generate a second personalised sales web-site.

9. The system according to claim 8, wherein a central relationship system provides a means for storing said first and second events.

10. The system according to claim 9, wherein the central relationship system provides means for identifying an appropriate end user for the particular sales campaign.

11.The system according to claim 8, wherein the means for sending is a streaming system that provide for the transmission of information to the end user via a global communication network.

12. The system according to claim 11 wherein the global communication network is the Internet.

13. The system according to claim 8, further comprising a web conferencing system thereby enabling a personal remote interaction between a sales professional and the end user.

14. The system according to claim 8, wherein the end user is identified by a personal identifier.

15. The system according to claim 14, wherein the personal identifier is an email address.

16. The system according to claim 8, wherein the identifier is a hyperlink.

17. The system according to claim 8, wherein the custom web-site or the personalised web-site or both comprise interactive components, said interactive components enabling integration of personalised information into the web-site prior to viewing by the end user.

18. A computer readable medium containing program instructions for execution on a computer system, which when executed by the computer system causes the computer system to perform method steps for delivering, via a global communication network, a personalised sales web-site to an end user, said method comprising the steps of:

a) generating a custom web-site for a particular sales campaign, said custom web-site enabling electronic access by the end user;

b) collecting and storing one or more first events, said first events defining the end user's interaction with the custom web-site;

c) generating a personalised sales web-site, said personalised sales web-site being a web-site created according to parameters based on the collected first events and the particular sales campaign;

d) sending a message including an identifier to the end user, said identifier enabling the end user to locate the personalised sales web-site, the end user subsequently being able to electronically access the personalised sales web-site; and

e) collecting and storing one or more second events, said second events defining the end user's interaction with the personalised sales web-site;

wherein the collected and stored first and second events can be used to generate a second personalised sales web-site.

DESCRIPTION :-

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention pertains to the field of selling systems, in particular to selling systems incorporating rich media.

BACKGROUND :- 

Communication systems for interacting with clients personally have dramatically changed time-intensive aspects of a sales professional's job. Email allows a sales person to interact personally with a client, without travel. Digital video systems allow a sales person to create simple video messages for clients. Sales automation and customer-relationship management software integrate documents and information into the sales process. Web demonstrations allow a sales professional to point customers to an experience of the product they are selling. As well, online advertising has matured to where it can be used as part of a personal selling strategy.

Sales people need to filter information for their clients. Similarly, in advertising, it is considered highly desirable to target advertisements to the appropriate potential customer base, rather than to broadcast advertisements in general. It has long been known that, for example, advertisements for computers should generally not appear in magazines on gardening and, conversely, advertisements for gardening tools should not appear in magazines on computers. Similarly, advertisers have generally targeted their advertisements on television to programs appropriate for the desired customer base. Personal selling systems have evolved to help sales professionals target messages to clients.
It has also long been known that an advertisement that is repeated too often will eventually become ignored by consumers. Therefore, an advertiser typically wishes to eliminate duplication and reach as many individuals in the advertiser's target group as possible.
The development of on-line networks, such as America On-Line™, Compuserve™, and the Internet, has led to “on-line” advertising. For example, on the Internet, such on-line advertisements can appear on a web page as a banner on the top or the bottom thereof, for example. When a user views a web page using a browser such as Internet Explorer™ or Netscape™, the banner appears at the appropriate location and the user may then try to find out more information regarding the advertisement by selecting the advertisement (clicking through on that banner) through the use of the mouse or other pointing device. This action typically causes a HTTP message to be generated by the browser using the information encapsulated in association with the banner to send a request for an object with a given URL address to a different appropriate web site to access, for example, the advertiser's home page. As such the user is directed to this new web page, for example.
Nonetheless, such advertising has had, so far, a poor rate of response because it is typically untargeted advertising. Thus, someone who is totally uninterested in computers other than the fact that they happen to be on the Internet, may continually see advertisements for computers. On the other hand, someone who is interested in computers may continually see advertisements for gardening tools when browsing through a particular web site. If a user of such computer networks is continuously exposed to the same advertisement, the response rate to the advertisement will generally decline. In addition, it is also important for the advertisers to track responses to the advertisements and to acquire as much information about those people responding to the advertisements for targeting those same people at later dates regarding similar or the same products, for example. Making matters worse, there is a wide variety of digital media employed in corporations for use in marketing—web based training, web demonstrations, multimedia brochures, interactive web-tools and web services, digital video, streaming audio and video, for example. But the availability of corporate rich-media marketing messages has not necessarily helped people whose job it is to interact personally with clients, since the lack of targeted sales messages makes it difficult for a sales professional to do their job.