AU2014200552A1 - A computerized method and software product for customer search and product matching - Google Patents

Abstract

Abstract A preferred version of the invention comprises a method of operating a computer system to present product offerings to remote customers wherein the computer system is in communication with a number of remote browser devices for operation by the remote customers by means of a computer network, the method including the steps of: receiving customers' responses to profiling questions for profiling each customer by means of the remote browser devices; receiving customers' primary preference selection factors indicating a primary decision making factor for each of said customers in selecting a product; conducting searches of a database of products for each customer based on the responses to the profiling questions and the primary preference selection factors; determining a customer's eligibility for any particular product in order that customer's are only presented with products that they are eligible to signup to; and operating the computer system to present results of the searches to respective customers. 0)f a)) 4- a) c 0 U) CD cu cttn Cu M0)aa 0) - + w( 1) ) a o )a zL0L-( 00 o a) w-c n:3- nC o a) I- 00m D~Ca) ~~U) no) _

Description

AUSTRALIA PATENTS ACT 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION A COMPUTERIZED METHOD AND SOFTWARE PRODUCT FOR CUSTOMER SEARCH AND PRODUCT MATCHING The invention is described in the following statement: 1 A COMPUTERIZED METHOD AND SOFTWARE PRODUCT FOR CUSTOMER SEARCH AND PRODUCT MATCHING [0001]TECHNICAL FIELD [0002] The present invention relates a computerized method and software product to present customers with products that best match their requirements and eligibilities so as to maximize customer adoption or "signup" of a product. In one specific application a method is provided for assisting customers to find a product in the form or an energy supply that best matches their requirements. [0003] BACKGROUND [0004] The discussion of any prior art documents, techniques, methods or apparatus is not to be taken to constitute any admission or evidence that such prior art forms, or ever formed, part of the common general knowledge. [0005] Various tools, systems and services exist for customers to seek out offers from product providers in a way that consolidates the products and allows for comparisons to be made. However, it is not unusual for customers to be presented with products that are unsuited to the customer, simply ranked in order of estimated price savings, or which may not even be available to the customer. [0006] For example, present systems are known to require the customer to sift through lists of offers, many of which are unsuitable to the customer. It will be realized that a customer presented with inappropriate offers, or offers for which the customer is ineligible result in considerable frustration. Furthermore, such a scenario results in customers losing interest, or being occupied in unfruitful searches so that they are distracted from entering into meaningful transactions that are satisfying to the customer and profitable to the product provider.

2 [0007] It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for presenting customers with product offerings that better match the customers' requirements, wants and eligibilities than has hitherto been possible. [0008] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0009] According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of operating a computer system to present product offerings to remote customers wherein the computer system is in communication with a number of remote browser devices for operation by the remote customers by means of a computer network, the method including the steps of: receiving customers' responses to profiling questions for profiling each customer by means of the remote browser devices; receiving customers' primary preference selection factors indicating a primary decision making factor for each of said customers in selecting a product; conducting searches of a database of products for each customer based on the responses to the profiling questions and the primary preference selection factors; and operating the computer system to present results of the searches to respective customers. [00010] In a preferred embodiment of the invention the method further includes receiving a secondary preference selection factor for each customer and searching the database of products based upon both the first and second preference selection factor and the responses to the profiling questions. [00011] The method may include setting a default value for the secondary preference selection factor. For example, the default value may be that the products be of low cost. [00012] Preferably the method includes, where a customer's primary preference selection factor and secondary preference selection factor are the 3 same (e.g. "lowest cost product"), basing the search only upon the profiling responses and the primary preference selection factor. [00013] Preferably the method includes operating the computer system to determine a customer's eligibility for any particular product in order that customer's are only presented with products that they are eligible to sign up to. [00014] The step of determining a customer's eligibility may be based upon a geographical location for the customer. For example, the method may include determining the customer's geographical location based upon the responses to the profiling questions where such responses include geographical indicators, such as a postcode. [00015] Alternatively, the customer's geographical location may be determined by using a network based method such as the W3C geo-location API. [00016] In a preferred embodiment of the invention the customer's geographical information is compared to a product geographical availability indicator stored in the database for an associated product whereby only products that are geographically available in the customer's location are presented to the customer. [00017] The step of determining a customer's eligibility may be based upon a product requirement for the customer entered in response to the profiling questions. [00018] For example, where the product comprises electricity supply the product requirement may be concerned with a required rate of electricity consumption in order that only electricity supply products compatible with the required rate are presented to the customer.

