Abstract:
The present invention provides an information decision apparatus including the following parts: A target transactor finding part finds target transactors in accordance with promoting product information so as to focus only on potential transactors who may be interested in buying the promoting product; A transaction tendencies analyzing part analyzes transactor&#39;s tendencies based on a transactor&#39;s purchasing history for each of the target transactors so as to examine purchasing trends of the target transactors; An information decision part decides on appropriate information that fits the transactor&#39;s tendencies analyzed by the transaction tendencies analyzing part so as to produce an attractive information corresponding to each target transactor.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    The present invention generally relates to information decision apparatuses, methods thereof and recording media thereof for making decisions based on information, and more particularly to an information decision apparatus, a method thereof and a recording medium thereof for analyzing a customer&#39;s purchasing tendencies from the customer&#39;s purchasing history and making a decision to offer suitable products to the customer. 
         [0003]    Recently, especially in the computer industry, new products have been developed quickly in a short term. Thus, the product cycle of the computer becomes shorter. Accordingly, a demand cycle to replace computers becomes a short-term cycle. Generally, customers decide when and with which computer they should replace their current computers. However, it is difficult for a customer to choose a most appropriate computer from a huge computer market in which computer products change quickly. Therefore, to help a customer make a decision, it is preferable to inform the customer of appropriate information of new products that fit the customer&#39;s purchasing tendencies. In addition, instead of handling customers&#39; old computers as industrial waste, it is preferable to recycle those used computers that can be still used as products. 
         [0004]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0005]    In a conventional distribution system, direct mail to promote new product information is sent to customers who purchased products before. Even in the computer industry, direct mail is used as a sales promotion. Generally, direct mail is sent to all customers every time when new products are announced publicly. 
         [0006]    On the other hand, old products replaced with new products are collected by manufacturers that produce those new products or by organizations listed in magazines or the like who recycle the collected used products. 
         [0007]    However, the conventional distribution system has the following disadvantages: 
         [0008]    The direct mail including new product information (or new service information) often does not focus on a customer&#39;s interest. The information in the direct mail may be useless for the customers and thus the customers do not respond to the direct mail. Therefore, the sales promotion for new products by the direct mail is not effective. Although there are information providers providing selected information for customers, the customers&#39; voluntary queries to the information providers are required. Therefore, the direct mail can not achieve effective sales promotion. 
         [0009]    In addition, it costs to dispose of unwanted products replaced with new products. Also, computer waste is an industrial waste. It is preferable to utilize limited resources effectively; that is, it is desired to recycle unwanted products resulting from the replacement. However, it is quite difficult to maintain used computer businesses because old models of computers tend to dramatically decrease in price in a short term. Thus, computer manufacturers have some responsibility to manage this problem related to computer waste disposal. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0010]    It is a general object of the present invention to provide an information decision apparatus, a method thereof and a recording medium thereof for making decisions based on information in which the above-mentioned problems are eliminated. 
         [0011]    A more specific object of the present invention is to provide an information decision apparatus, a method thereof and a recording medium thereof for analyzing a customer&#39;s purchasing tendencies from the customer&#39;s purchase history information; finding only potential customers who may replace their current computers with new computer models; and making a decision to offer suitable products to the customers. 
         [0012]    Another object of the present invention is to provide an information decision apparatus, a method thereof and a recording medium thereof for maintaining information of collected used computers and finding potential customers, who may purchase the used computers, from a customer information database including the customer&#39;s purchasing tendencies. 
         [0013]    The above objects of the present invention are achieved by an information decision apparatus including: a transaction tendencies analyzing part for analyzing transactor&#39;s tendencies based on a transactor&#39;s transaction history; and an information decision part for deciding on appropriate information that fits the transactor&#39;s tendencies analyzed by the transaction tendencies analyzing part. 
         [0014]    According to the present invention, the decided-on appropriate information fits the customer&#39;s needs so as to attract the customer effectively. 
         [0015]    The above objects of the present invention are achieved by an information decision apparatus including: a target transactor finding part for finding target transactor in accordance with information of at least one promoting product; a transaction tendencies analyzing part for analyzing transactor&#39;s tendencies based on a transactor&#39;s transaction history for each of the target transactors; and an information decision part for deciding on appropriate information that fits the transactor&#39;s tendencies analyzed by the transaction tendencies analyzing part. 
