JP7682547B2 - Information presentation device, system, and information presentation method - Google Patents

Description

One aspect of the present invention relates to an information presentation device, etc.

Recently, systems have been developed that allow users to read electronic newspapers via electronic devices such as smartphones. One example of such a system is disclosed in Patent Document 1. Patent Document 1 discloses a system in which a user of a digital newspaper can select a store or public institution in a region that the user has registered in advance by clicking on an approach point displayed on the screen where the user logs in, and information on the selected store or public institution is displayed.

JP 2021-103500 A

The system of Patent Document 1 displays, for example, advertising information collected from stores and the like. In order to provide more advertising information in the above system, it is necessary to secure customers who want to provide advertising information in the above system. In order to secure such customers, it is necessary to find potential customers who are considering providing advertising information in the above system and to enter into a contract with such potential customers.

Newsagents have the right to sell paper newspapers in a particular area and the right to handle advertising in that area. However, in reality, it is difficult for newsagents to find potential customers in that area who are considering providing advertising information to them.

One aspect of the present invention aims to realize an information presentation device or the like that enables a person conducting sales aimed at concluding a contract with a potential customer to conduct said sales efficiently.

The information presentation device according to aspect 1 of the present invention is provided with an information presentation system that provides an electronic newspaper and additional information provided together with the electronic newspaper to a user, or provides only the additional information, and is associated with a dealer code indicating a sales area where a newspaper dealer can sell paper newspapers, and is provided with destination number information indicating the number of destinations to which the additional information will be provided through the information presentation system. When it is being considered to provide the information presentation system with target information that will be the additional information, upon receiving an input of a target area to which the target information should be provided through the information presentation system, the information presentation device includes an identification unit that identifies the dealer code corresponding to the target area, and a presentation control unit that presents the number of destinations indicated by the destination number information associated with the dealer code identified by the identification unit.

According to the above configuration, the information presentation device can present to a potential customer the exact number of destinations in a target area to which the potential customer is considering providing the desired information. As a result, the potential customer can grasp the exact number of destinations in the specified target area, and can consider whether to provide the desired information in the target area based on the accurate information.

In addition, the user of the information presentation device (for example, a call center operator or an employee of a newspaper store operating in a sales area corresponding to the target area) can also know the exact number of recipients. This allows the user to efficiently conduct sales aimed at providing the desired information through the information provision system.

In the information presentation device according to aspect 2 of the present invention, in aspect 1, the store code is associated with viewing-related information related to viewing of the additional provision information, and the presentation control unit presents the viewing-related information associated with the store code identified by the identification unit.

According to the above configuration, the information presentation device presents browsing-related information corresponding to the target area, so that potential customers can consider whether to provide the desired information in the target area based on more accurate information. In addition, the user of the information presentation device can efficiently conduct the sales based on the more accurate information.

In the information presentation device according to aspect 3 of the present invention, in aspect 2, the viewing-related information is information indicating at least one of the number of views of the additional information provided, the number of purchases of products or services based on the views of the additional information provided, and the number of visits to a physical store by the user.

According to the above configuration, potential customers can consider whether to provide the desired information in the target area based on at least one of the number of views, purchases, and visits in the target area. Furthermore, the user of the information presentation device can efficiently conduct the sales based on at least one of the number of views, purchases, and visits in the target area.

The information presentation device according to aspect 4 of the present invention is any one of aspects 1 to 3, and includes a management unit that manages potential customer information related to potential customers who have shown an interest in the provision of the additional information in the target area in association with the dealer code identified by the identification unit.

According to the above configuration, the information presentation device can provide potential customer information regarding potential customers who are interested in the provision of target information in the target area corresponding to the store code identified by the identification unit to an electronic terminal used in the newspaper store corresponding to the store code identified by the identification unit.

A system according to aspect 5 of the present invention includes the information presentation device according to aspect 4, and an information provision device that provides the potential customer information to an electronic terminal used by a newspaper dealer corresponding to the dealer code associated with the potential customer information received from the information presentation device.

According to the above configuration, the information presentation device can provide the electronic terminal with potential customer information regarding potential customers who are interested in the provision of target information in the target area corresponding to the dealer code identified by the identification unit, via the information provision device.

Therefore, a newspaper dealer operating in a sales area corresponding to the above-mentioned target area can identify potential customers who are interested in the provision of target information in the target area, for example, through an introduction from a user of the information presentation device (e.g., a call center operator) or through information provided by the information presentation device. Therefore, the newspaper dealer can conduct the above-mentioned sales to the potential customers. In other words, the newspaper dealer can conduct the sales efficiently.

The information presentation method according to aspect 6 of the present invention includes a method in which a dealer code indicating a sales area where a newspaper dealer can sell paper newspapers is associated with destination number information indicating the number of destinations to which the additional information is to be provided through an information provision system that provides an electronic newspaper and additional information provided together with the electronic newspaper to a user, or that provides only the additional information, and when it is being considered to provide the information provision system with target information that is the additional information, when input of a target area to which the target information is to be provided through the information provision system is received, the method includes a specification step of identifying the dealer code corresponding to the target area, and a presentation control step of presenting the number of destinations indicated by the destination number information associated with the dealer code identified in the specification step.

According to the above method, like the information presentation device of aspect 1, it is possible for potential customers to consider whether or not to provide the desired information in the target area based on accurate information. In addition, it is possible for a user of the information presentation device (e.g., a call center operator or an employee of a newspaper store that operates in a sales area corresponding to the target area) to efficiently conduct the sales.

The information presentation device according to each aspect of the present invention may be realized by a computer. In this case, the control program for the information presentation device that causes the computer to operate as each unit (software element) of the information presentation device to realize the information presentation device on the computer, and the computer-readable recording medium on which the control program is recorded, also fall within the scope of the present invention.

According to one aspect of the present invention, it is possible for a person conducting sales aimed at concluding a contract with a potential customer to conduct said sales efficiently.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of an advertiser solicitation system. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of an information providing system that provides an electronic newspaper and additional information to a user. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data structure of various information. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data structure of various information. 11 is a flowchart showing an example of a process flow in a first server, a call center terminal, and a dealer terminal.

In this embodiment, an example of a system that recruits applicants who wish to provide information through an information provision system described later will be described. Specifically, an example of an advertiser recruitment system that recruits advertisers who wish to provide advertising information through an information provision system described later will be described. Before describing the advertiser recruitment system, first, an information provision system in which advertisers can provide advertising information will be described.

[Outline of the information provision system]
Fig. 2 is a diagram showing an example of an information providing system 101 that provides an electronic newspaper (digital newspaper) and additional provision information, or only the additional provision information, to a user. As shown in Fig. 2, the information providing system 101 includes, for example, a second server 102, a newspaper creation device 103, an article extraction device 104, a subscriber management device 105, and an advertisement management device 106. These devices may be realized by a PC (Personal Computer) or the like. In addition, the second server 102, the newspaper creation device 103, the article extraction device 104, the subscriber management device 105, and the advertisement management device 106 are electrically connected to each other so as to be able to transmit and receive information.

A user is a person who has access rights to the information provided by the information providing system 101. Users include paid users (paid users) who use the information providing system 101 for a fee, and non-paid users (non-paid users) who use the information providing system 101 for a fee.

A paying user is, for example, a subscriber of an electronic newspaper who has signed a contract for subscription to an electronic newspaper with a newspaper dealer or newspaper company and has been issued an ID (a subscriber ID, described below) for using the information provision system 101. In this specification, a paying user is described as a subscriber of an electronic newspaper. A non-paying user is, for example, a person who has cancelled his/her contract for an electronic newspaper, a person who is using an electronic newspaper on a trial basis before signing up for an electronic newspaper, or a person who has obtained an ID for using the information provision system 101 by a method other than the above-mentioned contract.

Paid users can view both electronic newspapers and additional information provided through the information providing system 101, for example. That is, the information providing system 101 provides paid users with both electronic newspapers and additional information provided. Free users can view only additional information provided through the information providing system 101, for example. Free users may be able to view content for free users, such as a digest version of an electronic newspaper, through the information providing system 101, for example. That is, the information providing system 101 provides free users with only additional information provided, or the content. The additional information provided that free users can view may be a portion of the additional information provided that paid users can view.