4 [00019] In a preferred embodiment of the invention the results of each search are presented to each customer ranked in order of their suitability to the customer based upon the customer's profile and the first preference selection factor. [00020] In some embodiments the results of each search are further ranked based upon the second preference selection factor. [00021] In a preferred embodiment of the invention only the top three search results are presented to the customer though of course more or less results may be presented. [00022] The method may include prompting for the customer to refine the search by altering the primary and/or the secondary search factor and to then, with the refined search factors: a. search the database of products based on the responses to the profiling questions and the refined primary and/or secondary preference selection factors; and b. operating the computer system to present results of the search to each customer. [00023] Preferably the method further includes, upon receiving a product selection from a customer, presenting the customer with an electronic signup form for customer acquisition of the product. [00024] According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a computer server arranged to present product offerings to remote customers wherein the computer system is in communication with a number of remote browser devices for operation by the remote customers by means of a computer network, the computer server being arranged to: a. receive customers' responses to profiling questions for profiling each customer, from the remote browser devices; 5 b. receive customers' primary preference selection factors indicating a primary decision making factor for each of said customers in selecting a product, from the remote browser devices; c. conduct searches of a database of products for each customer based on the responses to the profiling questions and the primary preference selection factors; and d. operate the computer system to present results of the searches to respective customers. [00025] According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a data storage device bearing tangible instructions for execution by a computer system, wherein the computer system is in data communication with a number of remote browser devices for operation by remote customers, said instructions comprising: a. instructions for said system to receive customers' responses to profiling questions for profiling each customer, from the remote browser devices; b. instructions for said system to receive customers' primary preference selection factors indicating a primary decision making factor for each of said customers in selecting a product, from the remote browser devices; c. instructions for said system to conduct searches of a database of products for each customer based on the responses to the profiling questions and the primary preference selection factors; and d. instructions for said system to operate the computer system to present results of the searches to respective customers. [00026] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [00027] The Detailed Description is not to be regarded as limiting the scope of the preceding Summary of the Invention in any way. The Detailed Description will make reference to a number of drawings as follows: [00028] Figure 1 is a block diagram depicting the entities involved in the performance of a method according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

6 [00029] Figure 1A is detailed diagram illustrating the hardware comprising the application server and the web server of Figure 1. [00030] Figure 1 B is a relational diagram that shows the website and a Customer Search and Product Matching Application which are implemented by the computer system 3. [00031] Figure 2 is a flowchart of a method according to a preferred embodiment of the invention. [00032] Figures 3 to 10 show screens that are presented to customers during performance of an exemplary method. [00033] Preferred features, embodiments and variations of the invention may be discerned from the following Detailed Description which provides sufficient information for those skilled in the art to perform the invention. [00034] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS [00035] Referring now to Figure 1, there is depicted a block diagram illustrating the entities involved in the performance of a method according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. [00036] A method according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in the context of matching the products of energy supply providers to customers. However, the invention is not limited to this particular application and it may certainly be used for matching products to customer requirements in other scenarios as well. [00037] With reference to Figure 1, the method is practiced with a computer system 3. Computer system 3 in the preferred embodiment comprises a computer web server 27 in data communication with an application server 25 via a data network, (which may comprise the Internet).

7 The computer system 3 is in communication with a plurality of remote devices 9a,..,9n and 11 via the Internet 14. Computer system 3 may however also comprise a server in a cellular telephone network which communicates with browser software, or cell phone applications, i.e. "apps", loaded on remote cellular telephones or other wireless devices. [00038] The computer system 3 comprises conventional computer installations (illustrated in Figure 1A) configured as a web server 25 and an application server 27 and is configured to perform a product matching method according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. [00039] The web server 27 and the application server 25 operate according to a computer software product 18 (illustrated in Figure 1A) in order for the server 27 to generate an interactive website 15 which, in use captures information from remote customers 7a,.. .7n. The captured data is stored in an electronic database 10 of the computer system 3 which is generated by the software product 18 as it executes on application server 25. The forms are accessible to customers 7a,..,7n as they run in web browsers on computers 9a,...,9n which are in communication with the computer installation 3 via the internet 14. [00040] The data that is captured from the forms is returned to the computer installation 3 and processed under control of software product 18 with reference to the database 10 and transformed by the computer system to thereby produce result webpages comprising energy supply products best suited to the customer's requirements. The result webpages are viewable on electronic displays under control of the system e.g. screen s of devices 9a,..,9n. A customer (7a,..,7n) may review the result webpage and select an appropriate product. If the customer wishes then a signup page is presented to the customer for the customer to sign up to the product. [00041] Referring again to Figure 1A, the Web Server 27 and application server 25 of the computer system 3 each include a computer 2 which, in turn, 8 includes a controller 12 having a processor, RAM, ROM and various secondary data storage devices such as a hard disk drive. The controller 12 executes the software product 18 stored in data storage that contains instructions for implementing the method. The software product 18 is typically provided as tangible instructions on a data storage device, for example an optical or magnetically readable media such as a CD-ROM or floppy diskette 28, which can be read by controller 12 via disk reader 22. Alternatively, software product 18 might be provided in a ROM or other electronic circuit data storage device as firmware or downloaded from a remote location over a computer network 14 such as the Internet. The software product 18 includes instructions for system 3 to implement the method that will be explained in detail below. [00042] By means of conventional interfacing circuitry of computer 2, the controller 12 receives commands entered by an administrator 30 (Figure 1) from input devices such as keyboard 4 and mouse 20, and displays information on display 6. Controller 12 communicates with a number of peripheral devices including the disk reader / writer 22 for writing data to a data storage device in the form of a removable disk 28, if required. [00043] Referring now to Figure 1 B, there is depicted a relational diagram that shows the website and the Customer Search and Product Matching Application which are implemented by the computer system 3 under control of the software product 18. It will be understood that the software product 18 includes tangible instructions for execution by the computer system 3 to implement the application, search engine, interactive website and relationships illustrated in Figure 1 B. [00044] Figure 2 is a flowchart of steps that are carried out during the performance of a method according to a preferred embodiment of the invention. An example of the use of a preferred embodiment of the invention, which carries out the steps set out in Figure 2, will now be provided with reference to Figures 3 to 10.

