Method and apparatus for automated merchant acquisition

US11328327B1 · kind B1 · utility

Assignee

• Groupon, Inc. · US

Inventors

• Will Megson · Chicago, US
• Shafiq Shariff · Chicago, US
• Christopher Powers · Waukegan, US
• Logan Tyler Jennings · Chicago, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Sep 18, 2015
• Grant date: May 10, 2022
• Expiry date: Jun 11, 2039

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G06Q30/0204
• WIPO field: IT methods for management
• WIPO sector: Electrical engineering

Abstract

A method, apparatus, and computer program product are disclosed for improving merchant outreach campaigns by a promotion and marketing service. An example apparatus includes content harvest circuitry, segmentation circuitry, trigger detection circuitry, and campaign generation circuitry. The content harvesting circuitry may include hardware configured to retrieve electronic marketing information, business analytic data, and sales intelligence data. The segmentation circuitry may include hardware configured to determine merchant segmentation criteria, and to classify merchants into segments based on the merchant segmentation criteria. The trigger detection circuitry may include hardware configured to identify occurrence of a triggering event. The campaign generation circuitry may include hardware configured to design a merchant outreach campaign based on the sales intelligence data and, in response to identification of a triggering event by the triggering detection circuitry, to transmit merchant-specific correspondence in accordance with the merchant outreach campaign.