         [0016]    According to the present invention, it is possible to focus only on potential customers who may be interested in buying the promoting product. Further, transactor&#39;s tendencies based on a customer&#39;s purchasing history can be examined for each of the target customers. Furthermore, the decided-on appropriate information, which fits the analyzed transactor&#39;s tendencies, can be included in attractive information corresponding to each target customer. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
         [0017]    Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
           [0018]      FIG. 1  shows a diagram illustrating a system configuration according to the embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0019]      FIG. 2  shows a diagram illustrating a hardware construction according to the embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0020]      FIG. 3  shows a diagram illustrating a customer table according to the embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0021]      FIG. 4A  shows a diagram illustrating a product type conversion table according to the embodiment of the present invention and  FIG. 4B  shows a diagram illustrating a product rank conversion table according to the embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0022]      FIG. 5  shows a diagram illustrating a product introduction sentence table according to the embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0023]      FIG. 6  shows a diagram illustrating the product information DB according to the embodiment of the present information; 
           [0024]      FIG. 7  shows a flowchart diagram showing a broad structure of the sales support program according to the embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0025]      FIG. 8  shows a flowchart diagram for explaining a process to retrieve potential products that are to be replaced, according to the embodiment of the present invention; and 
           [0026]      FIG. 9  shows a flowchart diagram for explaining how a customer&#39;s purchasing trend is analyzed, according to the embodiment of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       [0027]    A description will now be given of an embodiment of the present invention. 
         [0028]      FIG. 1  shows a diagram illustrating a system configuration according to the embodiment of the present invention. 
         [0029]    In this embodiment, it is assumed that the present invention is applied to a case of a personal computer business. 
         [0030]    A sales support apparatus  100  corresponding to the information decision apparatus according to the embodiment includes a customer entry part  1 , a product information output part  2 , an information processor unit  3 , a recording medium  4  and a product information database (DB)  5 . 
         [0031]    The information processor unit  3  controls all of the customer entry part  1 , product information output part  2 , recording medium  4 , and product information DB  5  and executes a sales support program (described later) for finding only potential customers, choosing an appropriate new product or collected used product that fits the customer&#39;s purchasing trend, and outputting the appropriate product information to promote sale of the product. 
         [0032]    Personal information from a user entry card coming with a personal computer (hereinafter called a PC), which card a customer sends to a computer manufacturer, is inputted from the customer entry part  1  and saved into the recording medium  4 . 
         [0033]    After the sales support program is executed, appropriate product information is generated based on the aforementioned personal information and is outputted from the product information output part  2 . 
         [0034]    Tables created, maintained and referred to by the sales support program are stored in the recording medium  4 . 
         [0035]    The product information DB  5  keeps information on all products and is referred to by the sales support program. The product information DB  5  may be timely maintained by another section and may be connected to the sales support apparatus through networks. 
         [0036]      FIG. 2  shows a diagram illustrating a hardware construction according to the embodiment of the present invention. 
         [0037]    As shown in  FIG. 2 , the sales support apparatus  100  is constructed with a CPU  11  to execute the sales support program, a RAM  12  to temporarily save the sales support program and needed data, a ROM  13  into which the program is loaded, a HDD  20  and a FD  21  to store necessary tables, a printer  14  to print out selected product information, a modem  15  to fax or e-mail customers the selected product information, a LAN  16  for remote operators to use the sales support system or to refer to the product information DB  5 , a mouse  17  and a keyboard  18  to operate the sales support program or to input needed information, a CRT  19  to display information generated by the sales support program and to perform as an interface between operators and the same program, and a CD-ROM  22  where the program is stored. Of course, the medium storing the sales support program is not limited to the HDD  20 , the FD  21  or the CD-ROM  22 , but other computer readable recording media may be used. 
         [0038]    The tables in the recording medium  4  in  FIG. 1  will now be explained with reference to  FIGS. 3 ,  4 A,  4 B and  5 . 
         [0039]      FIG. 3  shows a diagram illustrating a customer table according to the embodiment of the present invention. 
         [0040]      FIG. 4A  shows a diagram illustrating a product type conversion table according to the embodiment of the present invention and  FIG. 4B  shows a diagram illustrating a product rank conversion table according to the embodiment of the present invention. 
         [0041]      FIG. 5  shows a diagram illustrating a product introduction sentence table according to the embodiment of the present invention. 
