Sales support server, sales support system, sales support method, and sales support program

Abstract

To provide a sales support system that reduces the workload of sales representatives and improves the efficiency of sales activities. [Solution] The present invention provides a sales support server SS of this system which comprises: an acquisition unit that acquires company information, recipient information, and destination information; a generation unit that uses the acquired information as input to cause a generation AI to generate sales content; an evaluation unit that evaluates whether the generated sales content is based on company information and whether it can be of interest to the recipient based on the recipient's attribute information; a transmission unit that transmits the generated sales content according to the destination information; and a management unit that manages the recipient's response to the transmitted sales content.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a sales support server, a sales support system, a sales support method, and a sales support program.

Background Art

[0002] In recent years, there has been a demand for improving the efficiency of sales activities in companies. Conventionally, salespersons have spent a great deal of time and effort in order to understand the customer's business, attributes, and issues, and to appropriately propose the company's products and solutions. However, this work is very time-consuming and is a factor that reduces the productivity of salespersons. Therefore, the development of a system for supporting sales activities is desired.

[0003] Patent Document 1 discloses a system that acquires the customer's behavior log on a website, associates it with company information, and utilizes it for sales proposals.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] However, the system disclosed in Patent Document 1 depends on a limited information source, the customer's behavior log, and the realization of sales support utilizing a wider range of customer information is desired.

[0006] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a sales support system that can reduce the workload of salespersons and improve the efficiency of sales activities.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0007] According to the present invention, Acquisition unit that acquires company information, recipient information, and destination information. The generation unit, which inputs each acquired piece of information, causes the generation AI to generate sales content. A transmission unit that transmits the generated commercial content according to the destination information. Sales support server This can be obtained. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the present invention, appropriate sales content tailored to the customer's business, attributes, and challenges is automatically generated and provided to sales representatives, and also transmitted to customers, thereby significantly reducing the time and effort required for sales activities.

[0009] Furthermore, according to the present invention, by generating appropriate sales content tailored to customer attributes and challenges, it becomes possible to conduct detailed sales activities that meet customer needs. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0010] [Figure 1] This figure shows an example configuration of a sales support system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] This figure shows an example configuration of a sales support server according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] This figure shows an example of sales content generated by a sales support server according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] This figure shows another example of sales content generated by a sales support server according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 5] This is a sequence diagram showing the processing flow of a sales support server according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0011] The embodiments of the present invention will be described by listing them. The present invention has the following configuration. [Item 1] An acquisition unit that acquires company information, recipient information, and destination information, A generation unit that causes a generation AI to generate business content by inputting each of the acquired information, A transmission unit that transmits the generated business content according to the destination information, A business support server comprising the above. [Item 2] The business support server according to Item 1, wherein the generation unit inputs the company information and; the recipient information and; product information and; thereby causing the generation AI to generate the business content including information regarding the product information corresponding to the recipient, a business support server. [Item 3] The business support server according to Claim 2, wherein the generation unit inputs company-related information including at least any one of the issues, interests, and business contents of the company extracted from the company information, thereby causing the generation AI to generate the business content by associating the company-related information with the product information, a business support server. [Item 4] The business support server according to Claim 2, wherein the generation unit inputs the attribute information of the recipient extracted from the recipient information, thereby causing the generation AI to generate the business content based on the attribute information, a business support server. [Item 5] The business support server according to Claim 2, wherein the generation unit inputs the outbound information of the recipient extracted from the recipient information, thereby causing the generation AI to generate the business content based on the outbound information, a business support server. [Item 6] The business support server according to Item 2, The generation AI further includes an evaluation unit that causes it to evaluate whether the generated sales content is based on the company information and whether it can be made interesting to the recipient based on their attribute information. Sales support server. [Item 7] The sales support server described in item 2, The system further includes a management unit for managing the recipient's response to the transmitted commercial content. Sales support server. [Item 8] A sales support system comprising a user terminal and a sales support server, The aforementioned sales support server: Obtain company information, recipient information, and destination information; By inputting each piece of acquired information, the AI ​​generates sales content; The generated commercial content is transmitted according to the destination information; Sales support system. [Item 9] A sales support method that uses user terminals and a sales support server to support sales, The aforementioned sales support server: Steps to obtain company information, recipient information, and destination information; The step involves inputting the acquired information to have the AI ​​generate sales content; The step includes sending the generated commercial content according to the destination information; Sales support methods. [Item 10] Computers, Acquisition unit that acquires company information, recipient information, and destination information. The generation unit, which inputs each acquired piece of information, causes the generation AI to generate sales content. This unit functions as a transmission unit that transmits the generated commercial content according to the destination information. Sales support program.

