Identifying and managing strategic partner relationships

Abstract

Systems and methods that identify and manage partner relationships are disclosed. A third-party trustee collects and processes confidential customer information from more than one interested parties. The third-party trustee acts as a neutral intermediary between the parties. The third-party trustee processes and analyzes the information received from the various parties to identify mutual and/or prospective customers between the interested parties. The processing results may then be used for further analysis to help at least one of the interested parties to improve their marketing efforts, risk management, and servicing of their customers.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method, comprising:
 detecting, by a behavior analysis computer-based system, changes in respective partner customer behavior information for at least one customer who is on both a mutual customer list and a updated mutual customer list;   wherein a master customer list contains a list of customer names for preparation of the mutual customer list, wherein the mutual customer list consists of a list of mutual customer names and the partner customer behavior information for each customer whose name is on both the master customer list and a first partner list, wherein the first partner list is provided by a first partner during a first time period,   wherein the mutual customer list includes the information associated with the identified mutual customers from the first partner list and the master customer list, and the updated mutual customer list, wherein the updated mutual customer list includes a list of mutual customer names and respective partner customer behavior information for each customer whose name is on both the master customer list and an updated partner list, wherein the updated partner list is provided by the first partner at a second time period and includes a list of partner customer names and respective partner customer behavior information for each partner customer on the updated partner list;   managing, by the computer-based system, risk in accordance with the changes in the respective partner customer behavior information;   determining, by the computer-based system and based on customer behavior information, that an opportunity to provide a mutual customer with an incentive program exists; and   providing, by the computer-based system, the mutual customer with the incentive program.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising directing, by the computer-based system, the first partner to provide the first partner list including a list of first partner customer names and first partner customer behavior information for each partner customer on the first partner list, wherein the first partner list contains confidential first partner customer information. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising preparing, by the computer-based system, the master customer list. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising processing, by the computer-based system, the first partner list received from the first partner, prior to processing any partner list received from any other partner not designated as a priority partner, wherein the first partner is identified by a partner identification code that indicates the first partner is the priority partner. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising providing, by the computer-based system, a third-party trustee with the master customer list. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first time period is before the mutual customer is provided with the incentive program, and the second time period is after the mutual customer is provided with the incentive program, and further comprising evaluating how the incentive program affected customer behavior for the mutual customer. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising providing the mutual customer with a customer service level in accordance with the changes in respective partner customer behavior information. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising assessing credit worthiness of the mutual customer in accordance with the changes in respective partner customer behavior information. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 entering into a contractual obligation with the partner to secure the partner customer names and respective partner customer behavior information for each customer on the first partner list; and   ensuring that each step in the method adheres to the contractual obligation.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 maintaining a security policy to secure the partner customer names and respective partner customer behavior information for each customer on the first partner list; and   ensuring that each step in the method adheres to the security policy.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising adhering to a security protocol. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the mutual customer list includes partner customer behavior information for a plurality of partners, and further comprising indexing the list of mutual customers by respective partner. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising indexing the list of mutual customers in accordance with the changes in the respective partner customer behavior. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising calculating a credit ranking for the mutual customer in accordance with the changes in the respective partner customer behavior for the mutual customer. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising preparing a promotional incentive to a customer on a prospective customer list. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the creating the list also comprises including common names from a second partner customer list, wherein the second partner list includes second partner customer names and second partner customer behavior information for each customer on the second partner customer list and wherein the mutual customer list includes mutual customer names and their respective second partner customer behavior information. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising determining a pattern in the customer behavior. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising creating, by the computer-based system, a database for customers on the mutual customer list and the updated mutual customer list, wherein the database includes the list of mutual customer names and the respective partner customer behavior information. 
     
     
         19 . A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium that stores instructions that, when executed by a behavior analysis computer-based system, cause the computer-based system to perform operations comprising:
 detecting, by the computer-based system, changes in respective partner customer behavior information for at least one customer who is on both a mutual customer list and an updated mutual customer list;   wherein a master customer list contains a list of customer names for preparation of the mutual customer list, wherein the mutual customer list consists of a list of mutual customer names and the partner customer behavior information for each customer whose name is on both the master customer list and a first partner list, wherein the first partner list is provided by a first partner during a first time period,   wherein the mutual customer list includes the information associated with the identified mutual customers from the first partner list and the master customer list, and the updated mutual customer list, wherein the updated mutual customer list includes a list of mutual customer names and respective partner customer behavior information for each customer whose name is on both the master customer list and an updated partner list, wherein the updated partner list is provided by the first partner at a second time period and includes a list of partner customer names and respective partner customer behavior information for each partner customer on the updated partner list;   managing, by the computer-based system, risk in accordance with the changes in the respective partner customer behavior information;   determining, by the computer-based system and based on customer behavior information, that an opportunity to provide a mutual customer with an incentive program exists; and   providing, by the computer-based system, the mutual customer with the incentive program.   
     
     
         20 . A system comprising:
 a behavior analysis processor,   a tangible, non-transitory memory configured to communicate with the processor,   the tangible, non-transitory memory having instructions stored thereon that, in response to execution by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:
 detecting, by the processor, changes in respective partner customer behavior information for at least one customer who is on both a mutual customer list and an updated mutual customer list; 
 wherein a master customer list contains a list of customer names for preparation of the mutual customer list, wherein the mutual customer list consists of a list of mutual customer names and the partner customer behavior information for each customer whose name is on both the master customer list and a first partner list, 
 wherein the first partner list is provided by a first partner during a first time period, 
 wherein the mutual customer list includes the information associated with the identified mutual customers from the first partner list and the master customer list, and the updated mutual customer list, wherein the updated mutual customer list includes a list of mutual customer names and respective partner customer behavior information for each customer whose name is on both the master customer list and an updated partner list, wherein the updated partner list is provided by the first partner at a second time period and includes a list of partner customer names and respective partner customer behavior information for each partner customer on the updated partner list; 
 managing, by the processor, risk in accordance with the changes in the respective partner customer behavior information; 
 determining, by the processor and based on customer behavior information, that an opportunity to provide a mutual customer with an incentive program exists; and 
 providing, by the processor, the mutual customer with the incentive program.