         [0042]    Referring to  FIGS. 3 ,  4 A,  4 B and  5 , the recording medium  4  includes the customer table  4   a , the product type conversion table  4   b , the product rank conversion table  4   c , and the product introduction sentence table  4   d . One record for one customer in the customer table  4   a  is shown in  FIG. 3 . One record has two areas, a personal area  30  and a purchased product information area  40 . In a case of a plurality of customers, the customer table  4   a  has the same number of records as the number of customers. 
         [0043]    The personal information area  30  is used to store a user ID  31 - 1 , an address  31 - 2 , a name  31 - 3 , a phone number  31 - 4 , a gender  31 - 5 , an occupation  31 - 6 , a purchased date  31 - 7  and so on. 
         [0044]    The purchased product information area  40  is used to store a product ID  41 - 1 , a product name  41 - 2 , a product type  41 - 3 , a product rank  41 - 4 , a price  41 - 5 , a specification  41 - 6  and so on. 
         [0045]    Referring to  FIG. 4A , the product type conversion table  4   b  has a product type  50  and a customer&#39;s purchasing trend  52 . 
         [0046]    The product type  50  includes a plurality of types: desktop  51 - 1 , middle tower  51 - 2 , notebook  51 - 3 , thin type notebook  51 - 4 , sub-notebook  51 - 5  and so on. 
         [0047]    The customer&#39;s purchasing trend  52  includes a plurality of customer&#39;s purchasing trends: balance  53 - 1 , performance and extendibility  53 - 2 , space saving and performance  53 - 3 , portability and user friendliness  53 - 4 , portability  53 - 5  and so on. 
         [0048]    A product type is converted into a customer&#39;s purchasing trend as follows: the desktop  51 - 1 , the middle tower  51 - 2 , the notebook  51 - 3 , the thin type notebook  51 - 4 , and the sub-notebook  51 - 5  are converted into the balance  53 - 1 , the performance and extendibility  53 - 2 , the space saving and performance  53 - 3 , the portability and user friendliness  53 - 4 , and the portability  53 - 5 , respectively, in accordance with this order. 
         [0049]    Referring to  FIG. 4B , the product rank conversion table  4   c  has a product rank  60  and a customer&#39;s purchasing trend  62 . 
         [0050]    The product rank  60  includes a plurality of product ranks: high-end  61 - 1 , standard  61 - 2 , entry  61 - 3 , customized  61 - 4  and so on. 
         [0051]    The customer&#39;s purchasing trend  62  includes a plurality of customer&#39;s purchasing trends: performance  63 - 1 , balance  63 - 2 , price  63 - 3 , purpose  64 - 4  and so on. 
         [0052]    A product rank is converted into a customer&#39;s purchasing trend as follows: the high-end  61 - 1 , the standard  61 - 2 , the entry  61 - 3 , and the customized  61 - 4  are converted into the performance  63 - 1 , the balance  63 - 2 , the price  63 - 3 , the purpose  64 - 4 , respectively, in accordance with this order. 
         [0053]    In  FIG. 5 , trend items of the customer&#39;s purchasing trend  52  derived from the product types are arranged in the first column and trend items of the customer&#39;s purchasing trend  62  derived from the product ranks are arranged in the first row of the product introduction sentence table  4   d . Then a combination of two kinds of trend items indicates an identical product introduction sentence. For example, when the customer&#39;s purchasing trend  52  shows “extendibility” and the customer&#39;s purchasing trend  62  shows “performance”, this combination indicates “introduction  23 ”. Thus, this “introduction  23 ” is included into direct mail. 
         [0054]    The product information DB  5  will now be explained. 
         [0055]      FIG. 6  shows a diagram illustrating the product information DB  5  according to the embodiment of the present information. 
         [0056]    Referring to  FIG. 6 , one record as a product detail  70  consists of a product ID  71 - 1 , a product name  71 - 2 , a product type  71 - 3 , a product rank  71 - 4 , a price  71 - 5 , a specification  71 - 6  and so on. The product information DB  5  manages a plurality of product details  70 . The product information DB  5  is referred to due to find products to be offered for replacement demand. 
         [0057]    The sales support program will now be explained. 
         [0058]    A method for finding customers who purchased products to be replaced with new products and choosing product introduction sentences in  FIG. 5  will be explained. 
