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  Web-based customer prospects harvester systemUSPTO Application #: 20060195338Title: Web-based customer prospects harvester system Abstract: A web-based customer lead harvesting system. The system is based on an application service model, with the programming for the system being accessible to users of the system via web browsers and the Internet. The users, who are typically business enterprises, may access the system to search unstructured Internet data to obtain leads for prospective customers. The system accepts criteria from the user that describes a type or types of potential customers, as well as addresses of Internet sites of interest. A crawler process retrieves the web site data, and stores the data in a web archive. A harvester process then searches the Internet data according to the client-provided criteria. The system returns the names or the identifying information about the prospect together with a link to the document that verifies the prospect's match to the criteria. (end of abstract) Agent: Meyertons, Hood, Kivlin, Kowert & Goetzel, P.C. - Austin, TX, US Inventors: John C. Seibel, Yu Feng, Robert L. Foster USPTO Applicaton #: 20060195338 - Class: 705001000 (USPTO) Related Patent Categories: Data Processing: Financial, Business Practice, Management, Or Cost/price Determination, Automated Electrical Financial Or Business Practice Or Management Arrangement The Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20060195338. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
RELATED PATENT APPLICATIONS [0001] This application is a Continuation of patent application Ser. No. 09/862,814, filed May 21, 2001 and entitled "Web-Based Customer Prospects Harvester System", which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/206,772, filed May 25, 2000 and entitled "Server Log File System Utilizing Text Mining Methodologies and Technologies". The present patent application and additionally the following patent applications and patent are each conversions from the foregoing provisional filing: patent application Ser. No. 09/862,832 entitled "Web-Based Customer Lead Generator System" and filed May 21, 2001; patent application Ser. No. 09/865,802 entitled "Database Server System for Web-Based Business Intelligence" and filed May 24, 2001; patent application Ser. No. 09/865,804 entitled "Data Mining System for Web-Based Business Intelligence" and filed May 24, 2001; patent application Ser. No. 09/865,735 entitled "Web-Based System and Method for Archiving and Searching Participant-Based Internet Text Sources for Customer Lead Data" and filed May 24, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,003,517 issued on Feb. 21, 2006; patent application Ser. No. 09/865,805 entitled "Text Indexing System for Web-Based Business Intelligence" and filed May 24, 2001. TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0002] This invention relates to electronic commerce, and more particularly to a method of acquiring leads for prospective customers, using Internet data sources. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0003] Most small and medium sized companies face similar challenges in developing successful marketing and sales campaigns. These challenges include locating qualified prospects who are making immediate buying decisions. It is desirable to personalize marketing and sales information to match those prospects, and to deliver the marketing and sales information in a timely and compelling manner. Other challenges are to assess current customers to determine which customer profile produces the highest net revenue, then to use those profiles to maximize prospecting results. Further challenges are to monitor the sales cycle for opportunities and inefficiencies, and to relate those findings to net revenue numbers. [0004] Today's corporations are experiencing exponential growth to the extent that the volume and variety of business information collected and accumulated is overwhelming. Further, this information is found in disparate locations and formats. Finally, even if the individual data bases and information sources are successfully tapped, the output and reports may be little more than spreadsheets, pie charts and bar charts that do not directly relate the exposed business intelligence to the companies' processes, expenses, and to its net revenues. [0005] With the growth of the Internet, one trend in developing marketing and sales campaigns is to gather customer information by accessing Internet data sources. Internet data intelligence and data mining products face specific challenges. First, they tend to be designed for use by technicians, and are not flexible or intuitive in their operation; secondly, the technologies behind the various engines are changing rapidly to take advantage of advances in hardware and software; and finally, the results of their harvesting and mining are not typically related to a specific department goals and objectives. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0006] One aspect of the invention is a web-based computer system for providing, to a business enterprise client, customer lead information from Internet sources. Overall, the system may be described as an application service system, having a crawler process that retrieves specified Internet web site data, and a web archive for storing the unstructured data. A harvester process is programmed to accept client criteria describing business prospects and their attributes, to search unstructured Internet data for prospects matching those criteria and their attributes, and to deliver the results of the search to the client with a link to a document that verifies the prospect's match to the criteria. As with conventional application service systems, it is accessible by client browser systems via the Internet. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0007] FIG. 1 illustrates the operating environment for a web based lead generator system in accordance with the invention. [0008] FIG. 2 illustrates the various functional elements of the lead generator system. [0009] FIG. 3 illustrates a first embodiment of the prospects harvester. [0010] FIG. 4 illustrates a second embodiment of the prospects harvester. [0011] FIG. 5 illustrates the security features of the lead generator system. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Lead Generator System Overview [0012] FIG. 1 illustrates the operating environment for a web-based customer lead generation system 10 in accordance with the invention. System 10 is in communication, via the Internet, with unstructured data sources 11, an administrator 12, client systems 13, reverse look-up sources 14, and client applications 15. [0013] The users of system 10 may be any business entity that desires to conduct more effective marketing campaigns. These users may be direct marketers who wish to maximizing the effectiveness of direct sales calls, or e-commerce web site who wish to build audiences. [0014] In general, system 10 may be described as a web-based Application Service Provider (ASP) data collection tool. The general purpose of system 10 is to analyze a client's marketing and sales cycle in order to reveal inefficiencies and opportunities, then to relate those discoveries to net revenue estimates. Part of the latter process is proactively harvesting prequalified leads from external and internal data sources. As explained below, system 10 implements an automated process of vertical industry intelligence building that involves automated reverse lookup of contact information using an email address and key phrase highlighting based on business rules and search criteria. [0015] More specifically, system 10 performs the following tasks: [0016] Uses client-provided criteria to search Internet postings for prospects who are discussing products or services that are related to the client's business offerings [0017] Selects those prospects matching the client's criteria Continue reading... 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