The second server 102 is a device that manages electronic newspapers published by newspaper companies, users such as electronic newspaper subscribers, and additional information provided. The second server 102 is also a device that provides the electronic newspapers and/or additional information provided to the first electronic terminal 108.

An electronic newspaper is an edition of an electronic newspaper that is distributed in a distribution area that includes the sales area as a part of the area. A sales area is an area in which a newspaper dealer can sell paper newspapers. The newspaper company that publishes paper newspapers and electronic newspapers sets a dealer code indicating the sales area for the newspaper dealer. In other words, the newspaper company grants the newspaper dealer a right of compensation as the authority to distribute paper newspapers in the set sales area. This allows the newspaper dealer to sell paper newspapers published by the newspaper company in the set sales area. Electronic newspapers are then associated with dealer codes.

The sales area may be, for example, an elementary school district (an area specified down to the block or house number). The distribution area may be, for example, an administratively divided area such as a prefecture or a city, ward, town, or village (a "ward" may be a ward within a city designated by government ordinance). The distribution area may also be a wide area including multiple prefectures or multiple cities, wards, towns, and villages (for example, "Hokusetsu" and "Senshu").

The additional information provided is information provided to users and is different from the electronic newspaper. The additional information provided is information provided to subscribers together with the electronic newspaper. The additional information provided may be, for example, advertising information included in an advertisement (inserted flyer) inserted into a paper newspaper sold in a sales area. The additional information provided may be, for example, advertising information included in an advertisement displayed in a distribution area. Examples of advertising information include advertisements introducing companies or public organizations themselves, and information showing advertisements introducing products or services provided by companies or public organizations. In this specification, companies include large companies, small and medium-sized companies, companies run by sole proprietors, and stores that directly provide products or services to customers. An example of a public organization is a local government.

The additional information provided may include paid information that can be viewed by subscribers and free information that can be viewed by non-paying users. In this case, the additional information provided may be associated with information indicating whether it is paid or free. This information may be added by an advertiser, for example. The paid information provided may be all of the additional information provided by the advertisement management device 106. The free information provided may be part of the additional information provided by the advertisement management device 106.

The second server 102 provides the first electronic terminal 108 with application software (hereinafter referred to as an "information search app") that can display electronic newspapers and/or additional information provided by a user logging in and can search for the additional information provided. This allows the second server 102 to provide the first electronic terminal 108 with electronic newspapers and/or additional information provided via the information search app. The first electronic terminal 108 can then display the electronic newspapers and/or additional information provided via the information search app. The information search app is also referred to as a town search.

The first electronic terminal 108 is an electronic terminal that displays the electronic newspaper and/or additional information provided by the second server 102. The first electronic terminal 108 is an electronic terminal used by a user, and is connected to the second server 102 via the third network 115. The first electronic terminal 108 may be, for example, a smartphone, tablet, PC, or other device that can present information to a user and accept operations by the user.

The newspaper creation device 103 is a device that creates an electronic newspaper that is published for each distribution area. The newspaper creation device 103 creates an electronic newspaper by converting a paper newspaper into electronic data. The article extraction device 104 is a device that extracts multiple articles included in the electronic newspaper (paper data) one by one. The article extraction device 104 may process the articles so that they can be displayed on the first electronic terminal 108. The processing may be a known technique.

The subscriber management device 105 is a device that manages the personal information (membership information) of subscribers who have signed a contract to subscribe to an electronic newspaper. The subscriber's personal information includes the subscriber's name, contact information (address, telephone number, email address, etc.), identification information for identifying the subscriber (subscriber identification information, hereafter referred to as the subscriber ID), and password, etc. The subscriber's information may also include terminal identification information for identifying the first electronic terminal 108 used by the subscriber (hereafter referred to as the terminal ID). The subscriber's personal information also includes a retailer code associated with the above contact information. Multiple contact information can be registered as the above contact information. Therefore, when multiple contact information is registered, the subscriber's personal information includes a retailer code associated with each of the multiple contact information (for example, the address). Hereinafter, the subscriber's personal information will be referred to as subscriber information.

The second server 102 can manage subscriber information by acquiring the subscriber information from the subscriber management device 105. In addition to the subscriber information, the second server 102 can also manage personal information of free users (hereinafter referred to as free user information).

The free user information includes information similar to the subscriber information. For example, the free user information includes the free user's name, contact information, identification information for identifying the free user (free user identification information, hereinafter referred to as a free user ID), and password, etc. The free user information may also include a terminal ID for identifying the first electronic terminal 108 used by the free user. The free user information also includes a retailer code associated with the above contact information. Multiple contact information can be registered as the above contact information. Therefore, when multiple contact information is registered, the free user information includes a retailer code associated with each of the multiple contact information.

The advertisement management device 106 is a device that manages additional provision information. The advertisement management device 106 may store the additional provision information, or, if the additional provision information is stored in another device, may store, for example, the uniform resource locator (URL) of a site that provides the additional provision information.

The advertisement management device 106 is a device that manages information of advertisers (sponsors) who wish to post additional information on the first electronic terminal 108. An advertiser is a person who wishes to receive additional information through the information provision system 101, and is a person who has entered into a contract regarding the provision with the administrator of the information provision system 101 (e.g., a newspaper dealer) (the administrator's customer regarding the information provision system 101). The advertiser information includes the advertiser's name (company name or public organization name), contact information (address, telephone number, email address, etc.), advertiser identification information that identifies the advertiser (hereinafter referred to as advertiser ID), password, information regarding the additional information (posting area information, posting period information, posting fee information, etc.), etc.

The advertising management device 106 stores the advertiser ID and the additional provision information in association with each other. The posting area information is information indicating one of the classified areas, such as the sales area and distribution area (e.g. prefectures, cities, towns, villages, and wide areas) included in the dealer code. In other words, the posting area information is associated with the sales area information or distribution area information included in the dealer code.

In this way, a retailer code is associated with a subscriber ID, a free user ID, or a terminal ID, and additional provision information is associated with the retailer code. The second server 102 identifies the retailer code associated with the subscriber ID, free user ID, or terminal ID received from the first electronic terminal 108. If multiple contacts are registered as the above contact, one of the multiple contacts is selected based on the user's operation via the first electronic terminal 108. Therefore, the second server 102 identifies the retailer code associated with the one contact.

Then, the second server 102 provides the additional information associated with the identified retailer code to the first electronic terminal 108. When the second server 102 receives a subscriber ID or the terminal ID of the first electronic terminal 108 used by the subscriber, it may provide paid information to the first electronic terminal 108 as additional information associated with the identified retailer code. When the second server 102 receives a free user ID or the terminal ID of the first electronic terminal 108 used by the free user, it may provide free information to the first electronic terminal 108 as additional information associated with the identified retailer code.

When the second server 102 receives the subscriber ID or the terminal ID of the first electronic terminal 108 used by the subscriber, it provides the first electronic terminal 108 with the electronic newspaper associated with the identified retailer code. The electronic newspaper is the edition of the electronic newspaper distributed in the distribution area included in the retailer code.

The first electronic terminal 108 displays the additional information provided corresponding to the dealer code associated with the subscriber ID, free user ID, or terminal ID on a display unit provided in the first electronic terminal 108. The first electronic terminal 108 receives the additional information provided corresponding to the dealer code identified by the second server 102, and displays the additional information provided on a display unit. Similarly, the first electronic terminal 108 displays the electronic newspaper associated with the dealer code identified by the second server 102 on a display unit provided in the first electronic terminal 108.

Therefore, according to the information provision system 101, the subscriber can view additional information provided along with the electronic newspaper via the first electronic terminal 108 for each store code corresponding to the set contact information. Also, non-paying users can view additional information provided via the first electronic terminal 108 for each store code corresponding to the set contact information. Therefore, additional information that may be useful to the user (for example, information contained in an insert in a flyer for the area where the user lives or stays) can be provided to the user in a simple manner.

The second server 102 also manages advertising information posted by advertisers (hereinafter referred to as posted information) in association with the advertiser ID. The posted information may be, for example, basic company information (e.g., company name, contact information such as address, and information related to products or services), event information (e.g., sale information), coupon information (discount information), and/or recruitment information. The posted information may also be new or updated information on such information.