[0012] <Details of the embodiment> Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0013] <System Overview> This invention relates to a system that supports sales activities in a company. As shown in Figure 1, the sales support system SY of this invention includes a user terminal UT and a sales support server SS. Users access the sales support server SS via the internet using the user terminal UT. The user terminal UT can be any device that can connect to the internet, such as a PC, smartphone, or tablet. The sales support server SS is connected to the internet and accepts communications and requests from the user terminal UT.

[0014] <Overview> As shown in Figure 2, the sales support server SS of this system comprises an acquisition unit that acquires company information, recipient information, and destination information; a generation unit that uses the acquired information as input to cause a Generative AI (hereinafter sometimes simply referred to as AI) to generate sales content; an evaluation unit that performs substantive evaluations in addition to formal evaluations, such as whether the generated sales content is based on company information, whether it can pique the interest of the recipient based on their attribute information, whether any errors are output, and whether there are any logical leaps from the information input to the Generative AI; a transmission unit that transmits the generated sales content according to the destination information; and a management unit that manages the recipient's response to the transmitted sales content.

[0015] In particular, this system significantly reduces the workload of sales representatives and improves the efficiency and sophistication of sales activities by automatically generating appropriate sales content tailored to the customer's business, attributes, and challenges.

[0016] Furthermore, this system includes an evaluation unit that performs substantive evaluations in addition to formal evaluations, such as whether the generated sales content is based on company information, whether it is relevant to the recipient's attributes, whether it outputs anything incorrect, and whether there are any logical leaps from the information input to the generating AI. This ensures the quality and format of the content and enhances the effectiveness of sales activities.

[0017] Furthermore, this system manages the recipient's response to the sent promotional content.

[0018] <Description of each functional part> <Acquisition part> The information collected by the acquisition unit in the sales support system of the present invention is mainly classified into three categories: company information, recipient information, and destination information.

[0019] Corporate information refers to information about the target company itself, including its business operations, products and services, strengths and unique characteristics, challenges and problems it faces, and its goals and strategies. The information acquisition department obtains this information from websites such as the company's corporate site and IR information, from internal databases and knowledge management systems, from data provided by sales and planning staff, and through interviews.

[0020] The recipient information consists of information about internal personnel within the target customer. This information is also linked to the individual's current or past titles, positions, and other affiliations. Furthermore, it may include general items such as the customer's industry, business type, size, budget, needs, interests, decision-making process, and decision-makers. The acquisition unit obtains this information in advance and also collects publicly available information from the recipient's social media accounts, allowing it to infer the recipient's attributes and interests from profile information, posts, and connections. It may also extract information such as business content, areas of expertise, and recent activities from the recipient's website or blog.

[0021] Recipient information refers to information about the recipients of sales content, and includes contact information for recipients (such as email addresses, contact forms, and social media accounts). The acquisition unit may obtain this information in list format from sales representatives and planning staff, collect it from marketing systems, or access websites related to sales targets (recipient information and recipient information) listed in the search results of web search engines to collect representative email addresses, departments, divisions, and individual contact information (including email addresses and social media accounts).

[0022] The acquisition unit may acquire this information, collect and update it periodically, and acquire the latest information in real time as needed.

[0023] <Generation part> In the sales support system of the present invention, the generation unit automatically generates sales content using AI. The generation unit receives company information, recipient information, and destination information provided by the acquisition unit as input, and generates sales content using the generation AI based on this information.

