WO2001035359A1 - Method of doing business remotely and system for remote electronic marketing - Google Patents

Abstract

A method for remote electronic marketing at a fast food restaurant having a computerized cash register comprises the following steps: identifying a customer by data entry means at an electronic kiosk; providing personalized information to the customer by a display means at the electronic kiosk in response to the identification; collecting order and transactional information from the customer's interaction with the electronic kiosk; storing the order and transactional information; and, updating data relating to the personalized information.

Description

METHOD OF DOING BUSINESS REMOTELY AND SYSTEM FOR REMOTE ELECTRONIC MARKETING

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates to the field of marketing, and more particularly to

communication systems for remote marketing.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Fast food restaurants essentially offer convenience to a customer in the

simplicity of choices, with a cafeteria style self service atmosphere This very

convenience lends itself to mass marketing, descπbing the simplicity of the

experience and the ease of choosing without the intimidation of a traditional

restaurant.

In order to have a competitive advantage, fast food restaurants must attempt to

set themselves apart from other fast food restaurants The strategies that have been

adapted include focusing on establishing mam menu items as well as enlarging

product choice and diversity while introducing concepts such as dπve up windows.

etc. The differences between the fast food restaurants have eroded, making it difficult

for a particular fast food restaurant to be special in the customer's view and stand out

from the competition Marketing targeted as responding to a customer's needs and

providing customer service has evolved, including hosting birthday parties and offeπng promotional give away items, frequently targeted at children

The automat was at the cutting edge of technology at the turn of the century

Joseph Horn and Paul Hardart opened their first automat (from "automatic")

Philadelphia in 1902 At their peak in the 1940s and '50s, automats served 350.000 patrons daily. But fast food restaurants eventually displaced them The last Horn &

Hardart automat closed m New York City in 1991 The automated restaurants that

were marketed in the past declined in novelty The impersonal nature of simply

feeding coins into vending machines has been supplanted by ATM machines, high tech video entertainment devices and electronic juke boxes, and video juke boxes,

which have even found a foot hold in restaurants and bars However, the use of

vanous high tech entertainment devices is essentially isolated from the core services

of the restaurants.

While fast food restaurants frequently tie in their advertising and promotions to movies, toys and other mass appeal consumer items, merchandise availability is

limited to promotional items currently in stock. The very nature of fast food

restaurants surrounded with mass marketing, common menus, and limited customer

contact, prevents the collection of individualized consumer preference information for

use in future marketing campaigns. There is a need to be able to collect accurate consumer demographic

information for fast food restaurants. There is a further need to be able to expand

cross marketing in a fast food restaurant beyond promotional merchandise.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION

The present invention is a method for remote electronic marketing at a fast

food restaurant having a computeπzed cash register. The method compπses the

following steps: identifying a customer by data entry means at an electronic kiosk,

providing personalized information to the customer by a display means at the electronic kiosk in response to the identification; collecting order and transactional lnformation from the customer's interaction with the electronic kiosk, stoπng the

order and transactional information; and, updating data relating to the personalized information A system for utilizing the method is also descπbed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

A more complete understanding of the present invention may be obtained from consideration of the following descπption in conjunction with the drawings in which

FIG 1 is a high level diagram of the electronic kiosk; and,

FIG. 2 is an overview of the interconnected computer system networks and the

electronic kiosk employing the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF VARIOUS ILLUSTRATIVE

EMBODIMENTS

The present invention, method and system for remote cross marketing enables

the collection of accurate consumer demographic information while expanding cross

product marketing in a commercial environment such as a fast food restaurant. Fast

food restaurants essentially offer convenience to a customer in the simplicity of choices, with a self-service cafeteπa style atmosphere, minimizing personal contact

between the fast food restaurant staff and the customers. This very efficiency and

convenience lends itself to mass marketing, describing the simplicity of the

expeπence and the ease of choosing without the intimidation of a traditional

restaurant. However, in order to maintain a competitive advantage, fast food restaurants

attempt to set themselves apart, focusing on establishing mam menu items as well as enlarging product choice and diversity while introducing new concepts The

differences between the fast food restaurants rapidly erode, making it difficult for a

particular fast food restaurant to be special in the customer's view and stand out from the competition Marketing targeted as responding to a customer's needs and

providing customer service has ex olved. frequently targeted at children. The related

services include hosting birthdas parties, providing play areas and offeπng

promotional give away items (usually tied into a popular movie, toy. or holiday

season).