The second server 102 may provide the first electronic terminal 108 with posted information associated with the identified store code (posted information created by the advertiser indicated by the advertiser ID associated with the store code). For example, the second server 102 may provide the first electronic terminal 108 with posted information searched for by the user via the first electronic terminal 108. In this case, similar to the additional provided information, posted information that may be useful to the user (for example, information about companies operating in the area where the user lives or stays) can be provided to the user in a simple manner. Note that the posted information may be included in the additional provided information.

The additional information provided and the posted information may be obtainable, for example, from a two-dimensional code. In this case, the imaging unit included in the first electronic terminal 108 obtains the two-dimensional code, thereby obtaining the additional information provided and the posted information. The additional information provided and the posted information are information that can be added and updated by the advertiser at any time. Therefore, the user can view real-time information provided by the company at the desired time by opening an information search app on the first electronic terminal 108 or obtaining the two-dimensional code, for example.

The additional information provided and the posted information may be provided as listing advertisements or display advertisements. The additional information provided and the posted information may be provided through an application other than an information search app, for example, as a social networking service (SNS) advertisement. In addition, the additional information provided and the posted information may be provided as a geo-targeting advertisement. The additional information provided and the posted information may be provided in conjunction with a chatbot. In other words, advertisers can provide the additional information provided and the posted information to users using various forms of advertisements.

The second electronic terminal 109 is an electronic terminal used by an advertiser (a company or public organization) or the like, and is connected to the advertising management device 106 via a fourth network 116. The second electronic terminal 109 may be, for example, a smartphone, tablet, PC, or the like, as long as it is a device that can present information to the advertiser or the like and can accept operations by the advertiser or the like.

The second electronic terminal 109 transmits, for example, a request to register, update, or delete additional provision information, posting period information, and posting area information to the advertisement management device 106. In response to this, the advertisement management device 106 registers, updates, or deletes the additional provision information, etc.

In addition, a newspaper dealer or a business that can manage additional information provided (management office) can register, update, or delete additional information provided from the advertising management device 106 via a management screen displayed on the second electronic terminal 109. In other words, like an advertiser, a newspaper dealer or business can provide the desired additional information provided to the first electronic terminal 108 via the second server 102 for the desired publication period. In addition, a newspaper dealer or business can provide the additional information provided to the first electronic terminal 108 via the management screen in the publication area set for the newspaper dealer or business.

The additional information provided may also include a URL of a purchase site where the product or service can be purchased. In this case, the first electronic terminal 108 can display not only the additional information provided but also the purchase site. The second server 102 may also manage the display history of the additional information provided on the first electronic terminal 108 (i.e., the browsing history of the additional information provided) and the purchase history of the product or service included in the additional information provided on the purchase site.

As described above, the additional information provided is associated with a retailer code. Therefore, the second server 102 can manage the viewing history of the additional information provided (e.g., the number of views of the additional information provided) on a retailer code basis by acquiring display information indicating that the additional information provided has been displayed from the first electronic terminal 108. When multiple pieces of additional information provided are associated with a retailer code, the viewing history can be managed for each piece of additional information provided.

When a user browses the additional information provided to connect to a purchasing site and purchases a product or service, the user inputs a subscriber ID or a free user ID to the purchasing site. Therefore, the second server 102 can obtain the subscriber ID or free user ID input to the purchasing site and purchase information indicating that the product or service was purchased by browsing the additional information provided from the management server that manages the purchasing site. As described above, the subscriber ID or free user ID is associated with a retailer code. The additional information provided from which the purchasing site was browsed is also associated with a retailer code. Therefore, the second server 102 can manage the purchase history of the product or service included in the additional information provided by each retailer code (e.g., the number of products or services purchased). If multiple additional information provided by each retailer code is associated with a retailer code, the purchase history can be managed for each additional information provided.

The second server 102 can also manage the purchase history of products or services purchased at a physical store, rather than at a purchasing site. For example, when purchasing at a physical store, the user displays additional provision information including an advertisement for the product or service to be purchased, and then has the first electronic terminal 108 read the two-dimensional code. This allows the first electronic terminal 108 to read the coupon information associated with the additional provision information. As described above, the additional provision information is associated with a retailer code. Therefore, the second server 102 can manage the purchase history of products or services associated with the coupon information by retailer code, by acquiring coupon reading information indicating that the coupon information has been read from the first electronic terminal 108.

The second server 102 can also manage the history of visits to physical stores. For example, when a user is in a physical store, the user displays additional information provided by the first electronic terminal 108, including an advertisement for a product or service sold at the physical store, and then has the first electronic terminal 108 read a two-dimensional code. This allows the first electronic terminal 108 to read store entry information indicating that the user has visited the physical store. As described above, the additional information provided is associated with a store code. Therefore, the second server 102 can manage the history of visits to physical stores by store code by acquiring store entry read information indicating that the store entry information has been read from the first electronic terminal 108, together with display information indicating that the additional information provided has been displayed.

The history of visits to physical stores may be managed using a GPS function. In this case, the second server 102 may manage the location of the physical store in association with the store code, and provide location information indicating the location to the first electronic terminal 108. For example, when location information acquired by the first electronic terminal 108 using the GPS function matches the location of the physical store, the first electronic terminal 108 transmits location information indicating the location to the second server 102. By acquiring the location information, the second server 102 can manage the history of visits to physical stores by store code.

When the first electronic terminal 108 has acquired the above-mentioned location information from the second server 102, it may read the location information of the physical store through the two-dimensional code. In this case, the second server 102 can manage the store entry history for each retail store code by acquiring the location information.

The second server 102 acquires display information, purchase information, coupon reading information, or location information from the multiple first electronic terminals 108 as user behavior information indicating the user's behavior such as browsing, purchasing, or entering a store. The second server 102 compiles each of the display information, purchase information, coupon reading information, and location information acquired from the multiple first electronic terminals 108, and manages them as browsing history, purchase history, and store entry history. The browsing history, purchase history, and store entry history are examples of browsing-related information related to the browsing of additional provided information. As described above, the browsing-related information is associated with a retailer code.

In the above, the first electronic terminal 108 has been described as transmitting user behavior information to the second server 102, but this is not limited thereto, and an electronic terminal managed by a physical store may transmit user behavior information to the second server 102. Also, although the second server 102 has been described as managing browsing-related information, the browsing-related information may be managed by a management device different from the second server 102.

[Outline of the advertiser recruitment system]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of an advertiser soliciting system 1. As shown in FIG. 1, the advertiser soliciting system 1 includes, for example, a first server 2, a call center terminal 3, and a dealer terminal 4. These devices may be realized by a PC or the like. The first server 2 is electrically connected to the call center terminal 3 and the dealer terminal 4 so as to be able to transmit and receive information. In this embodiment, the first server 2 and the call center terminal 3 are connected via a first network 11, and the first server 2 and the dealer terminal 4 are connected via a second network 12.

The first server 2 is a device that manages various data and transmits and receives data between the call center terminal 3 and the dealer terminal 4.

The first server 2, for example, manages dealer information related to dealers. The first server 2 associates the dealer information with an area, for example, a city, ward, town, or village, and manages it as dealer management information.

The dealer information includes, for example, the name of the newspaper dealer (dealer name), the sales area and dealer code set for the newspaper dealer, and the contact information for the newspaper dealer (address, telephone number, email address, etc.). The dealer information also includes, for example, recipient number information indicating the number of recipients to which the additional information is provided through the information provision system 101.

The destination of the additional information provided is the first electronic terminal 108 of the user. Therefore, the number of destinations of the additional information provided is the subscriber IDs and free user IDs managed by the second server 102. That is, the destination number information includes, for example, subscriber number information indicating the number of electronic newspaper subscribers (subscribers who have contracted with the newspaper dealer to subscribe to the electronic newspaper) associated with the sales area set for the newspaper dealer. The destination number information also includes free user number information indicating the number of free users associated with the dealer code. The number of destinations may be the number of terminal IDs managed by the second server 102. Hereinafter, the number of destinations is referred to as the number of users, and the destination number information is referred to as user number information.

The retailer information also includes, for example, the number of views of the additional information provided during a specified period. The retailer information also includes, for example, the number of purchases of a product or service introduced in the additional information provided during a specified period that was purchased based on the viewing of the additional information provided.