[0024] The main function of the generation unit is to analyze the information provided by the acquisition unit and generate optimal sales content tailored to the recipient's company information and attributes. For example, the generation unit extracts information about the company's challenges from the company information and attribute information of the recipient from the recipient information. By combining this information with separately prepared product information and inputting it into the generation AI, it generates sales content that addresses the challenges of the recipient's attributes.

[0025] The sales content according to this embodiment is in text form as email text (although it may also include attached slides, links to URLs containing sales content, etc.). However, for example, it may be provided through a chat or message conversation while understanding the recipient's response in real time, or it may be published as a blog post or advertorial to naturally stimulate interest in the product by matching the recipient's interests, or it may include visual information such as video content.

[0026] The generation unit of the present invention generates attractive sales content tailored to the recipient's company information, attributes, and challenges for specific products that have been prepared in advance.

[0027] In this function, information about the target product (not shown) is first provided to the generation unit. This product information includes the product's characteristics, advantages, and application examples. Specifically, by understanding the product's characteristics, information on what problems the product can solve and what value it can provide may be prepared and stored in a database or similar.

[0028] Furthermore, templates may be prepared for inputting product information into sales content (these templates themselves may be generated by AI). For example, several text templates may be prepared, such as a template that presents challenges common to the recipient's industry or occupation and proposes the product as a solution; a template that lists the main advantages and strengths of the product and emphasizes the benefits to the recipient; a template that introduces product implementation cases and appeals to success stories in situations similar to the recipient's; and a template that clearly shows the superiority of the company's product compared to those of competitors. Then, the generation unit may fill in specific content extracted from product information into these templates to efficiently generate personalized sales content tailored to the recipient. These templates may also be combined.

[0029] Next, the acquisition unit provides the generation unit with attribute information and issue information of the recipient. The attribute information of the recipient includes industry, size, business content, decision-making process, etc., while the issue information includes problems and concerns that the recipient is facing.

[0030] The generation unit combines this product information, company information, recipient attribute information, and problem information, and inputs it into the generation AI. The generation AI compares the characteristics and advantages of the given product with the recipient's attributes and problems, and generates sales content that explains how attractive and beneficial the product is to the recipient. Specifically, in addition to product information, company information, recipient attribute information, and problem information, the generation unit may also input industry trends, competitor information, and application examples into the generation AI. The generation AI analyzes this multifaceted information and generates optimal sales content tailored to the recipient's situation. For example, by comparing the product's characteristics with the recipient's industry trends, it can highlight how the product aligns with the latest industry trends. Also, by linking the recipient's problems with the product's advantages, it can clearly demonstrate what specific problems can be solved. Furthermore, by comparing it with similar products from competitors, the superiority of the company's product can be highlighted. In addition, by showing application examples from the recipient and competitors, you can persuasively communicate the actual effects of the product.

[0031] For example, if the product is a "cloud-based expense reimbursement system" and the recipient is a "small or medium-sized enterprise facing challenges in streamlining its accounting operations," the AI ​​can generate sales content like the following:

[0032] "For your company, which is facing challenges in streamlining accounting operations, implementing a cloud-based expense management system is a highly effective solution. With this system, employees can submit expense claims using their smartphones, and administrators can approve them with a single click. Receipt scanning is also automated, significantly reducing manual work for accounting staff. Furthermore, since all data is centrally managed in the cloud, expense visibility is also achieved. The user-friendly interface designed for small and medium-sized businesses and the affordable pricing are also major advantages of this system."