The automat was at the cutting edge of technology at the turn of the century.

At their peak in the 1940s and '50s. automats served 350,000 patrons daily. But fast

food restaurants eventually displaced them. The last Horn & Hardart automat closed

in New York City in 1991. The impersonal nature of simply feeding coins into

vending machines has been supplanted by ATM machines, high tech video

entertainment devices, electronic juke boxes, and video juke boxes, which have even

found a foot hold in restaurants and bars However, the use of vaπous high tech

entertainment devices is essentially isolated from the core services of the restaurants.

Fast food restaurants frequently tie in their advertising and promotions to

movies, toys and other mass appeal consumer items. Merchandise availability is

limited to promotional items currently in stock The very nature of fast food restaurants surrounded with mass marketing, common menus, and limited customer contact, prevents the collection of individualized consumer preference information for

use in future marketing campaigns.

Marketing success depends on breaking through the clutter of messages and

products facing consumers m the marketplace. But the more innovative the idea —

whether it be a new product, package, pπce, or promotion — the greater the πsk Traditional marketing-research methods, such as test markets, focus groups,

controlled field expeπments, all have limitations Some are vulnerable to observation

and manipulation by competitors, others are contπved and unrealistic, too expensive,

or simply incapable of providing the information that managers need But a new

alternative, the virtual store, not only addresses those limitations, it also broadens the hoπzons of marketmg research Virtual-shopping simulations are easy and

inexpensive to create using readily available data They also are flexible, researchers

can change the assortment of brands on display or the features of any given brand

within minutes. The virtual store gives researchers the freedom to exercise their imagination early in the product development process with no πsk When tailored to

individual consumer and demographic information, the virtual store can be a unique

entertaining expeπence as well as a πch source for collecting additional demographic

and individual consumer information.

Because the Internet evolved from the ARPAnet, a research expeπment that

supported the exchange of data between government contractors and (often academic) researchers, an on-line culture developed that is alien to the corporate business world

Although the Internet was not designed to make commercialization easy. Internet

publishing and e-commerce have rapidly evolved. In part it is the very ease that anyone can publish a document that is accessible by a large number of people that makes electronic publishing attractive. Setting up e-commerce provides low overhead

while reaching a worldwide market 24 hours a day The growth and populanty of the Internet is providing new opportunities for commercialization including but not

limited to Web sites dπven by electronic commerce, ad revenue, branding, database

transactions, and intranet/extranet applications.

Domain names direct where e-mail is sent, files are found, and computer

resources are located. The% are used when accessing information on the World Wide

Web (Web) or connecting to other computers through Telenet Internet users enter the domain name, which is automatically converted to the Internet Protocol address by the

Domain Name System (DNS).

The World Wide Web (WWW) is the graphical data transfer area of the

Internet This is the area of the Internet where Home Pages and web sites are found

The WWW has become a popular place to advertise businesses, but it can also be used

as a front end for electronic commerce (e-commerce) Many companies have online

ordeπng on their web sites

E-mail was one of the first services developed on the Internet. Today, e-mail

is an important service on any computer network, not just the Internet E-mail involves sending a message from one computer account to another computer account

E-mail is used to send textual information as well as files, including graphic files,

executable files, word processing and other files. E-mail is becoming a popular wa\ to conduct business over long distances Using e-mail to contact a business associate

can be faster than using a voice telephone, because the recipient can read it at a convenient time, and the sender can include as much information as needed to explain the situation

On-line commerce, or "e-commerce' , uses the Internet, of which the WWW is a part, to transfer large amounts of information about numerous goods and services in

exchange for payment or customer data needed to facilitate payment Potential

customers can supply a company with shipping and invoicing information without

having to tie up sales staff The convenience offered to the customer is that they don't

have to dπve around town all day looking for the product they want

Although the present invention, a method and system method and system for remote cross marketing enables the collection of accurate consumer demographic

information while expanding cross product marketing m a commercial environment,

is particularly well suited for in a fast food restaurant environment, and shall be so

descπbed, the present invention is equally well suited for use other commercial

environments where consumer interaction is limited, such as convenience stores, food

stores, department stores, etc

A fast food restaurant is essentially offers convenience to a customer in the

simplicity of choices, with a cafeteπa style self service atmosphere This very

convenience it ideal for mass marketing, descπbing the simplicity of the expeπence

and the ease of choosing without the intimidation of a traditional restaurant

While automated restaurants were marketed in the past, such as the H&H

Automat in New York City, the impersonal nature of automated technology, the competitive nature of the restaurant business, and their novelty decline has lead to

their demise Feeding coins and pushing buttons has been supplanted by ATM machines, high tech video entertainment devices and sophisticated electronic juke boxes, including video juke boxes have found a foot hold even in restaurants and bars The use of the high tech entertainment devices is essentially isolated from the core and related services of the restaurants.