The first server 2 may also manage potential customer information regarding potential customers who may become advertisers. The first server 2 may also manage potential customer information regarding potential customers who have shown an interest in the provision of target information that will become additional information provided through the information providing system 101 in the target area.

The target information is information that the advertiser wants to transmit through the information provision system 101 (for example, information indicating the content of the advertisement), and is information that is registered as additional provision information in the advertisement management device 106. Therefore, the target information may be information with the same content as the additional provision information. The target area is an area that a potential customer is considering as an area where the target information should be provided through the information provision system when the potential customer is considering providing the target information that will be the additional provision information to the information provision system 101. In the following explanation, when there is no particular need to distinguish between the target information and the additional provision information, it will be explained as additional provision information.

Potential customer information may include, for example, the potential customer's name, contact information (such as an address, telephone number, and email address), identification information for identifying the potential customer (potential customer identification information, hereafter referred to as a potential customer ID), and password. Potential customer information may also include, for example, target regions (regions in which the potential customer has shown interest in the provision of additional information) and requests regarding the provision of additional information (for example, posting period and posting fee).

The first server 2 receives potential customer information from the call center terminal 3. As described below, the first server 2 receives sales information including potential customer information from the call center terminal 3. The first server 2 may manage the sales information.

When a potential customer enters into a contract for the provision of additional information (target information) through the information provision system 101, the potential customer becomes an advertiser (customer). Therefore, after the contract is concluded, the potential customer information is managed by the advertising management device 106 as the above-mentioned advertiser information. Sales information after the contract is concluded may also be managed by the advertising management device 106 as the advertiser information. In addition, the first server 2 may be managed, for example, by a newspaper company and/or a newspaper dealer.

The call center terminal 3 is an electronic terminal used in a call center. The call center terminal 3 is used, for example, by an operator who is an employee of the call center. In other words, the operator is the user of the call center terminal 3. The call center performs the task of finding potential customers who are considering the provision of additional information through the information provision system 101 by the operator calling a company. In addition, the call center performs the task of concluding a contract between the found potential customer and the newspaper dealer regarding the provision of the additional information during the call. The call center terminal 3 displays various information required for the operator's work. In other words, the call center terminal 3 functions as an information presentation device that presents information. In addition, the call center terminal 3 accepts input of the various information by accepting the operator's operation.

The dealer terminal 4 is an electronic terminal used in a newspaper dealership. The dealer terminal 4 is used by employees of the newspaper dealership. In other words, the employees of the newspaper dealership are users of the dealer terminal 4. The newspaper dealership performs the business of selling newspapers and of concluding contracts for the provision of the additional information to potential customers who have shown an interest in the provision of the additional information in the sales area set for the newspaper dealership. The dealer terminal 4 displays various information required for the business of the newspaper dealership and/or accepts input of the various information.

[Configuration of the First Server]
As shown in FIG. 1, the first server 2 includes, for example, a server-side control unit 21, a server-side communication unit 22, and a server-side storage unit 23.

The server-side communication unit 22 is a component that transmits and receives various information to and from the first server 2 via the first network 11. The server-side communication unit 22 is also a component that transmits and receives various information to and from the dealer terminal 4 via the second network 12. The server-side memory unit 23 is a component that stores various information used by the server-side control unit 21. The server-side memory unit 23 stores, for example, dealer management information and sales information received from the call center terminal 3.

The server-side control unit 21 is a component that controls each part of the first server 2. The server-side control unit 21 includes, for example, a retailer identification unit 211, a server-side management unit 212, and a server-side communication control unit 213.

The dealer identification unit 211 identifies the newspaper dealer corresponding to the dealer code (the dealer code associated with the potential customer information received from the call center terminal 3) included in the business information received from the call center terminal 3. The dealer identification unit 211 identifies the newspaper dealer corresponding to the dealer code by comparing the dealer code received from the call center terminal 3 with the dealer management information stored in the server-side memory unit 23. Specifically, the dealer identification unit 211 identifies the dealer terminal 4 (for example, the email address of the dealer terminal 4) used by the newspaper dealer corresponding to the dealer code. When the business information includes multiple dealer codes, the dealer identification unit 211 identifies the dealer terminal 4 used by the newspaper dealer corresponding to each of the dealer codes.

The server-side management unit 212 manages the dealer management information, for example, by performing the processes shown below.

The server-side management unit 212 acquires information on newspaper dealers in each region (dealer name, sales area, dealer code, and contact information) from the newspaper company. The server-side management unit 212 acquires subscriber information and free user information, including dealer codes, from the second server 102. Hereinafter, subscriber information and free user information may be collectively referred to as user information. The server-side management unit 212 also acquires information indicating browsing-related information (browsing history, purchase history, and store entry history) associated with the dealer code from the second server 102.

When the server-side management unit 212 acquires the newspaper dealer information, user information, and browsing-related information, it matches the user information and browsing-related information to the newspaper dealer information by matching the dealer code.

The server-side management unit 212 counts the number of subscriber information acquired for each dealer code, thereby associating the subscriber number information with the above-mentioned newspaper dealer information. The server-side management unit 212 also counts the number of free user information acquired for each dealer code, thereby associating the free user number information with the above-mentioned newspaper dealer information.

The server-side management unit 212 refers to the viewing history information for each dealer code, counts the number of views of the additional information provided during a specified period, and associates the viewing count information indicating the number of views with the newspaper dealer information. When viewing history information for multiple pieces of additional information provided is associated with a dealer code, the server-side management unit 212 may count the number of views for each piece of additional information provided, or may count the total number of views for multiple pieces of additional information provided.

The server-side management unit 212 refers to the purchase history information for each store code, counts the number of purchases of products or services based on the viewing of additional information during a specified period, and associates purchase number information indicating the number of purchases with the newspaper store information. When purchase history information for multiple additional information is associated with a store code, the server-side management unit 212 may count the number of purchases for each additional information, or may count the total number of purchases for multiple additional information.

The server-side management unit 212 refers to the store visit history information for each store code, counts the number of times a user visits a physical store during a specified period, and associates the store visit information indicating the number of visits with the above-mentioned newspaper store information.

The first server 2 may obtain subscriber number information, free user number information, view number information, purchase number information, and store visit number information from the second server 102.

When one piece of user information contains multiple contacts, each of the contacts is associated with a retailer code. In this case, each of the contacts may be counted in the number of users, or one contact among multiple contacts may be counted in the number of users.

The server-side management unit 212 may update the store management information when it acquires newspaper store information, user information, or browsing-related information. The server-side management unit 212 may also update the store management information when it acquires information indicating the closure of a newspaper store from a newspaper company, or when it acquires subscriber cancellation information from the second server 102.

The server-side management unit 212 may manage the sales information in the server-side storage unit 23. The server-side management unit 212 may store or update the sales information in the server-side storage unit 23, for example, each time the server-side management unit 212 acquires the sales information from the call center terminal 3.

The server-side communication control unit 213 controls the server-side communication unit 22. For example, the server-side communication control unit 213 receives business information from the call center terminal 3. For example, the server-side communication control unit 213 provides potential customer information associated with the store code set for a newspaper dealer identified by the store identification unit 211 to the store terminal 4 used by the newspaper dealer. That is, the first server 2 functions as an information providing device that provides the potential customer information to the store terminal 4 used by the newspaper dealer corresponding to the store code associated with the potential customer information received from the call center terminal 3. The server-side communication control unit 213 may transmit the business information used for this identification (the business information that identified the store terminal 4) to the store terminal 4.

In addition, if the dealer identification unit 211 identifies multiple newspaper dealers, the server-side communication control unit 213 provides potential customer information corresponding to each of the multiple newspaper dealers to the dealer terminal 4 (multiple dealer terminals 4) used by each of the multiple newspaper dealers.

[Configuration of call center terminal]
1, the call center terminal 3 includes, for example, a terminal control unit 31, an operation unit 32, a display unit 33, a terminal communication unit 34, and a terminal storage unit 35.
The operation unit 32 is a component that accepts operations by an operator. The display unit 33 is a component that displays various information. The operation unit 32 and the display unit 33 may be realized by a touch panel. The terminal side communication unit 34 is a component that transmits and receives various information to and from the first server 2 via the first network 11. The terminal side memory unit 35 is a component that stores various information used by the terminal side control unit 31. The terminal side memory unit 35 stores, for example, sales information and dealer management information received from the first server 2.