9 [00045] As shown in Figure 3, a customer initially browses to the web server 27 and is presented with a home page, such as the webpage shown in Figure 3. [00046] The customer then enters profile information, such as their location, into the form shown in Figure 4 and enters product preferences (Box 31, Figure 2). The customer then clicks on the "go" button (item 48 of Figure 4). In response the interactive website then returns the result (as shown in Figure 5), which pushes the data set back to the search engine application (item 33 of Figure 1 B) running on the application server 25 which is connected to the website server 27. [00047] The customer's details and preferences are then used to query the search engine 33. The search engine is programmed to select all products that the customer is eligible for and to rank them in order of preference based on the captured information (36, 38 of Figure 2) for the customer. [00048] The web server then presents a form (shown in Figure 6) on remote machines (9a,..,9n of Figure 1) for initial capture of the customers' personal details. The captured data 33 is then transferred to the Prospect and Offer Presentation System (item 23 of Figure 1 B) for creation of prospect and offer presentment. [00049] The results generated by the customer search and product application 33 are then returned via the interactive website 15 in the form of a shortlist as shown in Figure 7. [00050] The customer (i.e. one of 7a,...,7n of Figure 1) may then view an offer in more detail (box 40 of Figure 2 and as shown in Figure 8), including rates and terms and conditions which are also returned from the application through the interactive website. Alternatively, the customer may refine the search criteria (box 44 Figure 2) in which case the process is repeated with new search query terms to generate new results.

10 [00051] Once the customer has selected a suitable offer (boxes 42, 46 of Figure 2) they are then presented with a signup screen as shown in Figure 9 and signup form as shown in Figure 10. [00052] The data that the customer enters into the form of Figure 10 is validated with rules set up per the schema (table 35 of Figure 1 B) for each retailer as setup in the application. The input data, once validated, is submitted via the interactive website and transferred through to the Prospect and Offer Presentation System 23, which is a customer information and relationship management system as well as a product management system. A preferred third party implantation is the "JCurve" product which is available from JCurve Solutions Pty Ltd of Level 1, 116-122 Kippax Street, Surrry Hills, NSW 2010, Australia. [00053] As previously alluded to in the example of use that has been provided with reference to Figures 2 to 10, the Search Engine captures customer inputs and then searches for all valid offers then ranks the available products according to the customer's preference. It operates on multiple software rules and metrics that may vary depending on such factors as the market, the type of customer and the various inputs provided by them. [00054] SEARCH ENGINE - FUNCTIONAL SPECIFICATION [00055] The requirement of the Search Engine overall is to provide only offers that the customer can be guaranteed of successfully registering for. There can be multiple criteria that can disqualify an offer. [00056] Some examples are: - Geographic - Customer usage patterns and consumption thresholds, - offer availability in a given area or per the type of customer, 11 the customer's current supplier. [00057] The Search Engine takes all of this into account in searching for the best matched offers and also using these as eligibility criteria's that can be used by Providers (energy in this case) to customise their offer to certain groups essentially enhancing the communication and marketing efforts between Provider and customer . In addition to this, the Search Engine also returns a shortlist (in the current market being the top three matches) for the customer based on a ranking / filtering approach using primary and then secondary software rules (the system / business rules) and the given metrics (the values) attached. In current practice the available Primary and Secondary Metrics at present are: - Biggest Savings, - Rewards, - No Lock-In Contract, and - Green offers (Environmentally Friendly). [00058] These Primary or secondary filters and metrics can be - Interchangeable (ie rearranged or substituted with other factors of consideration for customer or Provider (depending on the market need), - Altered to in the number applied eg currently 4 in place - this could be any number of filters and metrics - Sequenced / prioritised ie given an order depending on factors such as but not limited to market maturity, industry, and product or customer group. - Given a ranking of importance against each other by the customer whereby the customer can simply either rank numerically or click and drag those metrics that apply to them into consideration with a limit being defined by the system.