Fast food restaurants frequently tie their advertising and promotions to

movies, toys and other mass appeal consumer items Frequently the promotional items become collectibles While previous promotional items may be highh sought

after, their accessibility to the customer is limited to the items currently available at the fast food restaurant The very nature of fast food restaurants, with mass

marketing, common menus, and limited customer contact, prevents the collection of

individualized consumer preference information for use in future marketing

campaigns.

With extensive consumer acceptance of ATM machines, the WWW. Personal

Digital Assistants, Digital Wireless Communication devices, and other technology

seems to be at odds with the fast food restaurant expeπence. How can the extensive

proven methods for electronic marketing and individualized consumer target marketing be combined with the fast food restaurant expeπence?

Demographic information (data), the statistical characteπstics of human

populations, such as age, gender, and income, are especially useful for identifying

consumer markets for goods and services. Once collected, the demographic data provides an invaluable marketing tool for businesses Information including

economic data, age, gender, social type, employment, housing type, lifestyle,

expenditure habits and other related data is used to support a wide range of business decisions, such as creating targeted strategies for marketing campaigns. The potential

consumer is the best source for information.

Referπng to FIG. 1 there is shown one exemplary embodiment of the present invention, method and system for remote personalized marketing, which utilizes an

electronic kiosk, placed in a fast food restaurant. The kiosk is configured to a provide

user access at a height convmient to the user in which the housing raises the mfterface

to a level convient to the user or the user interface is support by a wall or counter-top

mount This The electronic kiosk 10 contains a color monitor 12 (optionally having touch screen functionality), alpha numeπc keyboard 14 (optionally covered with a

flexible membrane), magnetic card reader 16, numeπc keypad 18. receipt pπnter 20,

and internal computer system 22. The card reader 16 may also be substituted by an

electronic transponder.

Referπng to FIG. 2 there is shown one exemplary embodiment of the

communication interconnections of the electronic kiosk. A communication interface

in the internal computer system 22 (shown in FIG. 1) of the electronic kiosk 10 is

coupled to the fast food restaurant order entry/cash register system 30. A pick

up/table deliver pπnter 32 is coupled to the order entry/cash register system 30. An

additional communication interface in the internal computer system 22 (shown m FIG

1) of the electronic kiosk 10 is coupled to a secured link 34 to a centralized computer

system 36 Additionally, a communication interface in the internal computer system

22 (shown in FIG. 1) of the electronic kiosk 10 is coupled to an ISP (Internet Service Provider) having local communication access to the Internet 38 Vaπous remote computer systems 40 are coupled to the Internet 38, including individual customer

computer systems 42.

A restaurant customer inserts mto a magnetic card reader 16, a magnetic card,

such as a restaurant card, credit card, debit card, etc., which identifies the customer to

the electronic kiosk 10. Previously collected preferential information about sports, travel, hobbies, and related interests is accessed from a remote location 40. The

customer is welcomed by first name or alias (if they so desire) and presented with the

highlights of their interests (sport scores, select new s reports, and products of interest)

Optionally they may be alerted to a message that was left for them by another

customer, or routed by e-mail. Additionally, the electronic kiosk 10 can be interfaced

to the fast food restaurant order entry/cash register system 30, enabling the customer to accurately place their order and make payment by debit card or credit card if

desired. When using a debit card or credit card, the customer enters their PIN number

through the numeπc keypad 18. The receipt pπnter 20 of electronic kiosk 10 then

pπnts a receipt, which would be taken to a pick up window or counter. Payment for

customers who wish to use cash could be made at that time at the counter or pick up

window, or through a suitable cash collection device at the electronic bosk 10. A

detailed record of the customer's purchases would be collected by the electronic kiosk

10, enabling suggestions to be made at future visits, or allowing a customer to simpl) order their usual. The detailed records would be forwarded to the central computer 36

for future analysis.