The terminal-side control unit 31 is a component that controls each unit of the call center terminal 3. The terminal-side control unit 31 includes, for example, a code identification unit 311, a display control unit 312, a terminal-side management unit 313, and a terminal-side communication control unit 314.

When it is being considered to provide target information to the information provision system 101, the code identification unit 311 identifies a dealer code corresponding to the target area upon receiving input of a target area for which the target information is to be provided through the information provision system 101. The code identification unit 311 functions as an identification unit that identifies the dealer code.

When the operation unit 32 accepts input of a target area that a potential customer is considering, the code identification unit 311 identifies a sales area that includes the target area (a sales area that corresponds to the target area) from among the sales areas included in the dealer management information stored in the server-side memory unit 23.

For example, if the information input as the target area is the name of a city, ward, town, or village, the code identification unit 311 identifies all sales areas including that city, ward, town, or village from among the sales areas included in the dealer management information. For example, if the information input as the target area is an area within a city, ward, town, or village (e.g., the northern area or eastern area of a city, ward, town, or village), the code identification unit 311 identifies all sales areas including that area from among the sales areas included in the dealer management information. For example, if the information input as the target area is an area that spans multiple cities, ward, town, or villages (e.g., the Hanshin area, the Hokusetsu area), the code identification unit 311 identifies all sales areas including that area from among the sales areas included in the dealer management information. For example, if the information input as the target area is information indicating not only the name of a city, ward, town, or village but also the block number or number, the code identification unit 311 identifies all sales areas that match the block number or number from among the sales areas included in the dealer management information.

For example, the code identification unit 311 divides the input target area and the sales area included in the dealer management information into the smallest pre-set area divisions. The smallest area division may be any area division that can identify all sales areas including the input target area when comparing the input target area with the sales area, and is, for example, information indicating the block number or street address. The code identification unit 311 compares the smallest area division into which the target area is divided with the smallest area division into which the sales area is divided, thereby identifying the sales area including the area division that matches the smallest area division into which the target area is divided.

For example, in the example of FIG. 4 described below, the code identification unit 311 identifies all sales regions that include the input target region by matching the smallest divided region divisions, C, with each other.

When the input information is "A-district north", the code identification unit 311 can identify all sales regions included in "A-district north" by comparing the divided blocks. For example, when "A-district α town (entire area)" and "A-district β town (entire area)" are set as "A-district north", the code identification unit 311 can identify "A1 dealer", "A2 dealer", and "A3 dealer" for which "A-district α town" and "A-district β town" are set as sales regions.

For example, if the input information is "1-3 chome, β-cho, A-ku," the code identification unit 311 can identify "A1 store" whose sales area is set to "1-5 chome, β-cho, A-ku." For example, if the input information is "4-6 chome, β-cho, A-ku," the code identification unit 311 can identify "A2 store" and "A3 store" whose sales areas are set to "1-5 chome, β-cho, A-ku," and "6-8 chome, β-cho, A-ku."

In this way, the code identification unit 311 can identify all sales regions that include the target region by comparing the smallest divided region segments together, regardless of how the target region is specified or how the sales region is set. In other words, the code identification unit 311 can identify all sales regions that include the target region by the above-mentioned comparison, even if the target region is specified in a way that does not match the sales region set for each newspaper dealership.

The code identification unit 311 identifies the dealer code corresponding to the identified sales area as the dealer code corresponding to the input target area. When the code identification unit 311 identifies multiple sales areas that include the target area, it identifies the dealer code (multiple dealer codes) corresponding to each of the identified sales areas. In the example of Figure 4, when "4-chome to 6-chome, β-cho, A-ku" is input as the target area, the code identification unit 311 identifies the dealer codes "A002" and "A003" corresponding to "A2 Dealer" and "A3 Dealer".

When the operation unit 32 receives input of a different target area as the target area (when the input content of the target area has changed), the code identification unit 311 may identify the retailer code corresponding to the different target area.

The code identification unit 311 may obtain the dealer management information from the first server 2 when the operation unit 32 accepts the input of the target area. However, the terminal-side control unit 31 may obtain the dealer management information from the first server 2 before the call center terminal 3 is in a state where it can accept the input of the target area, such as when the call center terminal 3 is started up. In addition, the server-side control unit 21 may send the dealer management information to the call center terminal 3 when updating the dealer management information. In other words, the code identification unit 311 may receive the dealer management information from the first server 2 every time the dealer management information is updated.

The display control unit 312 controls the display unit 33. For example, the display control unit 312 refers to the store management information stored in the terminal side storage unit 35, and displays the number of users indicated by the user number information associated with the store code identified by the code identification unit 311 on the display unit 33. When the code identification unit 311 identifies multiple store codes, the display control unit 312 displays the number of users for each of the identified store codes and/or the total number of users on the display unit 33.

As described above, the user number information includes subscriber number information and free user number information. The display control unit 312 may display on the display unit 33 the number of subscribers indicated by the subscriber number information associated with the retailer code and the number of free users indicated by the free user number information associated with the retailer code.

The display control unit 312 may also display, on the display unit 33, the viewing-related information associated with the store code identified by the code identification unit 311, for example, by referencing the store management information stored in the terminal-side memory unit 35. The display control unit 312 may display, on the display unit 33, as the viewing-related information, the number of views of the additional provided information associated with the store code and the number of purchases of products or services purchased based on the viewing of the additional provided information. The display control unit 312 may also display, on the display unit 33, the number of visits to the physical store associated with the store code, as the viewing-related information.

In this embodiment, the display control unit 312 is described as displaying the number of users, number of views, number of purchases, and number of visits corresponding to the store code identified by the code identification unit 311 on the display unit 33, but this is not limited to this. The display control unit 312 may display only the number of users, for example. The display control unit 312 may also display only the number of subscribers, or only the number of free users, for example. The display control unit 312 may not display all of the number of views, number of purchases, and number of visits, and may display at least one of the number of views, number of purchases, and number of visits. Information that is not displayed does not need to be managed by the server-side management unit 212 and does not need to be counted by the terminal-side management unit 313.

In this embodiment, the call center terminal 3 is described as having a display unit 33 and a display control unit 312 that controls the display unit 33. However, it is sufficient that the call center terminal 3 has a presentation unit that presents various information and a presentation control unit that controls the presentation unit. The display unit 33 and the display control unit 312 are examples of a presentation unit and a presentation control unit, and the presentation unit may be, for example, a speaker that outputs sound such as voice.

The terminal-side management unit 313 manages sales information in the terminal-side storage unit 35. The sales information is information in which the dealer code identified by the code identification unit 311, lead information indicating a ranking regarding contract conclusion set for a potential customer, and contract information indicating the contents of a contract with the potential customer are associated with potential customer information. In other words, the terminal-side management unit 313 functions as a management unit that manages potential customer information regarding potential customers who have shown an interest in the provision of additional information in the target area in association with the dealer code identified by the code identification unit 311.

Lead information is set by an operator for a potential customer, and is information indicating whether a contract has been concluded or the likelihood of concluding a contract. Lead information includes, for example, conclusion completion information, visit confirmation information, and visit schedule information. Contract completion information is information indicating that a contract has been concluded at the call center. Visit confirmation information is information indicating that the call center has decided a specific date and time for the newspaper dealer to visit the potential customer. The visit confirmation information may include information indicating the visit date and time. Visit schedule information is information indicating that the call center has not decided a specific date and time for the newspaper dealer to visit the potential customer, but that the newspaper dealer has decided to visit.

For example, when the operation unit 32 accepts input of a target area, the terminal management unit 313 may store all of the dealer codes identified by the code identification unit 311 and corresponding to the target area in the terminal storage unit 35. When the operation unit 32 accepts input of potential customer information, the terminal management unit 313 stores all of the dealer codes identified by the code identification unit 311 in the terminal storage unit 35 in association with the potential customer information. When the operation unit 32 accepts input of lead information set for a potential customer indicated by the potential customer information, the terminal management unit 313 stores the lead information in the terminal storage unit 35 in association with the potential customer information. When the operation unit 32 accepts input of contract information indicating the contents of a contract with a potential customer indicated by the potential customer information, the terminal management unit 313 stores the contract information in the terminal storage unit 35 in association with the potential customer information.