[0033] In this way, the generating AI combines the characteristics of the product, company information, and the attributes and challenges of the recipient to generate sales content that specifically explains how the product is valuable to the recipient's position and attributes. At this time, the generating AI is given prompts based on the knowledge of sales representatives (including knowledge of sales activities themselves based on sales ability and experience, as well as knowledge of the product itself and knowledge of its sales capabilities and experience). This allows the generating AI to propose a persuasive sales approach tailored to individual customers, while utilizing know-how cultivated in the sales field. Fine-tuned generating AI, RAG-based generating AI, or proprietary models may also be used. This function allows sales representatives to easily implement persuasive sales approaches tailored to individual customers. It is possible to generate content that appeals to the value of a product from various angles. For example, the benefits of the product can be presented from multiple perspectives, depending on the recipient's concerns, such as cost reduction, operational efficiency, and sales expansion. Furthermore, the generating AI can generate more persuasive content by taking into account industry-specific challenges and the trends of competitors. For example, by explaining the affinity between your company's products and new technologies and trends that are attracting attention in the recipient's industry, you can highlight the innovativeness and future potential of your products. This allows for a customer-specific approach, even for the same product.

[0034] As explained above, the sales content generated by the generation unit is not merely a uniform sales message, but is personalized according to the attributes of the recipient and the company (department, division) to which the recipient belongs. For example, if attribute information of a customer reveals that the customer is interested in adopting new technology, the generation unit will generate content recommending products that utilize new technology for that customer. This kind of personalization is expected to significantly improve the effectiveness of sales content.

[0035] <Generating sales content tailored to corporate challenges> Refer to Figure 3 to see examples of specific sales content for companies A, B, and C, each with different business challenges.

[0036] The sales content for Company A was generated for companies that have identified a corporate challenge: their expense claim process is paper-based, which is time-consuming for both applicants and the accounting department. It emphasizes how the introduction of a cloud-based system will reduce manual work and improve operational efficiency.

[0037] The sales content for Company B was created for companies facing challenges such as lengthy expense reimbursement processes and a heavy workload for their accounting departments. It proposes streamlining accounting operations through workflow automation using a cloud-based system and centralized management of expense data.

[0038] The sales content for Company C was created for companies that have compliance issues due to insufficient verification of the appropriateness of expenses. It explains how inappropriate expense claims can be prevented through automated checks of application content using a cloud-based system and a simplified approval process. It also emphasizes how expense management can be optimized through the analysis of expense data.

[0039] <Personalization based on the recipient's attributes> Referring to Figure 4, examples of specific sales content for a "cloud-based expense management system" product are shown for different target groups (the CEO and general employees), even within the same company. The differences in these sales contents take into account the differing interests and decision-making roles of each position.

[0040] In other words, CEOs generally tend to prioritize value that leads to the resolution of management challenges, such as improving operational efficiency and accelerating decision-making, from a holistic management perspective. Therefore, content aimed at CEOs emphasizes the impact that streamlining accounting operations has on improving the overall performance of the organization, and places importance on value such as the visualization of information that contributes to management decisions.

[0041] On the other hand, regular employees often face challenges related to time and effort in their daily work. Therefore, content aimed at regular employees emphasizes operational value, such as how to simplify expense claim procedures and how this will allow them to concentrate more on their core tasks.

[0042] Furthermore, the appropriate recipient may be identified based on the user of the product. For example, in the case of a product related to automated software testing, the recipient's position may be set to CTO (Chief Technology Officer), or in the case of a product related to management SaaS, the recipient may be set to COO (Chief Operating Officer). In this case, a prompt should be used to identify the appropriate recipient from the perspective of what role and responsibility the product should be sent to, based on the content of the product information, or it may be estimated by performing scoring or similar methods.

[0043] As described above, the generation unit of the present invention can generate sales content that appeals to both management-oriented values, such as solving management challenges, and operational-oriented values, such as improving work efficiency, depending on the position of the recipient. This enables an approach that matches the interests of each decision-maker, thereby increasing the probability of success in sales activities.

[0044] <Evaluation Department> In the sales support system of the present invention, the evaluation unit uses generation AI to evaluate the quality of sales content generated by the generation unit. The evaluation unit comprehensively analyzes the sales content provided by the generation unit in comparison with company information and recipient information obtained from the acquisition unit, and determines the suitability and effectiveness of the content.

[0045] One of the main functions of the evaluation department is to verify whether sales content is based on company information provided by the acquisition department. Specifically, they scrutinize whether the company's challenges and goals mentioned in the content are consistent with the company information collected by the acquisition department. This allows them to determine whether the sales content is relevant to the actual situation of the target company.