Alternatively, the receipt pπnter 20 can be utilized when the electronic kiosk

10 is not interfaced to a fast food restaurant order entry/cash register system. Thus enabhng the processing of transactions, including food payment by credit card, without restaurant staff interaction The receipt pπnter 20, after the customer orders

and makes payment at the electronic kiosk 10, would pπnt out a receipt, which would then be taken to the fast food restaurant counter for filling.

Products can be expanded offeπng tie-ins to current, previous or future

promotional activities, such as a video of a classic movie or collectible piece of

memorabilia Where the merchandise is kept locally, the ordered item can be added to

their fast food order, otherwise the order would be shipped directly to the customer, bv any of a number of shipping options, from a remote distπbution center.

Individua zation of a customer profile can include calendar events, such as

birthdays, anniversaπes, holidays, vacations, graduations, which would then be used

to remind the customer of the coming event, and to even suggest possible gift

alternatives and enable the sending of electronic cards where appropπate To

encourage customization by entry of personal and demographic data, access can be provided through a Web Site, utilizing a sign in procedure similar to that at the

electronic kiosk 10 The customer initially responds to a detailed questionnaire,

providing individual data and demographic information. The survey questions can be

multiple choice or simple yes-no so that only one answer per question will be

recorded. Some of the responses can be fill in the blanks. (Ex A question such as "are you a full or part time student" would expand if part time were selected This

would then ask how many hours per week or offer predetermined ranges. The system

would then "close," while the level previously used would "open up". For college or

graduate school further queπes can be for majors, years already completed, etc. A question such as "do you enjoy football⁹" would be expanded upon a positive

response to ask what their favoπte team is )

Duπng an individual customer's access to the electronic kiosk 10, as w ell as duπng idle access times, video clips from movies and product information can be

displayed The video clips, product information and other data can be stored locally in

the internal computer system 22 in the electronic kiosk 10, enabling faster access to

the information and reduced communication bandwidth requirements

The particular buying habits of the customers can be used to predict when they will next be making a purchase, enabling the pre-loading of personalized news and sporting information, as well as individualized data, thus enabling the electronic kiosk

to efficiently operate duπng a communication network failure This includes customer

suggestions for gift ideas and customer background information The customer information will then be used for specific marketing to dπve customers mto the

restaurant to increase food sales The electronic kiosk 10 allow s the customers to

order food from the electronic kiosk 10 for delivery to the customer at a table or in the

play area by pπnting a record of the order at the pick up/table deliver pπnter 32 It

will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the record of the order may also be

displayed on a monitor

In an enhanced embodiment of the present invention, a customer loyalty

program can be tied to particular purchases, such as food products, earning points,

which can be redeemed automatically by the customer through the electronic kiosk 10

Customer purchases of food made through the electronic kiosk 10 could be made an mcentive by offeπng points for such purchases Bonus points could be provided for

payments made through the electronic kiosk 10

An intelligent software agent can be utilized to predict customer preferences, patterns and select related marketing information, which may be of interest, based on

the stored individual data and demographic information An intelligent agent must

have the capability to take actions leading to the completion of a task or objective,

such as accessing databases, reading e-mail etc , without tπgger or input from an end-

user The details of the programming of the intelligent agent are known to those skilled in the art The functioning and design of intelligent software agents are

descπbed in "Software Agents An Overview" by Hyacinth S Xwana, Knowledge

Engineeπng Review, Vol 11, No 3 pp 1-40, September 1996 and "Intelligent

Agents A Technology And Business Application Analysis" b\ Kathryn Heilmann et al , http:// www.mmes.u-nancy.fr/ -gueniffe/ CoursEMN/ 131/ heilmann/

heilmann.html, 1998, which are herein incorporated by reference

Additionally, the electronic kiosk 10 is interfaced to the Internet 38, through a

selective browser interface, such as a Java applet The selective browser interface can

provide access to products, which are offered, for sale on the Internet 38 Through

formal linking agreements, or through associate agreements, revenue can be generated

which is credited to the source, the particular electronic kiosk or particular restaurant

Catalogs can be requested by the customer, which can be personalized and pπnted,

sent electronically, or simply linked to a customized web site When a customer utilizes a suitable e-mail provider, access to their e-mail can be offered, such as for a

nominal monthly, or per message fee The electronic kiosk is capable of being located remotely for use duπng

promotional events, such as chanty fund raising, where a percentage of sales is provided to the chanty Additionally, the electronic kiosk can pπnt coupons, tickets, and other documents. Further, when interfaced with a suitable vending device, the

electronic kiosk can dispense postage stamps and other small items directly When

payment capability is provided by the electronic kiosk, in addition to making change for a cash transaction, the electronic kiosk may function as an ATM device

General information relating to the location can be displayed on large screens

(such as with flat screen technology) as well as provide entertaining commercials and

news clips to customers who are in line and in the seating area. Large theme

amusement parks have long learned that lines seem shorter when the customers are entertained while they wait Information may include updates on food or product promotions, local news events, community issues, local weather, local sports,

community events, etc.