The terminal-side management unit 313 may manage the dealer management information in the terminal-side memory unit 35. For example, the terminal-side management unit 313 may store or update the dealer management information in the terminal-side memory unit 35 each time it acquires the dealer management information from the first server 2. Furthermore, when the code identification unit 311 identifies multiple dealer codes, the terminal-side management unit 313 may calculate the total number of subscribers and the total number of free users for each of the dealer codes. The terminal-side management unit 313 may calculate the total number of users by adding together the total number of subscribers and the total number of free users.

The terminal-side communication control unit 314 controls the terminal-side communication unit 34. For example, the terminal-side communication control unit 314 transmits the sales information stored in the terminal-side memory unit 35 by the terminal-side management unit 313 to the first server 2. Also, for example, the terminal-side communication control unit 314 receives dealer management information from the call center terminal 3.

[Data Structure]
3 and 4 are diagrams showing examples of data structures of various information. Reference numeral 1001 in Fig. 3 shows an example of the data structure of a store code. Reference numeral 1002 in Fig. 3 shows an example of the data structure of an electronic newspaper. Reference numeral 1003 in Fig. 3 shows an example of the data structure of additional provision information.

As shown by reference numeral 1001 in FIG. 3, the retailer code is associated with user information (specifically, a subscriber ID, a free user ID, or a terminal ID). The retailer code includes, for example, distribution area information indicating the distribution area and sales area information indicating the sales area. The distribution area information includes, for example, prefecture information indicating the prefecture, wide area information indicating a wide area, and city, ward, town, and village information indicating the city, ward, town, and village. For example, if the sales area information indicates "X-machi, X-chome, No. X, to X-chome, No. X", for example, the city, ward, town, and village information indicates "Osaka City", the wide area information indicates "Keihanshin", and the prefecture information indicates "Osaka Prefecture".

As shown by reference numeral 1002 in FIG. 3, an electronic newspaper is associated with publication area information indicating the area in which the electronic newspaper is published. Publication area information is, for example, information indicating prefecture information, wide area information, or city/ward/town/village information contained in the retailer code. In other words, a retailer code is associated with an electronic newspaper. Therefore, the second server 102 can provide the first electronic terminal 108 with an electronic newspaper (an edition of an electronic newspaper distributed in the distribution area contained in the retailer code) associated with the identified retailer code (specifically, publication area information).

The publication area information is associated with article information indicating articles to be published in the electronic newspaper (article information extracted by the article extraction device 104) and/or advertisement information indicating advertisements to be published in the electronic newspaper.

Article information is associated with page number information, area information, audio information, and headline information. Posted advertisement information is associated with page number information, audio information, and area information. Area information is information indicating the area in which the article or advertisement is placed. Audio information is audio information of text information included in article information or posted advertisement information, or audio information of text information obtained by performing character authentication processing on image information. Headline information is information indicating the headline of the article.

The article information may include both text information and image information showing the actual content of the article, or may include either text information or image information. The posted advertisement information may also include both text information and image information showing the actual content of the advertisement, or may include either one of them.

As shown by reference numeral 1003 in FIG. 3, the additional provision information is associated with publication area information. As described above, the publication area information is associated with sales area information or distribution area information of the retailer code. In other words, the additional provision information is associated with the retailer code.

The additional information provided includes text information and/or image information. The text information and image information are information that indicates the actual content of advertising information of a company or public organization, etc. The image information may be in the form of either still images or videos. When image information is registered in the form of both still images and videos for the same advertiser (client), the still images and videos are registered in association with each other.

As mentioned above, the additional information provided may be associated with the URL of the purchase site.

Reference numeral 1011 in FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of dealer management information. Reference numeral 1012 in FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of sales information.

As shown by reference numeral 1011 in FIG. 4, the dealer management information is information in which information about a newspaper dealer (dealer name, sales area, dealer code, and contact information) is associated with the area in which the newspaper dealer is located. In the example of FIG. 4, for example, "District A" is associated with information about newspaper dealers "A1 Dealer," "A2 Dealer," "A3 Dealer," etc. located in District A, and "District B," etc. are also associated with information similar to that of "District A."

The store management information is information in which information about each newspaper store is associated with information about the number of users (information about the number of subscribers and information about non-paying users) and viewing-related information (the number of views of the additional information provided, and the number of purchases of products or services based on the viewing of the additional information provided). As an example, FIG. 4 shows the number of views and the number of purchases in the most recent month. As described above, the viewing-related information may also include the number of visits to a physical store by users.

The user number information may include both subscriber number information and free user information, or may indicate the total number of subscribers and free users. If multiple pieces of additional information are associated with a retailer code, the number of views may be the number of views for each piece of additional information, or the total number of views for each piece of additional information. The number of purchases may also be the number of purchases for each piece of additional information, or the total number of purchases corresponding to each piece of additional information.

The number of users information and viewing-related information associated with the information of each newspaper dealer is information that is aggregated for each dealer code, as shown in FIG. 4. Without being limited to this, the information that is the source of aggregation may be registered in association with the dealer code so that the number of users information and viewing-related information can be aggregated for each dealer code.

As shown by reference numeral 1012 in FIG. 4, the sales information includes potential customer information, a dealer code, and lead information. As described above, the potential customer information is information about a potential customer who has shown interest in the provision of additional information. The dealer code is a dealer code (a dealer code identified by the code identification unit 311) corresponding to the target area in which the potential customer has shown interest. The lead information is information indicating the ranking of the potential customer with regard to contract conclusion. In addition, if a contract has been concluded, the sales information further includes contract information indicating the contents of the contract.

[Processing flow in the advertiser solicitation system]
5 is a flowchart showing an example of the process flow in the first server 2, the call center terminal 3, and the dealer terminal 4. In particular, the process flow in the call center terminal 3 shows an example of an information presentation method for presenting information.

The operator performs his/her duties using the call center terminal 3. The operator finds potential customers who are considering providing additional information in a certain area by calling companies and/or public organizations included in a company list that the call center has obtained in advance. The people the operator calls become potential customers. The company list is prepared for each area (e.g., each city, ward, town, or village), and is a list of the names and contact information of companies (companies that may conduct business in a certain area) and/or public organizations that can provide additional information in a certain area.

The operator introduces the information provision system 101 to the potential customer who made the call and asks about the target area for which the potential customer is considering providing additional information. If the operator is able to ask the potential customer about the target area, the operator inputs the target area into the call center terminal 3 via the operation unit 32. In the call center terminal 3, the code identification unit 311 determines whether the input of the target area has been accepted via the operation unit 32 (S1). In other words, the code identification unit 311 continues to judge the input until the input of the target area is accepted (NO in S1).

When the operator inputs the target area, the code identification unit 311 determines that the input of the target area has been accepted. In this case (YES in S1), the terminal-side communication control unit 314 sends a request to the first server 2 to send dealer management information (S2). In the first server 2, when the server-side communication control unit 213 accepts the request to send dealer management information from the call center terminal 3, it sends the dealer management information stored in the server-side memory unit 23 to the call center terminal 3 (S3).

When the code identification unit 311 receives the dealer management information from the first server 2, it identifies a sales area that includes the target area input in S1 from among the sales areas included in the dealer management information (S4). Then, the code identification unit 311 extracts a dealer code that corresponds to the identified sales area (S5). In this way, when the code identification unit 311 receives input of a target area, it identifies the dealer code that corresponds to the target area. S5 is an example of a identification step for identifying the dealer code.

When the code identification unit 311 identifies the retailer code, the display control unit 312 displays the number of users corresponding to the retailer code (the number of users in the sales area indicated by the retailer code corresponding to the input target area) on the display unit 33 (S6). S6 is an example of a presentation step of presenting the number of users. As described above, the display control unit 312 may display the number of subscribers and the number of free users as the number of users, or may display the total number of subscribers and the number of free users.

When multiple retailer codes are specified, the display control unit 312 may display the number of users corresponding to each of the multiple retailer codes. Alternatively, the terminal side management unit 313 may count the total number of users, and the display control unit 312 may display the total on the display unit 33. As the total, the display control unit 312 may display the total number of subscribers corresponding to each of the multiple retailer codes and the total number of free users corresponding to each of the multiple retailer codes, or may display the sum of these totals.