[0046] Another important function is to evaluate whether sales content is relevant to the recipient's attributes and can capture their interest. The evaluation unit analyzes the recipient's attributes, such as their job title, position, and interests, and determines whether the content and its expression are appropriate. For example, content emphasizing the technical advantages of the product might be deemed suitable for a recipient with a technical background.

[0047] The evaluation department also assesses the quality of written expression in sales content. They determine whether appropriate grammar and vocabulary are used, and whether the sentence structure is easy to read and understand, and provide suggestions for improvement as needed. This ensures that the quality of sales content remains above a certain standard.

[0048] The evaluation department automatically performs evaluations using generation AI. The generation AI integrated into the evaluation department can analyze large amounts of sales content in a short time and generate evaluation results. This automation significantly reduces the amount of time sales representatives have to manually check the content. Furthermore, if necessary, a mix of automated processing using generation AI and processing that encourages human review may be used.

[0049] The evaluation results output from the evaluation unit may be fed back to the generation unit. The generation unit then uses the evaluation results to improve and optimize the sales content. Through this entire cycle, the system can consistently generate higher quality and more effective sales content.

[0050] <Transmission section> In the sales support system of the present invention, the transmission unit is a functional block for distributing sales content generated by the generation unit to appropriate destinations. The transmission unit receives destination information obtained from the acquisition unit and sales content provided by the generation unit, and combines these to perform optimal distribution.

[0051] The primary function of the sending unit is to determine the recipient, timing, and channel for sending sales content based on recipient information. This recipient information includes customer contact details (such as email addresses, social media accounts, and contact forms), preferred contact methods, and past response history. The sending unit analyzes this information to select the most effective recipients and channels. For example, sales content will be sent via email to customers who prefer email communication, and via social media to customers who prefer social media interaction.

[0052] Furthermore, the sending unit analyzes the response history of existing customers to determine the optimal sending timing. By identifying the days and times when customers are most likely to respond to sales messages based on past interactions, and sending messages at those times, it is possible to increase the open rate and response rate of sales content.

[0053] The transmission unit also has the capability to distribute large amounts of sales content simultaneously. When it is necessary to conduct sales activities with many customers at the same time, the transmission unit can divide the customer list and distribute the content in stages, thereby distributing the load on the system. In addition, it has functions to ensure the reliability of delivery, such as automatically resending in the event of a delivery error.

[0054] <Management Department> The management department has the function of tracking and analyzing customer responses after distribution. It collects information such as whether customers opened sales content, downloaded attachments, or clicked links (hereinafter referred to as feedback information) and uses it to measure the effectiveness of sales activities. This information is fed back to the acquisition department and used to optimize the generation of the next sales content and distribution strategy. The feedback information may be processed, edited, or optimized by a person before being entered into the acquisition department.

[0055] <Processing flow> The flow of this system will be explained with reference to Figure 5. First, company information is transmitted from the user terminal UT to the acquisition unit (SQ001). Note that company information may be automatically acquired from a database linked to this system. Based on the company information, the acquisition unit acquires information about the sender and the recipient (SQ002). Note that if the necessary company information is insufficient, additional company information may be acquired from other information sources (website, IR information, etc.). The acquisition unit transfers the company information, sender information, and recipient information (including the additional information acquired above) to the generation unit (SQ003). The generation unit inputs product information, sender attribute information, and problem information, as well as industry trends, competitor information, and application examples, into the generation AI (SQ004). The generation AI analyzes this multifaceted information and processes it to generate optimal sales content tailored to the sender's situation (SQ005). The generated content is sent to the evaluation unit (SQ006) for evaluation (SQ007). If the evaluation determines that the content is appropriate, the evaluation unit sends the completed content to the transmission unit (SQ008). On the other hand, if the content is deemed inappropriate, the evaluation unit sends a regeneration request to the generation unit, and the content generation process is executed again (not shown).

[0056] <Variation> The corporate information in this invention includes various information about the target company, and may also include information resulting from the company's activities.