12 [00059] As an example beyond the current practice in energy market where big savings is a primary (and secondary) metric e.g. in the mobile telecommunications market network coverage may become the primary metric where others like savings / contract terms / phone type may be secondary and given a priority in terms of importance. [00060] SEARCH ENGINE PROCESS DETAILS 1. The initiator for the Search Engine is a context-sensitive data capture form (illustrated in Figure 4) that captures details about the customer's current situation and their primary metric i.e. what matters to them most in an offer. 2. The details captured then allow products that the customer does not qualify for to be filtered out in accordance with the deemed availability criteria. 3. The contextual form prevents redundant or inapplicable data from being captured e.g. in the case of energy consumption and fuel type), creating the lowest possible barrier to entry for the customer. 4. Offers are then selected based on profiling eligibility eg in the case of energy Gas and Electricity plans are selected on a network basis. Networks are determined based on the user's postcode, which ensures that no unavailable plans are offered to a customer. 5. In the case of searches for both electricity and gas, all available offers are retrieved, determined by the retailers serving the networks the customer is located in. Every possible permutation of an electricity-only and a gas-only plan is constructed and compared with the existing Dual Fuel offers to determine if separate plans are better value. These permutations will be referred to in this document as "bundled offers." 6. The customer's details are then passed into the main Search Engine software module which then selects all products that the customer qualifies for, based on the captured information.

13 7. These products are then evaluated and filtered based on a primary ranking and then a secondary ranking software module using given software rules in the search engine and metrics stored in the database. The primary ranking metric is in the case of energy Biggest Savings, Rewards, No Lock-In Contract or Green (Environmentally Friendly). [00061] The system has been designed where these primary and secondary ranking methods can be interchangeable (moving between primary and secondary), added to in number, or varied in importance and weighting either by the system administrator in the ranking metrics or customer at the user interface (UI) depending on factors such as industry , product or customer group. [00062] 8. The primary metric is applied as selected by the customer (ie big savings / no lock in contracts / environmental offers), [00063] 9. The secondary metric is then applied to further filter offers which can be selected by the customer or in the case of energy currently defaults to "biggest savings". [00064] These primary and secondary ranking software rules (rules ) and metrics (values) can be changed dependent on market drivers where required (eg in mobile phones one of the metrics in the software module applied may be network coverage and may be either a primary or secondary filter depending on market drivers. [00065] With the relationship between primary and secondary metrics always in place this refines and crystallises the decision making process by asking key criterion for offer preferences and features from the customer making it more efficient for the consumer as opposed to the current alternative of sifting through lists of offers presented on a set profile or limited criteria at any one time and go round and round with endless list and possibilities. Instead they use system and personal preferences in a precise manner to sort 14 and rank offers to reach a precise point of conclusion deriving a better customer experience. [00066] The search engine carries out the filter and rank for them and moves products to the top of the ranking based on their eligibility rules as well as the preferences. [00067] 10. The offers are then compiled along with standard offers before the ranking process takes place. [00068] 11. The full list of offers are then ranked first by using the primary software module and metric and, if applicable the secondary metric. These are applied one after the other to best derive customers preferences. The best way to illustrate this in current application is that if "biggest savings" is selected by the customer as the primary metric, no secondary metric is applied as it would mean the software module and metric is applied twice. In turn if customer selects no lock in contracts as the primary metric, the current second metric which defaults to biggest savings will be applied. [00069] 12. After the ranking is complete although there is a full listing of ranking in the search engine in the current practice the top three matches are presented to the customer. [00070] 13. If the customer wants to review or alter the options they simply change the inputs and / or primary / secondary ranking metrics and software rules are reapplied in real time between the user, the search engine and the database. [00071] From there the customer can choose to view the offer details which will show them the current electricity tariffs in their area and more information about the product, or they can proceed to sign up for the offer. The focus is on presenting relevant information to the customer, customised for their situation and preferences.

15 [00072] SEARCH ENGINE - TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS [00073] Filtering Software Rules [00074] Filtering software rules discard offers that the customer does not qualify for. They are numerous and varying in complexity with some of the key examples in practice outlined below. and are applied in a specific order in order to discard as many results as possible as early as possible to increase processing speed. Most of the filtering is done within the database by modifying the SQL query used to extract results. [00075] They can be broken down into the following categories: [00076] Geographic Filtering [00077] Available plans are determined by the postcode of the user, which is automatically detected using the standard W3C geo-location API. [00078] The results of this geo-location (a latitude and longitude) are passed into the application and stored as session variables for the duration of the user's visit using the standard PHP session management system. [00079] The coordinates are passed into the Google Maps API to display a map and retrieve the user's postcode from the Google Maps database. This is then compared to the geographic definitions stored in the database (eg in the case of energy this is network definitions) to determine which offers (in this case Electricity and possibly Gas) apply to the customer. [00080] The geographic filter detects the user's location based on either the output from the W3C and Google Maps APIs or user input in the case of the user overriding those APIs. The postcode entered by the user is used to detect where the customer is located within. Each distribution network is defined by a region map stored as a set of postcodes in the database. Any plans associated with other networks are discarded at this stage.

