Apparatus and method for providing a marketing service

Abstract

Apparatus and method for providing a marketing service are described. In one embodiment, a computer-readable storage medium includes: (1) a preferences module that is configured to collect a set of preferences of a user; (2) a monitoring module that is configured to monitor a web site based on the set of preferences so as to identify relevant content; and (3) a notification module that is configured to generate a message alerting the user of the relevant content.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A computer implemented method comprising:
 tracking, by a first computer system operated by a first entity, a pool of recommendations for a user based on analysis of interaction by the user operating a second computer system with a website provided by a third computer system operated by a third entity; and   updating, by the first computer system, the pool of recommendations based on collection of preferences of the user and based on selected timing criteria.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the collection of preferences of the user is based on sign ups requesting notifications for the user. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising initially creating the pool of recommendations based on a collaborative filtering technique. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the updating includes determining expiration of a recommended product. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4  wherein the recommended product is on sale and the selected timing criteria is based on a time period during which the product is on sale. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the updating includes determining staleness of a recommended product. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6  wherein the recommended product is a new product and the selected timing criteria is based on a time period of availability of the new product. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising alerting the user to a selected subset of the pool of recommendations. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8  further comprising determining the selected subset of the pool of recommendations based on the preferences of the user. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 8  further comprising determining the selected subset of the pool of recommendations based on priorities determined by configurable rules. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10  wherein the priorities determined by configurable rules include at least one of: a higher priority for products similarly priced as those previously purchased by the user; a higher priority for products that are on sale if previous behavior of the user indicates price sensitivity; a higher priority for new products if previous behavior of the user indicates a preference for new arrivals; and a higher priority for cross-selling products if indicated by previous behavior of the user. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 8  further comprising determining a number of recommendations to include in an alert based on at least one of preferences of the user and configurable rules. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 8  further comprising providing a set of options to mark recommendations as at least one of undesirable and already purchased. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13  wherein the updating is based on a response to the set of options. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the first entity is a consumer marketing service, the user is a consumer, and the third entity is a merchant. 
     
     
         16 . A non-transitory computer storage medium storing computer executable instructions that, when executed, cause a computer system to perform a computer implemented method comprising:
 tracking a pool of recommendations for a user based on analysis of interaction by the user operating a second computer system with a website provided by a third computer system operated by a third entity; and   updating the pool of recommendations based on collection of preferences of the user and based on selected timing criteria.   
     
     
         17 . The non-transitory computer storage medium of  claim 16  wherein the collection of preferences of the user is based on sign ups requesting notifications for the user. 
     
     
         18 . The non-transitory computer storage medium of  claim 16  further comprising alerting the user to a selected subset of the pool of recommendations. 
     
     
         19 . A system comprising:
 at least one processor; and   a memory storing instructions configured to instruct the at least one processor to perform:
 tracking a pool of recommendations for a user based on analysis of interaction by the user operating a second computer system with a website provided by a third computer system operated by a third entity; and 
 updating the pool of recommendations based on collection of preferences of the user and based on selected timing criteria. 
   
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 19  wherein the collection of preferences of the user is based on sign ups requesting notifications for the user.