In addition, in S6, the display control unit 312 may display, on the display unit 33, viewing-related information corresponding to the store code identified by the code identification unit 311. The display control unit 312 may display, on the display unit 33, the number of views and the number of purchases described above as viewing-related information. The display control unit 312 may display, on the display unit 33, the number of visits described above as viewing-related information.

When multiple pieces of additional information are associated with the above retailer code, the display control unit 312 may display the number of views and the number of purchases for each piece of additional information, or may display the total number of views and the total number of purchases. Also, when multiple retailer codes are specified, the display control unit 312 may display the total number of views, the total number of purchases, and the total number of visits for each of the multiple retailer codes.

The operator informs the potential customer of the number of users and other information displayed on the display unit 33. At this time, the operator may also provide the potential customer with information about the newspaper store corresponding to the store code.

Then, in the call center terminal 3, the terminal-side management unit 313 judges whether input of potential customer information relating to the potential customer has been accepted from the potential customer who has communicated the number of users, etc. via the operation unit 32 (S7). In other words, the terminal-side management unit 313 judges the input until it accepts the input of potential customer information (NO in S7).

The operator communicates the number of users and other information, and provides a detailed explanation of the information provision system 101, thereby conducting sales aimed at concluding a contract. This allows the operator to hear various information about potential customers (including requests, etc.), and inputs this information into the call center terminal 3 as potential customer information.

When the operator inputs potential customer information, the terminal management unit 313 determines that the input of potential customer information has been accepted. In this case (YES in S7), the terminal management unit 313 associates the potential customer information with the dealer code identified by the code identification unit 311, and stores the information as sales information in the terminal storage unit 35 (S8).

If the operator continues to make sales efforts toward concluding a contract and is able to conclude a contract with the potential customer, the operator inputs contract information indicating the contents of the contract into the call center terminal 3 via the operation unit 32. The terminal management unit 313 associates the contract information with potential customer information indicating the potential customer, and stores the information as sales information in the terminal storage unit 35. The terminal management unit 313 also sets contract completion information as lead information.

On the other hand, if the operator makes sales efforts aimed at concluding a contract but is unable to conclude a contract with the potential customer they called, the sales information will not include contract information. However, if the operator has decided on a specific date and time for the newspaper dealer to visit the potential customer, the operator may input via the operation unit 32 that the specific date and time of the visit has been decided, along with the date and time of the visit. In this case, the terminal-side management unit 313 sets visit confirmation information as lead information. Also, if the operator has not decided on a specific date and time for the newspaper dealer to visit, but has decided that the newspaper dealer will make a visit, the operator may input via the operation unit 32 that only the visit has been decided. In this case, the terminal-side management unit 313 sets visit schedule information as lead information.

The exchange of information between the operator and the potential customer, such as an introduction to the information provision system 101, inquiries about the target area, and inquiries about information about the potential customer, may be carried out in a single call or over multiple calls.

Then, the terminal-side communication control unit 314 transmits the sales information stored in the terminal-side memory unit 35 to the first server 2. As described above, if a contract is concluded at the call center, the terminal-side communication control unit 314 transmits sales information including conclusion completion information and contract information to the first server 2. If a contract is not concluded at the call center, the terminal-side communication control unit 314 transmits sales information including visit confirmation information or visit schedule information to the first server 2 without contract information.

In the first server 2, when the dealer identification unit 211 receives the business information, it identifies the newspaper dealer corresponding to the dealer code included in the business information (the dealer code identified by the code identification unit 311) (S10). In this way, the dealer identification unit 211 identifies the dealer terminal 4 of that newspaper dealer. If there are multiple dealer codes identified by the code identification unit 311, the dealer identification unit 211 identifies the newspaper dealer corresponding to each of the multiple dealer codes. The server-side communication control unit 213 then transmits the received business information to the dealer terminal 4 of the identified newspaper dealer (S11).

In the dealer terminal 4 that has received the sales information, the control unit displays information about potential customers on the display unit. Specifically, the control unit of the dealer terminal 4 displays the potential customer information, lead information, and contract information contained in the sales information on the display unit (S12). The operator may inform the newspaper dealer employee that there is a potential customer who is interested in the provision of additional information in the target area. In this case, the newspaper dealer employee may receive the communication from the operator and have the dealer terminal 4 display the sales information.

This allows the newspaper shop employee to know whether a contract has been concluded with the potential customer at the call center. If a contract has been concluded at the call center, the sales information contains the contract information, so the newspaper shop employee can know the contents of the contract with the potential customer. If a contract has not been concluded at the call center, the newspaper shop employee can contact the potential customer to conclude a contract. Based on the lead information, the newspaper shop employee can determine whether the visit date and time has been confirmed, and then contact the potential customer. Furthermore, if the potential customer information contains the potential customer's requests, the newspaper shop employee can conduct sales toward concluding a contract in line with the potential customer's requests.

However, the sales information does not have to include lead information. Even in this case, employees at the newspaper store can tell whether a contract has been concluded at the call center by whether the sales information includes contract information.

In the flow shown in FIG. 5, in response to a request to send dealer management information from the call center terminal 3 in S2, the first server 2 sends the dealer management information to the call center terminal 3 in S3, and the call center terminal 3 receives the dealer management information. However, as described above, the call center terminal 3 may obtain the dealer management information from the first server 2 before it becomes possible to accept input of the target area, or each time the dealer management information is updated. In this case, in S4, the code identification unit 311 may identify the dealer code using the dealer management information obtained in advance (the dealer management information stored in the terminal side memory unit 35). Therefore, in this case, the processes of S2 and S3 are not executed.

(effect)
As described above, when the call center terminal 3 receives an input of a target area, it identifies the store code corresponding to the target area and displays the number of users corresponding to the identified store code. Therefore, the operator can present to the potential customer the accurate number of users in the area to which the potential customer wishes to provide additional information.

As a result, potential customers can ascertain the exact number of users in the target area entered by the operator, and can consider whether to provide additional information in that target area based on this accurate information. The operator can also ascertain the exact number of users. This allows the operator to conduct sales aimed at concluding a contract. In other words, the operator can conduct sales efficiently.

The call center terminal 3 also displays the number of views of the additional information corresponding to the identified store code, and the number of purchases of products or services based on the views of the additional information. The call center terminal 3 also displays the number of visits to the actual store corresponding to the identified store code. This allows potential customers to consider whether or not to provide additional information in the target area based on more accurate information. Furthermore, operators can also carry out the above-mentioned sales efficiently based on more accurate information.

In addition, since the operator can hear the results of this review from potential customers, it is possible to easily find potential customers who are interested in the provision of additional information in the target area (potential customers who are highly interested in the provision). As a result, the operator can introduce the potential customers to newspaper dealers who sell newspapers and provide advertising in the sales area corresponding to the target area.

As described above, the call center terminal 3 transmits potential customer information on potential customers who are interested in the provision of additional information in the target area, and sales information associated with the dealer code identified by the code identification unit 311 to the first server 2. The first server 2 transmits the sales information to the dealer terminal 4 of the newspaper dealer corresponding to the dealer code. This allows the newspaper dealer to conduct sales toward concluding a contract using the introduction from the operator and the sales information. In other words, the newspaper dealer can conduct sales toward concluding a contract efficiently. Furthermore, by coordinating sales between the call center and the newspaper dealer in the course of concluding a contract, the call center can back up the newspaper dealer's efforts to conclude the contract.

The operator may also communicate to the sales staff of the call center the potential customer information and the newspaper store corresponding to the store code identified by the code identification unit 311. The call center terminal 3 may also transmit the sales information to an electronic terminal used by the sales staff of the call center. In this case, the sales staff of the call center can efficiently conduct sales activities aimed at concluding a contract.

As described above, in the information providing system 101, the user can view additional information provided and posted information via the first electronic terminal 108 in units of the store code corresponding to the set contact information. In addition, in the information providing system 101, the advertiser can add and update additional information provided and posted information at any time. Therefore, the information providing system 101 allows the user to view real-time additional information provided and posted information specialized for the area in which the user is located at the desired time.