16 [00081] The geographic filter is unique that it has both pre-submission and post-submission processes. This is the pre-submission process the application applies: [00082] If the customer has set their postcode manually, skip to step 4. [00083] Attempt to use the W3C geocoding API to get the customer's latitude/longitude. If this fails, set default latitude/longitude and skip to step 4. [00084] Use Google Maps API to convert the latitude/longitude to a postcode. Prefill the postcode field and cache results. [00085] Centre map on location and set zoom level to 10. If there is no postcode set (step 2 failed) leave zoom level at 5. [00086] This is the post-submission process that the application applies: [00087] Retrieve all eligible offers that supply to the user's postcode. [00088] Eliminate offers that do not match the customer's profile. [00089] Retrieve list of all offers available and their details on those offers. [00090] Retrieve offers and Providers attached to the offers. [00091] Pass this list into next filters. [00092] Customer Profile Filtering [00093] The customer profile (data captured in the context sensitive quick start form - see Figure 4 for an example) is used to select only offers relating to the profile of the customer using the search engine application (e.g. in the case of a business, all residential offers are discarded and vice versa) and these filters can be defined and "toggled" specific to different profiles eg in the case of energy if the customer is a business, their consumption is filtered against consumption thresholds and limits to determine which offers are discarded whilst at present this filter is switched off for residential customers. This criteria data is stored alongside the plans in the database.

17 [00094] The process for applying the Customer profiling filters are: [00095] Receive list of offers with details such as their rates and other details. [00096] Exclude all offers that do not match the customer profile against the requirements set in the database by each provider eg according to the "SME" and "Res" database fields. [00097] Once offer type is selected excluding all other offer types based on database field. Eg in the case of energy if single fuel is selected, exclude all dual fuel offers. [00098] Provider Filtering [00099] Providers (e.g. the power supply organization 5 its administrator 13 and associated remote browsing device 11 of Figure 1) can also specify certain eligibility or customer targeting criteria for offers, such as in the case of energy but not limited to ranging from not signing up existing customers to whether the customer has solar panels or not. These criteria also dictate the information gathered on the context sensitive dynamic Quick Start form and are filtered against the eligibility rules set out at a Provider level whereby offers are then discarded in this step. [000100] These eligibility rules are applied at a "provider by provider" level, and is driven by which Provider wants to offer a specific product or products to a given customer group at any given time. It is the most computationally intense filter and so is applied last for best user experience by matching the right offers to the right customers but can be moved in sequence if and when required. [000101] All available plans are then retrieved and passed into the filtering software rules. These use offer information and retailer information, all of which are stored in standard tables in the database.

18 [000102] The following steps set out the process for applying the filter in the case of energy products but these criteria are dictated by market requirements both customer and Provider and may be varied as required. [000103] Exclude all offers from Providers that do not want to provide such offer based on the user's selection of the profile criteria which in this case is customer type [000104] Exclude all offers from Providers on the next profile criteria eg if user has selected "yes" for solar. [000105] If another criterion is applied then exclusion occurs for that particular group eg does not apply for Residential customers at this stage but for SME customers, current rule has been set to allow Providers to exclude offers that do not meet fit into certain consumption thresholds. As a further example this could be set at one threshold for Provider A but another for Provider B. [000106] Other criteria example can be applied in this case not relevant to offer types but offer volumes per Provider. At present this rule is set to exclude all offers that have met monthly application limits at a Provider level eg Provider A may have a special offer but only 100 to sell. [000107] These Provider filtering criteria can be applied for exclusion as many as required or the market will allow (consumer or provider) and provides an improved approach to product matching between consumer and Provider. It delivers to Providers an improved way to meet the market and segment and to [000108] target customer groups in a more robust manner as well as providing the best outcomes for product matching for customers. [000109] Once all filters are applied, the remaining offers are passed into the Ranking Software Rules. The filtering software rules pass the resulting list of qualifying offers to the ranking software rules that rank them and present the top three to the customer.

