Analyzing communications to determine business entity popularity

Abstract

Techniques for determining the popularity of a business entity are provided. A communication is received at a computing system. The computing system searches the received communication for a business entity name. The computing system also searches the received communication for information related to an opinion about the business entity. Based on the information related to the opinion, the computing system determines a customer satisfaction rating of the business entity.

1 . A method for determining the popularity of a business entity, the method comprising:
 receiving, at a computing system, at least a substantial portion of all communications transmitted on a network, the received at least substantial portion of all communications being between two or more entities not related to a business entity and including information that in a first instance is relevant to the business entity and in a second instance is not relevant to the business entity;   in response to receiving the at least substantial portion of all communications received on the network, searching the received the at least substantial portion of all communications for information related to an opinion about the business entity, searching for information related to an opinion about the business entity comprising:
 searching, at a processor, the received at least substantial portion of all communications to determine that the received at least substantial portion of all communications includes a name of the business entity; 
 accessing a database that includes words or phrases that are indicative of the opinion; 
 searching, at the processor, one or more portions of the received at least substantial portion of all communications that are in close proximity to an occurrence of the business entity name for one or more words or phrases that are included in the database; and 
 determining, at the processor, an indication of a customer satisfaction of the business entity based on the words or phrases of the received at least substantial portion of all communications that are in close proximity to the business entity name that match the words or phrases of the database. 
   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein searching the received at least substantial portion of all communications to determine that the received at least substantial portion of all communications includes a name of the business entity comprises:
 accessing a list that contains a set of names that customers use to identify the business entity; and   treating each of the names included in the list as an alias for the business entity name.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 accessing a checker service that is configured to provide context based inputs that at least partially determine the opinion of the business entity contained in the received at least substantial portion of all communications.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the checker service is accessed when the received at least substantial portion of all communications includes insufficient information to determine the opinion of the business entity based on the one or more words or phrases that are included in the database. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 storing the customer satisfaction rating in a second database that is accessible by all customers of the business entity.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the database comprises a database of high satisfaction words or phrases that are indicative of a positive opinion about the business entity, a database of mid-satisfaction words or phrases that are indicative of a neutral opinion about the business entity and a database of low satisfaction words or phrases that are indicative of a negative opinion about the business entity. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the received at least substantial portion of all communications is one of an email, a status message, a social network update, a blog post, a chat room entry, or a telephone call. 
     
     
         8 . A computer program product, for use in a computing system including a processor and a memory, for implementing a method for determining the popularity of a business entity, the computer program product comprising one or more physical non-transitory computer readable media having stored thereon computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the computing system to:
 receive at least a substantial portion of all communications transmitted on a network, the received at least substantial portion of all communications being between two or more entities not related to a business entity and including information that in a first instance is relevant to the business entity and in a second instance is not relevant to the business entity;   in response to receiving the at least substantial portion of all communications received on the network, search the received the at least substantial portion of all communications for information related to an opinion about the business entity, searching for information related to an opinion about the business entity comprising:
 searching the received at least substantial portion of all communications to determine that the received at least substantial portion of all communications includes a name of the business entity; 
 accessing a database that includes words or phrases that are indicative of the opinion; 
 searching one or more portions of the received at least substantial portion of all communications that are in close proximity to an occurrence of the business entity name for one or more words or phrases that are included in the database; and 
 determining an indication of a customer satisfaction of the business entity based on the words or phrases of the received at least substantial portion of all communications that are in close proximity to the business entity name that match the words or phrases of the database. 
   
     
     
         9 . The computer program product of  claim 8 , wherein searching the received at least substantial portion of all communications to determine that the received at least substantial portion of all communications includes a name of the business entity comprises:
 accessing a list that contains a set of names that customers use to identify the business entity; and   treating each of the names included in the list as an alias for the business entity name.   
     
     
         10 . The computer program product of  claim 8 , further comprising:
 accessing a checker service that is configured to provide context based inputs that at least partially determine the opinion of the business entity contained in the received at least substantial portion of all communications.   
     
     
         11 . The computer program product of  claim 10 , wherein the checker service is accessed when the received at least substantial portion of all communications includes insufficient information to determine the opinion of the business entity based on the one or more words or phrases that are included in the database. 
     
     
         12 . The computer program product of  claim 8 , further comprising:
 storing the customer satisfaction rating in a second database that is accessible by all customers of the business entity.   
     
     
         13 . The computer program product of  claim 8 , wherein the database comprises a database of high satisfaction words or phrases that are indicative of a positive opinion about the business entity, a database of mid-satisfaction words or phrases that are indicative of a neutral opinion about the business entity and a database of low satisfaction words or phrases that are indicative of a negative opinion about the business entity. 
     
     
         14 . The computer program product of  claim 8 , wherein the received at least substantial portion of all communications is one of an email, a status message, a social network update, a blog post, a chat room entry, or a telephone call. 
     
     
         15 . A system for analyzing communications to determine the popularity of a business entity, the system comprising:
 a database adapted to store words or phrases that are indicative of an opinion about a business entity; and   a computing system including a processor and one or more non-transitory computer readable media, the computing system adapted to perform the following:
 receive at least a substantial portion of all communications transmitted on a network, the received at least substantial portion of all communications being between two or more entities not related to a business entity and including information that in a first instance is relevant to the business entity and in a second instance is not relevant to the business entity; 
 in response to receiving the at least substantial portion of all communications received on the network, search the received the at least substantial portion of all communications for information related to an opinion about the business entity, searching for information related to an opinion about the business entity comprising:
 searching the received at least substantial portion of all communications to determine that the received at least substantial portion of all communications includes a name of the business entity; 
 accessing a database that includes words or phrases that are indicative of the opinion; 
 searching one or more portions of the received at least substantial portion of all communications that are in close proximity to an occurrence of the business entity name for one or more words or phrases that are included in the database; and 
 determining an indication of a customer satisfaction of the business entity based on the words or phrases of the received at least substantial portion of all communications that are in close proximity to the business entity name that match the words or phrases of the database. 
 
   
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein searching the received at least substantial portion of all communications to determine that the received at least substantial portion of all communications includes a name of the business entity comprises:
 accessing a list that contains a set of names that customers use to identify the business entity; and   treating each of the names included in the list as an alias for the business entity name.   
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 15 , further comprising:
 a checker service that is configured to provide context based inputs that at least partially determine the opinion of the business entity contained in the received at least substantial portion of all communications.   
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 17 , wherein the checker service is accessed when the received at least substantial portion of all communications includes insufficient information to determine the opinion of the business entity based on the one or more words or phrases that are included in the database. 
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein the database comprises a database of high satisfaction words or phrases that are indicative of a positive opinion about the business entity, a database of mid-satisfaction words or phrases that are indicative of a neutral opinion about the business entity and a database of low satisfaction words or phrases that are indicative of a low opinion about the business entity. 
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein the received at least substantial portion of all communications is one of an email, a status message, a social network update, a blog post, a chat room entry, or a telephone call.