Operators and newspaper store employees can appeal to potential customers by using this information provision system 101, which makes it possible to provide additional information and posted information that is specialized for the area set by the user and in real time. The area set by the user is usually the area where the user lives or stays. Therefore, it is possible to appeal to potential customers that the provision of additional information and posted information specialized for the area set by the user can be expected to increase the number of visitors to the store. By making such an appeal, it is possible to increase the possibility of concluding a contract with a potential customer.

<Modification 1>
The duties of an operator include, for example, the following two duties.

(A) Calling potential customers based on the company list, introducing the information provision system 101, and conducting interviews about the target area.

(B) Calling potential customers whose target areas have been covered, presenting the number of users in the sales area corresponding to the target area, etc., providing a detailed explanation of the information provision system 101, and collecting various information about the potential customers. In other words, the work of conducting sales toward concluding a contract.

In this embodiment, the operator performing tasks (A) and (B) is described as being the same person, but tasks (A) and (B) may be performed by different operators. For example, in a call center, a desk performing task (A) and a desk performing task (B) may be provided separately.

In this case, the operator performing task (A) may hand over (toss up) information including, for example, the target area and information (name, contact information, etc.) of potential customers who are considering providing additional information in the target area to the operator performing task (B). Based on the information handed over, the operator performing task (B) may present the number of users identified by the call center terminal 3 to the potential customer, or input potential customer information related to the potential customer.

In business (B), if a contract is concluded, sales activities are closed at the call center. On the other hand, even if a contract is not concluded, the call center terminal 3 transmits sales information (potential customer information) to the dealer terminal 4 of the newspaper dealer corresponding to the identified dealer code. The operator can also inform the employee of the newspaper dealer that there is a potential customer in the target area who is interested in the provision of additional information. The transmission and communication of this information is also called a toss-up. The employee of the newspaper dealer then conducts sales with the aim of concluding a contract. If a contract is concluded, sales activities are closed at the newspaper dealer.

<Modification 2>
In this embodiment, the call center terminal 3 used in the call center displays the number of users corresponding to the identified dealer code, and an operator communicates the displayed number of users, etc. to potential customers. However, an electronic terminal other than the call center terminal 3 may have the functions of the call center terminal 3. In this case, the advertiser soliciting system 1 does not need to include a call center.

For example, the electronic terminal used by the potential customer may have the functions of the call center terminal 3. In this case, when the potential customer inputs a target area into the electronic terminal, the electronic terminal may identify the store code corresponding to the target area and display the number of users corresponding to the identified store code. Even in this case, the potential customer can know the exact number of users in the input target area, and can consider whether to provide additional information in the target area based on the accurate information.

If, after consideration, the potential customer decides that he or she would like to provide additional information in the target area, the potential customer may input information about himself or herself (potential customer information) into the electronic terminal. In this case, the electronic terminal transmits sales information that associates the input potential customer information with the identified dealer code to the first server 2. The first server 2 transmits the sales information to the dealer terminal 4 of the newspaper dealer corresponding to the dealer code included in the received sales information. This allows the newspaper dealer's employees to make sales to conclude a contract with potential customers who are interested in the provision of additional information in the target area input into the electronic terminal. This allows the newspaper dealer's employees to make sales efficiently.

For example, the dealer terminal 4 may also have the functionality of the call center terminal 3. In this case, an employee of the newspaper dealer may ask potential customers about the target area and potential customer information, and input this information into the dealer terminal 4. The dealer terminal 4 can display the number of users corresponding to the dealer code corresponding to the input target area, so that the employee of the newspaper dealer can accurately grasp the number of users in the input target area. This allows the employee of the newspaper dealer to efficiently conduct sales to conclude contracts.

[Software implementation example]
The functions of the call center terminal 3 (hereinafter referred to as the "device") are programs for making a computer function as the device, and can be realized by a program for making a computer function as each control block of the device (particularly, each unit included in the terminal-side control unit 31). The same is true for the first server 2 (hereinafter referred to as the "device" like the call center terminal 3). The functions can be realized by a program for making a computer function as each control block of the device (particularly, each unit included in the server-side control unit 21).

In this case, the device includes a computer having at least one control device (e.g., a processor) and at least one storage device (e.g., a memory) as hardware for executing the program. The functions described in the above embodiment are realized by executing the program using the control device and storage device.

The program may be recorded on one or more computer-readable recording media, not on a temporary basis. The recording media may or may not be included in the device. In the latter case, the program may be provided to the device via any wired or wireless transmission medium.

In addition, some or all of the functions of each of the above control blocks can be realized by a logic circuit. For example, an integrated circuit in which a logic circuit that functions as each of the above control blocks is formed is also included in the scope of the present invention. In addition, it is also possible to realize the functions of each of the above control blocks by, for example, a quantum computer.

The processes described in each of the above embodiments may be executed by AI (Artificial Intelligence). In this case, the AI may run on the control device, or on another device (such as an edge computer or a cloud server).

[Additional Notes]
The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the claims. Embodiments obtained by appropriately combining the technical means disclosed in different embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

1. Advertiser Recruitment System (System)
2. First server (information providing device)
3. Call center terminal (information display device)
311 Code identification unit (identification unit)
312 Display control unit (presentation control unit)
313 Terminal side management unit 4 Dealer terminal (electronic terminal)
101 Information provision system

Claims (7)

a dealer code indicating a sales area in which a newspaper dealer can sell a paper newspaper is associated with information on the number of recipients indicating the number of recipients to which the additional information is provided through an information providing system that provides the user with an electronic newspaper and additional information provided together with the electronic newspaper, or that provides only the additional information;
an identification unit that, when it is being considered to provide the information providing system with target information that is the additional information to be provided, identifies the retailer code corresponding to the target area when an input of a target area in which the target information is to be provided through the information providing system is received;
a presentation control unit that presents the number of the destinations indicated by the destination number information associated with the retailer code identified by the identification unit,
The store code is set by a newspaper company for the newspaper store,
The additional information is associated with the store code,
The electronic newspaper is a newspaper in which the paper newspaper has been converted into electronic data,
The identification unit is configured to identify, from among the plurality of sales regions, a sales region that overlaps with the input target region, and to identify at least one of the retailer codes that indicates the sales region. The identification unit is
Dividing the input target region and a plurality of preset sales regions into preset minimum region divisions;
The information presentation device of claim 1, further comprising: a plurality of sales regions each having a predetermined area division that matches the smallest area division into which the target region is divided; and a plurality of sales regions each having a predetermined area division that matches the smallest area division into which the target region is divided, and at least one of the store codes indicating the sales region including the area division that matches the smallest area division into which the target region is divided is identified by comparing the smallest area division into which the target region is divided and the smallest area division into which each of the plurality of sales regions is divided. The store code is associated with browsing-related information related to browsing of the additional information provided,
The information presentation device according to claim 1 , wherein the presentation control unit presents the browsing related information associated with the store code identified by the identification unit. The information presentation device according to claim 3, wherein the viewing-related information is information indicating at least one of the number of views of the additional information provided, the number of purchases of products or services based on the views of the additional information provided, and the number of visits to a physical store by the user. The information presentation device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising a management unit that manages potential customer information relating to potential customers who have shown an interest in the provision of the target information in the target area in association with the dealer code identified by the identification unit. The information presentation device according to claim 5 ;
The system includes an information providing device that provides the potential customer information to an electronic terminal used by a newspaper dealer corresponding to the dealer code associated with the potential customer information received from the information presentation device. An information presentation method executed in an information presentation device, comprising:
a dealer code indicating a sales area in which a newspaper dealer can sell a paper newspaper is associated with information on the number of recipients indicating the number of recipients to which the additional information is provided through an information providing system that provides the user with an electronic newspaper and additional information provided together with the electronic newspaper, or that provides only the additional information;
a specifying step of, when a specifying unit included in the information presentation device receives an input of a target area in which the target information is to be provided through the information provision system when it is being considered to provide the target information to the information provision system as the additional provision information, specifying the retailer code corresponding to the target area;
a presentation step of a presentation control unit included in the information presentation device presenting the number of the destinations indicated by the destination number information associated with the retailer code identified in the identification step,
The store code is set by a newspaper company for the newspaper store,
The additional information is associated with the store code,
The electronic newspaper is a newspaper in which the paper newspaper has been converted into electronic data,
In the identifying step, a sales area that overlaps with the input target area is identified from among the plurality of sales areas, and at least one retailer code indicating the sales area is identified.

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