19 [000110] Ranking Software Rules [000111] Ranking software rules are the part of the systems whereby customer preferences are now used to filter the most suitable offers. The number of customer ranking software rules applied could theoretically be as high or low in numbers as required or dictated by each market eg energy vs Telco. [000112] As an example in the case of energy products there are currently four ranking software rules and metrics currently implemented in the system and filters and for the purpose of illustration are outlined below. The software module and metric used is determined by user input and selection to find the best possible set of offers for the user based on their personal preferences. They are described below. [000113] In each customer profile and search, the full list of available offers is passed into the set of ranking software rules in an arbitrary order of sequence but can be prioritised in order if the particular market deems necessary eg customer could be asked to rank in level of importance via various user interface means such as numbering or click and drag all or a number of ranking software rules. [000114] Biggest Savings [000115] At present this is both an option for the primary ranking software module and the default secondary ranking software module in the case of the energy market. In the example of energy it takes the list of filtered offers and has rules to compare the discounts offered on each one whilst also takes into account the set of tariff rates in order to provide the most accurate ranking of savings (or each unique combination in the case of dual fuel offers) and ranks them from largest discount to smallest discount. [000116] The process to generate the ranking for each offer is as follows: 20 [000117] Retrieve the value for user's selected offer. [000118] Calculate values specified by the rates table. [000119] Factor in customer consumption [000120] Factor discount (e.g. 0.15 in the case of a 15% discount) to calculate total actual cost post-discount. [000121] Use results to then rank offers from lowest to highest cost. [000122] No Lock-In Contract [000123] The simplest software module, the no lock-in contract takes the Contract term and characteristics into account that are specified on the offer (or the largest of the two contract lengths in the case of composite offers) and using the software module in place against the values derived the offers are ranked from lowest to highest in relation to these. [000124] Rewards [000125] The rewards software module takes a list of rewards (such as points, cash-back, waived fees) and translates them into a dollar value based using tables and values maintained in the database. This is then used to rank the offers from highest value to lowest. If a dollar value equivalent is not possible, the offers are simply ranked by whether they have rewards or not. [000126] Environmentally friendly [000127] Each plan in the database has a value associated with it indicating the percentage of energy coming from environmentally friendly sources. The green software module ranks those in order from largest to smallest, using the smallest of the two values in terms of dual fuel offers, and the electricity value only in the case of ambiguity 21 [000128] DATABASE [000129] Scope [000130] The database simply stores customer and application data to be passed into the Output Engine. It does not do any processing on the data and uses standard SQL queries to store and retrieve data. [000131] Technical Specification [000132] The Database stores the customer details using the standard Wordpress user API, the output file definitions and the application data using the standard Entity-Attribute-Value (EAV) design pattern. This allows for unparalleled flexibility in the Output Engine. [000133] OUTPUT ENGINE [000134] Scope [000135] The output engine retrieves field values from the database, compiles them into a complete data set and normalises them against the schema definitions. It then generates a series of output files and distributes them to retailers. [000136] Functional Specification [000137] Each record is defined in the database and a status is assigned to it upon creation. When the record is approved its status is updated and the Output Engine retrieves it and prepares it for transmission. Due to the flexible EAV structure of the database, a schema definition can be created that can be customised to each Providers individual requirements, which provides significant advantage and efficiency to both the Provider and the customer in 22 terms of accelerated application processing as well as and good data integrity, resulting in a trouble-free application process. [000138] As a working example Provider A may have requirements for fifty inputs of customer information forty of which are mandatory. Provider B may have only thirty inputs with ten of them mandatory. [000139] Customer taking an offer with Provider B does not have to fill in 50 inputs but instead only the 30 required or at the very least the 10 mandatory inputs. [000140] The provider determines the method used to deliver the data file and the format that the file should take. Currently SFTP, FTP and email transmissions of CSV files are supported and the modular design of the Output Engine allows additional methods and file formats to be added as necessary to cater to all requirements. [000141] Technical Specification [000142] The Output Engine relies on two sets of EAV values. The first is the schema definition produced by the form builder plugin and the second is the data which is loaded in and used to build the output file. [000143] The Output Engine buffers the approved records by Schema Definition prior to processing. Once the buffering process is complete each set of records is processed as a batch. The batch process begins when the Output Engine references the Schema Definition and uses it to build the file headers. Upon completion the values of each record are loaded into the output file and the file is stored in preparation for manual or automatic submission to the retailer. The process continues for each buffered Schema Definition, resulting in a coherent set of output files and the most efficient possible transfer of records 23 [000144] to the retailer's system. It also guarantees absolute data integrity, as the Output Engine applies field validation to each field as it is buffered. [000145] IMPLEMENTATION REALIZATION [000146] Implementations of the present disclosure and all of the functional operations provided herein can be realized in digital electronic circuitry, or in computer software, firmware, or hardware, including the structures disclosed in this specification and their structural equivalents, or in combinations of one or more of them. Implementations of the invention can be realized as one or more computer program products, i.e., one or more rules of computer program instructions encoded on a computer readable medium for execution by, or to control the operation of, data processing apparatus. The computer readable medium can be a machine-readable storage device, a machine-readable storage substrate, a memory device, a composition of matter affecting a machine-readable propagated signal, or a combination of one or more of them. The term "data processing apparatus" encompasses all apparatus, devices, and machines for processing data, including by way of example a programmable processor, a computer, or multiple processors or computers. The apparatus can include, in addition to hardware, code that creates an execution environment for the computer program in question, e.g., code that constitutes processor firmware, a protocol stack, a database management system, an operating system, or a combination of one or more of them. [000147] A computer program (also known as a program, software, software application, script, or code) can be written in any form of programming language, including compiled or interpreted languages, and it can be deployed in any form, including as a stand-alone program or as a module, component, subroutine, or other unit suitable for use