Patent No. 7016863 Marketing system and method processing market information of consumers and dealers via a network

 

Patent No. 7016863

Marketing system and method processing market information of consumers and dealers via a network (Kamakura, et al., Mar 21, 2006) 

Abstract

A marketing system is provided wherein consumers disclose their purchase demands so that dealers can purchase the disclosed information. A market information registering unit registers market information including the consumers' demands, and a personal information registering unit registers personal information about the consumers. The market information is posted at posting unit, and a dealer, browsing the posted market information, purchases the market information, whereupon a personal information acquiring unit acquires the personal information. Based on the personal information, the dealer accesses the consumer. The personal information acquiring unit includes a prior approval demand determining unit, which determines whether or not the consumer's approval is required before the dealer accesses the consumer. Also, the personal information acquiring unit includes an access confirming unit for seeking the consumer's approval when the prior approval is required.

Notes:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

(1) Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a marketing system, and more particularly, to a marketing system operated under the leadership of consumers wherein consumers disclose their interest in or intention to purchase goods on an electronic network so that goods dealers can buy the right to communicate with the consumers.

(2) Description of the Related Art

In the form of marketing conventionally established for buying and selling goods, a dealer sets up shop at a certain location so that goods or services are available there, and a consumer as a customer visits the shop and purchases goods or services if they meet the consumer's needs. Another popular form of marketing is mail order wherein consumers buy goods that are publicized through communication media such as broadcasting, publications, electronic networks, etc.

In economic societies, markets are generally operated in such a way that suppliers who provide goods or services to consumers take the leadership in the marketing. That is, dealers who supply respective different genres of goods have their places of marketing, such as shops, and consumers as purchasers visit such places selling goods they want and purchase desired goods. This form of marketing is dominant because, although goods generally can be kept at a certain place forever until their purchasers visit there, consumers cannot stay at the same place forever and wait until certain goods to come to the inventory; consequently, a market is a place where a person possessing goods runs a shop to sell the goods.

In the conventional form of marketing, when consumers need certain goods or services, they must look for a shop selling such goods or services for themselves. Therefore, if the goods sought for are not very popular, it is difficult for consumers to locate a shop dealing in such goods, and also requires much time and labor in locating a right shop. 

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide a novel marketing system wherein consumers themselves disclose their demands for goods in certain ways and dealers purchase the disclosed information along with information about the consumer's preferred communications means, etc. for the selling of their goods.

To achieve the above object, there is provided a marketing system for processing market information of consumers and dealers via an electronic network. This marketing system comprises personal information registering means for registering personal information of a consumer, market information registering means for registering market information about goods which the consumer desires to purchase, posting means for extracting and posting the market information registered in the market information registering means according to genres, and personal information acquiring means for acquiring personal information of the consumer necessary for a dealer to access the consumer from the personal information registering means when the market information posted at the posting means is purchased by the dealer.

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings which illustrate preferred embodiments of the present invention by way of example.