Eliciting A Customer's Product Preference Propensities Among Sub-Groups In A Social Network
A method to elicit a customer's product preference propensities among sub-groups, with each of the sub-groups having multiple members based on at least one common attribute, begins when customer action data is collected through the actions of the customer in the sub-group. The actions include the customer's propensities to purchase a product while within the sub-group and the customers' responses to displayed marketing messages or surveys while within the sub-group. The customer action data collected in the sub-group is analyzed to determine a customer's product preference propensities in the sub-group. The customer is targeted, when within the sub-group, with an electronic display that includes at least one product that corresponds to the customer's product preference propensities within the sub-group.
1 . A method for eliciting a customer's product preference propensities among sub-groups having a plurality of members based on at least one common attribute to target the customer with at least one product corresponding to the customer's product preference propensities within the sub-group, the method comprising:
collecting customer action data through actions of the customer in the sub-group, the customer action data including at least one of product purchase data and product response data;
analyzing the customer action data collected in the sub-group to determine the customer's product preference propensities in the sub-group; and
targeting the customer when within the sub-group with an electronic display having the at least one product corresponding to the customer's product preference propensities within the sub-group.
2 . The method as set forth in claim 1 wherein collecting customer action data comprises clustering the actions of the customer in the sub-group into at least one cluster according to a data pattern identified in a dataset of the customer action data.
3 . The method as set forth in claim 2 wherein analyzing the customer action data comprises producing, by a computer, from the customer action data associated with a given cluster of the at least one cluster, a model defining the customer's product preference propensities within the sub-group.
4 . The method as set forth in claim 1 wherein analyzing the customer action data further comprises estimating member product preference propensities of other members of the sub-group based on the customer's product preference propensities within the sub-group.
5 . The method as set forth in claim 1 further comprising eliciting a set of the customer's product preference propensities for the sub-group for a current time period.
6 . The method as set forth in claim 1 further comprising eliciting a set of predictions of the customer's product preference propensities for the sub-group for future time periods.
7 . The method as set forth in claim 1 further comprising recommending the sub-group of the customer for which to promote the at least one product based on the customer's product preference propensities within the subgroup.
8 . The method as set forth in claim 1 further comprising recommending the route to target the customer within the sub-group based on the customer action data.
9 . The method as set forth in claim 1 wherein targeting the customer when within the sub-group further comprises designing an advertisement for the customer when within the sub-group having the at least one product corresponding to the customer's product preference propensities within the sub-group.
10 . The method as set forth in claim 1 wherein the customer action data includes data from both the product purchase data and the product response data.
11 . The method as set forth in claim 1 wherein the product response data includes the customer's responses to at least one of displayed marketing messages, referrals, or surveys while within the sub-group, and the product purchase data includes the customer's purchase of products while within the sub-group.
12 . The method as set forth in claim 1 further comprising creating at least one subgroup in a social network having the plurality of member based on the at least one common attribute amongst the member.
13 . A system of eliciting a customer's product preference propensities among sub-group having a plurality of members based on at least one common attribute to target the customer with at least one product corresponding to the customer's product preference propensities within the sub-group, comprising:
a data storage subsystem for storing a dataset of customer action data including product purchase data representing the customer's propensities to purchase a product while within the sub-group and product response data representing the customer's responses to displayed marketing messages or surveys while within the sub-group;
a processing subsystem in communication with the data storage subsystem to:
collect customer action data through actions of the customer in the sub-group, the customer action data including at least one of the product purchase data and the product response data;
analyze the customer action data collected in the sub-group to determine the customer's product preference propensities in the sub-group; and
target the customer when within the sub-group with an electronic display having the at least one product that corresponds to the customer's product preference propensities within the sub-group.
14 . The system as set forth in claim 13 wherein the data storage system further includes instructions to cluster the actions of the customer in the sub-group into at least one cluster according to a data pattern identified in a dataset of the customer action data.
15 . The system as set forth in claim 13 wherein the data storage system further includes instructions to estimate member product preference propensities of other members of the sub-group based on the customer's product preference propensities within the sub-group.