in a computing environment. A computer program does not necessarily correspond to a file in a file system. A program can be stored in a portion of a file that holds other programs or data (e.g., one or more scripts stored in a markup language 24 document), in a single file dedicated to the program in question, or in multiple coordinated files (e.g., files that store one or more rules, sub programs, or portions of code). A computer program can be deployed to be executed on one computer or on multiple computers that are located at one site or distributed across multiple sites and interconnected by a communication network. [000148] The processes and logic flows described in this disclosure can be performed by one or more programmable processors executing one or more computer programs to perform functions by operating on input data and generating output. The processes and logic flows can also be performed by, and apparatus can also be implemented as, special purpose logic circuitry, e.g., an FPGA (field programmable gate array) or an ASIC (application specific integrated circuit). [000149] Processors suitable for the execution of a computer program include, by way of example, both general and special purpose microprocessors, and any one or more processors of any kind of digital computer. Generally, a processor will receive instructions and data from a read only memory or a random access memory or both. The essential elements of a computer are a processor for performing instructions and one or more memory devices for storing instructions and data. Generally, a computer will also include, or be operatively coupled to receive data from or transfer data to, or both, one or more mass storage devices for storing data, e.g., magnetic, magneto optical disks, or optical disks. However, a computer need not have such devices. Moreover, a computer can be embedded in another device, e.g., a mobile telephone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a mobile audio player, a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver, to name just a few. Computer readable media suitable for storing computer program instructions and data include all forms of non-volatile memory, media and memory devices, including by way of example semiconductor memory devices, e.g., EPROM, EEPROM, and flash memory devices; magnetic disks, e.g., internal hard disks or removable disks; magneto optical disks; and CD ROM and DVD- 25 ROM disks. The processor and the memory can be supplemented by, or incorporated in, special purpose logic circuitry. [000150] To provide for interaction with a user, implementations of the invention can be implemented on a computer having a display device, e.g., a CRT (cathode ray tube) or LCD (liquid crystal display) monitor, for displaying information to the user and a keyboard and a pointing device, e.g., a mouse or a trackball, by which the user can provide input to the computer. Other kinds of devices can be used to provide for interaction with a user as well; for example, feedback provided to the user can be any form of sensory feedback, e.g., visual feedback, auditory feedback, or tactile feedback; and input from the user can be received in any form, including acoustic, speech, or tactile input. [000151] Implementations of the present disclosure can be realized in a computing system that includes a back end component, e.g., as a data server, or that includes a middleware component, e.g., an application server, or that includes a front end component, e.g., a client computer having a graphical user interface or a Web browser through which a user can interact with an implementation of the present disclosure, or any combination of one or more such back end, middleware, or front end components. The components of the system can be interconnected by any form or medium of digital data communication, e.g., a communication network. Examples of communication networks include a local area network ("LAN") and a wide area network ("WAN"), e.g., the Internet. [000152] The computing system can include clients and servers. A client and server are generally remote from each other and typically interact through a communication network. The relationship of client and server arises by virtue of computer programs running on the respective computers and having a client-server relationship to each other. [000153] While this disclosure contains many specifics, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the disclosure or of what may be 26 claimed, but rather as descriptions of features specific to particular implementations of the disclosure. Certain features that are described in this disclosure in the context of separate implementations can also be provided in combination in a single implementation. Conversely, various features that are described in the context of a single implementation can also be provided in multiple implementations separately or in any suitable sub-combination. Moreover, although features may be described above as acting in certain combinations and even initially claimed as such, one or more features from a claimed combination can in some cases be excised from the combination, and the claimed combination may be directed to a sub-combination or variation of a sub-combination. [000154] Similarly, while operations are depicted in the drawings in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring that such operations be performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, or that all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirable results. In certain circumstances, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Moreover, the separation of various system components in the implementations described above should not be understood as requiring such separation in all implementations, and it should be understood that the described program components and systems can generally be integrated together in a single software product or packaged into multiple software products. [000155] Thus, particular implementations of the present disclosure have been described. Other implementations are within the scope of the following claims. For example, the actions recited in the claims can be performed in a different order and still achieve desirable results. [000156] Reference throughout this specification to "one embodiment" or "an embodiment" means that a particular feature, structure or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, appearances of the phrases "in 27 one embodiment" or "in an embodiment" in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment, but may. Furthermore, the particular features, structures or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner, as would be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art from this disclosure, in one or more embodiments. [000157] Similarly it should be appreciated that in the above description of example embodiments of the invention, various features of the invention are sometimes grouped together in a single embodiment, figure, or description thereof for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure and aiding in the understanding of one or more of the various inventive aspects. This method of disclosure, however, is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the claimed invention requires more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive aspects lie in less than all features of a single foregoing disclosed embodiment. Thus, the claims following the Detailed Description of Specific Embodiments are hereby expressly incorporated into this Detailed Description of Specific Embodiments, with each claim standing on its own as a separate embodiment of this invention. [000158] Furthermore, while some embodiments described herein include some but not other features included in other embodiments, combinations of features of different embodiments are meant to be within the scope of the invention, and form different embodiments, as would be understood by those in the art. [000159] For example, in the following claims, any of the claimed embodiments can be used in any combination.