Additionally the electronic kiosk 10 and auxiliary large screen displays

provide a tool for uniform training of employees on existing procedures and policies

and enables the rapid dissemination of updated information.

Numerous modifications and alternative embodiments of the invention will be

apparent to those skilled in the art in view of the foregoing descπption. Accordingly,

this descπption is to be construed as illustrative only and is for the purpose of teaching those skilled in the art the best mode of carrying out the invention Details of the

structure may be vaπed substantially without departing from the spiπt of the invention and the exclusive use of all modifications, which come within the scope of the

appended claim, is reserved.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED: 1 A system for remote electronic marketing at a fast food restaurant having a

computeπzed cash register, the system compπsing

at least one electronic kiosk having a display and data ent means,

a pπnter connected to said kiosk; and a centralized computer system coupled to said at least one electronic kiosk; wherein said at least one electronic kiosk is adapted to interface to a world

wide computer network for accessing vaπous remote computer systems

2. The system according to claim 1 wherein said kiosk includes an interactive menu of items to order from the inventory of said restaurant.

3. The system according to claim 1 wherein said kiosk includes an interactive

menu of items to order items remotely from said restaurant.

4. The system according to claim 1 wherein said kiosk includes an interactive

screen for selecting promotional items.

5. The system according to claim 1 wherein said kiosk includes an interactive

screen for obtaining coupons redeemable within said restaurant.

6 The system according to claim 1 wherein said kiosk includes an interactive screen for earning points towards promotional rewards

7. The system according to claim 1 wherein said kiosk includes an interactive

screen for enteπng in consumer information of the group consisting of personal and

demographic information

8. The system according to claim 1 wherein said restaurant includes a cash

register machine and said at least one electronic kiosk is coupled to the computeπzed

cash register.

9. The system according to claim 8 wherein said pπnter is coupled to the

computeπzed cash register.

10 The system according to claim 7 where in products and promotional items are

tailored to the consumer based upon said consumer information

11. A method for remote electronic marketing compπsing the following steps

providing a fast food restaurant having a computeπzed cash register, identifying a customer by data entry means at an electronic kiosk,

providing personalized information to said customer by a display means at said

electronic kiosk in response to said identification; collecting order and transactional information from said customer's interaction to said electronic kiosk;

stoπng said order and transactional information; and,

updating data relating to said personalized information.

12 The method according to claim 11 including the step of pπnting coupons

tailored to said customer from said personalized information.

13 The method according to claim 11 including the step of providing videos and

other entertainment to customers.

14. The method according to claim 13 including the step of interactively

producing said entertainment based upon input from said customers.

15 The method according to claim 1 1 wherein said collecting step is repeated

overtime to produce cumulative information about said consumer.

16. The method according to claim 15 wherein said collecting step is repeated

over many customers to gather trend information

17. The method according to claim 11 including the step of providing information

selected from the group consisting of local news, financial news, national news,

weather, shopping and sports news

18. A system for remote electronic marketing at a fast food restaurant having a computeπzed cash register, the system compπsing at least one electronic kiosk having a display and data entry means,

said at least one electronic kiosk coupled to the computeπzed cash register; a pπnter coupled to the computeπzed cash register; and

a centralized computer system coupled to said at least one electronic kiosk; wherein said at least one electronic kiosk is adapted to interface to a world

wide computer network for accessing vaπous remote computer systems.

19. The system according to claim 18 wherein said kiosk includes:

an interactive menu of items to order from the inventory of said restaurant;

an interactive menu of items to order items remotely from said restaurant;

an interactive active screen for providing information selected from the group

consisting of entertainment, local news, national news, financial news, weather, and

sports news; an interactive screen for selecting promotional items; and

an interactive screen for obtaining coupons redeemable within said restaurant.

20 The system according to claim 19 wherein said kiosk includes: an interactive screen for enteπng in consumer information of the group

consisting of personal and demographic information; wherein products and promotional items are tailored to the consumer based upon said consumer information, and

an interactive screen for ordeπng products tailored to said consumer

information