         [0059]    First, a customer&#39;s personal information including name, address, phone number, and product ID is inputted from the customer entry part  1  when a PC manufacturer receives the user entry card from the customer. The inputted personal information is stored by the information processor unit in accordance with the structure of the personal information area in the customer table  4   a . Subsequently, necessary product information is retrieved by the product ID from the product information DB  5  and is stored into the customer table  4   a  in accordance with the structure of the purchased product information area  40 . In the purchased product information area  40 , it is assumed that the product type  41 - 3  may have data including a hardware type and a software installation method. The hardware type may indicate desktop, tower, notebook or the like. The software installation method may indicate pre-installed standard software, additional software, customized software or the like. It is also assumed that the product rank  41 - 4  may include data including a price or a performance rank. The performance rank may indicate high-end, standard, entry, customized or the like. 
         [0060]      FIG. 7  shows a flowchart diagram showing a broad structure of the sales support program according to the embodiment of the present invention. The sales support program includes a step S 1  to retrieve products to be replaced, a step S 40  to judge the value of the retrieved products, a step S 5  to provide the products to schools or the public sector, a step S 10  to check the success in retrieving products, a step  32  to find customers who have previously purchased the retrieved products, a step S 20  to check the success in finding customers, a step S 3  to analyze the customer&#39;s purchasing trend, a step S 30  to check the success in analyzing, and a step S 4  to create a direct mail including product introductions. 
         [0061]    To find customers who may replace their old PC, information on the potential PCs to be replaced are retrieved from the product information DB. Then, the product IDs or names of the potentially replaced PCs are obtained in the step S 1 . 
         [0062]    Each of the potentially replaced PCs retrieved in the step S 1  is judged as to whether its value is high enough to pay the cost of sales in the step S 40 . That is, when the PC is unmarketable, the step S 5  is performed to provide the PC to a school or the public sector. 
         [0063]    In the step S 5 , the information of the unmarketable PC is recorded and managed for providing the PC to a school to the public sector. 
         [0064]    On the other hand, when the PC has market value, it is checked if the product IDs or names of the PCs are obtained successfully in the step S 10 . When the result of the checking is negative, the process is terminated. That is, there are no potential replaced PCs at this time. When the result is successful, the process performs the next step S 2 . 
         [0065]    By searching for the product IDs or names of the products retrieved in the step S 1 , information of corresponding customers is selected from the customer table  4   a  in  FIG. 3  in the step S 2 . Moreover to retrieve potential customers who may replace their PCs, the purchased date  31 - 7  of each selected customer is considered in the step S 2 . That is, when the purchased date  31 - 7  is 6 months or more than one year before the present date, the selected customer can be a potential customer. Then the customer&#39;s information is retrieved. Otherwise, the selected customer is not regarded as a potential customer. 
         [0066]    In the step S 20 , it is checked whether the potential customers are found. When the result of the checking is negative, the process is terminated. That is, there is no potential customer at this time. When the result is successful, the process performs the next step S 3 . 
         [0067]    From information of the potential customers, the purchasing trend of each potential customer is analyzed in accordance with the product type  41 - 3  and the product rank  41 - 4  in the customer table  4   a  in the step S 3 . That is, by using the product type conversion table  4   b , the customer&#39;s purchasing trend  52  is obtained by converting the value of the product type  41 - 3 . In addition, by using the product rank conversion table  4   c , the customer&#39;s purchasing trend  62  is obtained by converting the value of the product rank  41 - 4 . After analyzing the customer&#39;s purchasing trends, the combination of the analyzed customer&#39;s purchasing trends designates an identical product introduction sentence by using the product introduction sentence table  4   d . It should be noted that the product type  41 - 3  and the product rank  41 - 4  might have a few different values. 
         [0068]    In the step S 30 , it is checked whether two customer&#39;s purchasing trends are analyzed successfully. When the result of the checking is negative, the process is terminated. When the result is successful, the process performs the next step S 4 . 
         [0069]    Accordingly, direct mail is composed with the designated introduction sentence for the potential customer in the step S 4 . It should be noted that a few different introduction sentences might be designated in the case in which the product type  41 - 3  or the product rank  41 - 4  has a few different values. Moreover, instead of composing direct mail, e-mail may be composed with the designated introduction sentence and be timely sent to the potential customer via the Internet. 
         [0070]    The information designated in step S 3  is not limited to the product introduction sentence but may be any other information. 
         [0071]      FIG. 8  shows a flowchart diagram for explaining a process to retrieve potential products that are to be replaced, according to the embodiment of the present invention. 