[0057] For example, the job titles in job postings can reveal a company's business operations and areas it wants to strengthen. The job description for each position often reflects the company's awareness of the challenges it faces.

[0058] Furthermore, it is possible to analyze a company's interests and concerns based on the behavioral history of its employees. For example, by analyzing the access logs of websites accessed by company staff from the internal network, it is possible to identify the information that the company is currently interested in, revealing the concerns of its daily operations. Search terms such as "accounting efficiency" and "inventory management system" can be used to estimate the challenges the company is facing.

[0059] Generally, an IP address allows for the estimation of a rough geographical location, making it possible to identify popular search terms in a particular region. For example, suppose the search term "artificial intelligence sales support tool" is frequently searched from IP addresses of companies in Tokyo. In this case, it would be effective to propose the introduction of an AI-powered sales support system to the sales department in Tokyo. By focusing sales efforts on areas with high search frequency, it becomes possible to efficiently promote products that meet customer needs. Furthermore, it is also possible to identify companies by determining whois information from IP addresses, or to utilize databases that associate IP addresses with companies.

[0060] As described above, corporate information includes not only the business content and management status of a company, but also deeper information such as its awareness of challenges and interests. This invention utilizes the collection and analysis of this corporate information to generate sales content.

[0061] <Example Hardware Configuration> Each of the functional blocks described above can be configured using hardware, a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), or software, for example, provided in a server device (terminal device). For example, when configured using software, each functional block is actually configured using a computer's CPU, RAM, ROM, etc., and is realized by the operation of programs stored on recording media such as RAM, ROM, hard disk, or semiconductor memory.

[0062] The embodiments described above are merely illustrative to facilitate understanding of the present invention and are not intended to limit its interpretation. The present invention can be modified and improved without departing from its spirit, and it goes without saying that the present invention includes equivalents thereof. [Explanation of symbols]

[0063] UT User Terminal SS Sales Support Server

Claims

1. Acquisition unit that acquires company information, recipient information, and destination information. The generation unit generates sales content by inputting the acquired information into the generation AI. A transmission unit that transmits the generated commercial content according to the destination information. A sales support server is provided.

2. A sales support server according to claim 1, The generating unit is The aforementioned company information and; The aforementioned recipient information and; Product information and; By inputting this information, the generating AI is made to generate the sales content, which includes information related to the product information corresponding to the recipient of the transmission. Sales support server.

3. A sales support server according to claim 2, The generation unit inputs company-related information, including at least one of the company's challenges, interests, and business activities extracted from the company information, to cause the generation AI to generate the sales content by associating the company-related information with the product information. Sales support server.

4. A sales support server according to claim 2, The generation unit inputs attribute information of the recipient extracted from the recipient information, thereby causing the generation AI to generate the sales content based on the attribute information. Sales support server.

5. A sales support server according to claim 2, The generation unit inputs the external outgoing information of the recipient extracted from the recipient information, thereby causing the generation AI to generate the commercial content based on the external outgoing information. Sales support server.

6. A sales support server according to claim 2, The generation AI further includes an evaluation unit that causes it to evaluate whether the generated sales content is based on the company information, or whether it can be made interesting to the recipient based on their attribute information. Sales support server.

7. A sales support server according to claim 2, The system further includes a management unit for managing the recipient's response to the transmitted commercial content. Sales support server.

8. A sales support system comprising a user terminal and a sales support server, The aforementioned sales support server: Obtain company information, recipient information, and destination information; By inputting the acquired information, the AI ​​generates sales content; The generated commercial content is transmitted according to the destination information; Sales support system.

9. A sales support method that uses user terminals and a sales support server to support sales, The aforementioned sales support server: Steps to obtain company information, recipient information, and destination information; The step involves inputting the acquired information to have the AI ​​generate sales content; The step of sending the generated commercial content according to the destination information; Sales support methods.

10. Computers, Acquisition unit that acquires company information, recipient information, and destination information. The generation unit generates sales content by inputting the acquired information into the generation AI. This unit functions as a transmission unit that transmits the generated commercial content according to the destination information. Sales support program.

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