28 [000160] In compliance with the statute, the invention has been described in language more or less specific to structural or methodical features. The term "comprises" and its variations, such as "comprising" and "comprised of" is used throughout in an inclusive sense and not to the exclusion of any additional features. [000161] It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to specific features shown or described since the means herein described comprises preferred forms of putting the invention into effect. The invention is, therefore, claimed in any of its forms or modifications within the proper scope of the appended claims appropriately interpreted by those skilled in the art.

Claims (20)

1. A method of operating a computer system to present product offerings to remote customers wherein the computer system is in communication with a number of remote browser devices for operation by the remote customers by means of a computer network, the method including the steps of: receiving customers' responses to profiling questions for profiling each customer by means of the remote browser devices; receiving customers' primary preference selection factors indicating a primary decision making factor for each of said customers in selecting a product; conducting searches of an electronic database of products for each customer based on the responses to the profiling questions and the primary preference selection factors; and operating the computer system to present results of the searches to respective customers on said remote browser devices.

2. A method according to claim 1, including operating the computer system to determine a customer's eligibility for any particular product in order that customer's are only presented with products that they are eligible to signup to.

3. A method according to claim 2, wherein the step of determining the customer's eligibility is based upon a geographical location for the customer.

4. A method according to claim 3, including determining the customer's geographical location based upon the responses to the profiling questions where such responses include geographical indicators, such as a postcode.

5. A method according to claim 3, including determining the customer's geographical location by using a network based method 30

6. A method according to claim 5, wherein the network based method involves the W3C geo-location API.

7. A method according to any one of claims 3 to 6, wherein the customer's geographical information is compared to a product geographical availability indicator stored in the database for an associated product whereby only products that are geographically available in the customer's location are presented to the customer.

8. A method according to any one of claims 2 to 7, wherein the step of determining a customer's eligibility is made with reference to a customer product requirement entered by the customer in response to the profiling questions.

9. A method according to claim 8, wherein the customer product requirement is compared with eligibility rules of product providers for each product to thereby ensure presentation of compatible products to the customer.

10. A method according to claim 8, wherein, where the product comprises electricity supply, the product requirement stipulates a required rate of electricity consumption and the method includes presenting to the customer only electricity supply products compatible with the stipulated rate.11.

11. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, including receiving a secondary preference selection factor for each customer and searching the database of products based upon both first and second preference selection factors and the responses to the profiling questions.

12. A method according to claim 11, including setting a default value for the secondary preference selection factor. 31

13. A method according to claim 11, including, where a customer's primary preference selection factor and secondary preference selection factor are the same, basing the search only upon the profiling responses and the primary preference selection factor.

14. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the results of each search are presented to each customer ranked in order of their suitability to the customer based upon the customer's profile and the first preference selection factor.

15. A method according to claim 14, including further ranking the results based upon the second preference selection factor.

16. A method according to claim 14 or claim 15, wherein only the top three search results are presented to the customer.

17. A method according to claim 16, including prompting customers to refine their searches by altering the primary and/or the secondary search factor and to then, with the refined search factors: search the database of products based on the responses to the profiling questions and the refined primary and/or secondary preference selection factors; and operate the computer system to present results of the search to each customer.

18. A method according to any one of the preceding claims including, upon receiving a product selection from a customer, presenting the customer with an electronic signup form for customer acquisition of the product. 32

19. A computer system arranged to present product offerings to remote customers wherein the computer system is in communication with a number of remote browser devices for operation by the remote customers by means of a computer network, the computer server being arranged to: receive customers' responses to profiling questions for profiling each customer, from the remote browser devices; receive customers' primary preference selection factors indicating a primary decision making factor for each of said customers in selecting a product, from the remote browser devices; conduct searches of an electronic database of products for each customer based on the responses to the profiling questions and the primary preference selection factors; and operate the computer system to present results of the searches to respective customers via the remote browser devices.

20. A data storage device bearing tangible instructions for execution by a computer system, wherein the computer system is in data communication with a number of remote browser devices for operation by remote customers, said instructions comprising: instructions for said system to receive customers' responses to profiling questions for profiling each customer, from the remote browser devices; instructions for said system to receive customers' primary preference selection factors indicating a primary decision making factor for each of said customers in selecting a product, from the remote browser devices; instructions for said system to conduct searches of an electronic database of products for each customer based on the responses to the profiling questions and the primary preference selection factors; and instructions for said system to operate the computer system to present results of the searches to respective customers via the remote browser devices.