         [0072]    In  FIG. 8 , the step S 1  includes a step S 100  to choose a process, a step S 100   a  to input information of a collected used product, a step S 110  to evaluate the collected used product, a step S 100   b  to input information of a new product, a step S 100   c  to determine a key to find products, a step S 101  to define product models for the replacement demand, a step S 102  to find products from the product information DB  5 , a step S 103  to check success in finding products, and a step S 104  to retrieve product IDs. It should be noted that the step S 1  has three sub-processes: a sub-process for a collected used product; a sub-process for the manufacturer&#39;s own product; and a sub-process for a competitor&#39;s product. 
         [0073]    One of the three sub-processes is selected by an operator in the step S 100 . When the sub-process for a collected used product is selected, the step S 100   a  is performed to input information of a collected used product. 
         [0074]    The inputted information of the collected used product by the operator is saved into the product information DB  5  in the step S 100   a.    
         [0075]    Subsequently, the collected used product is evaluated in the step S 110 . When the collected used product is a valued product, the step S 101  is performed to find products that can be replaced with the collected used product. When the collected used product has no value, the process to retrieve potential products is terminated with information of “NO VALUE”. 
         [0076]    When the sub-process for the manufacturer&#39;s own product is selected in the step S 100 , the step S 100   b  is performed to register a new product. The information of the new product is saved into the product information DB  5  in S 100   b . The sub-process for the manufacturer&#39;s own product may be selected especially when the manufacturer starts to promote its own new product. 
         [0077]    After the new product is registered, the step S 101  is performed to find products that can be replaced with the new product. 
         [0078]    In the step S 101 , product models are defined based on the information from the sub-process for a collected used product or the sub-process for the manufacturer&#39;s own product. That is, the product models that have lower performance than the used product or the new product are defined as find keys to find potential customers who may replace their PCs. 
         [0079]    When the sub-process for a competitor&#39;s product is selected in the step S 100 , the step S 100   c  is performed to find a product of the manufacturer that has lower performance than the competitor&#39;s product. That is, the manufacturer&#39;s own product may be replaced with the competitor&#39;s product. In addition, customers who have that manufacturer&#39;s own product can be targeted by the competitor. To avoid losing the manufacturer&#39;s own customers, this sub-process may be chosen and the step S 100   c  is performed especially when a competitor starts to promote its new product. 
         [0080]    In the step S 100   c , the operator determines a model of the manufacturer&#39;s own product that has lower performance than the competitor&#39;s product as a find key and inputs information of the manufacturer&#39;s own product: for example, OS&#39;s (Operation System) version and level of the manufacturer&#39;s own product. 
         [0081]    By using the find key, products that can be replaced are searched for and retrieved from the product information DB  5  in the step S 102 . 
         [0082]    In the step S 103 , it is checked whether the step S 102  found products successfully. When the step S 102  succeeds, product IDs or product names are retrieved in the step S 104 . When the step S 102  fails, the process is terminated. 
         [0083]    After product IDs or product names that can be replaced with the used product, the new product, or the competitors&#39; product are retrieved, the process (the step S 1 ) to retrieve potential products is terminated. Accordingly, this process can concentrate on the potential product that may be replaced. Especially in a case in which the manufacturer maintains many kinds of products, this process performs effectively. 
         [0084]      FIG. 9  shows a flowchart diagram for explaining how a customer&#39;s purchasing trend is analyzed, according to the embodiment of the present invention. 
         [0085]    Referring to  FIG. 9 , the step S 3  to analyze the customer&#39;s purchasing trend shown in  FIG. 7  includes a step S 301  to retrieve a product type, a step S 302  to convert the product type into the customer&#39;s purchasing trend  52 , a step S 303  to retrieve a product rank, a step S 304  to convert the product rank into the customer&#39;s purchasing trend  62 , a step S 305  to check a replacement with a new product, a step S 306  to check if the customer&#39;s purchasing trend  52  or  62  is the “price”, a step S 307  for an analysis failure, and a step S 308  to designate an introduction sentence by a combination of the customer&#39;s purchasing trends  52  and  62 . 
         [0086]    The step S 3  is performed when potential customers are retrieved successfully. From information of each potential customer selected from the customer table  4   a , the product type  41 - 3  is retrieved. It is assumed that a customer “A” is selected in the step S 2  and purchased a valuable PC with high-level functions, which PC is called a middle-tower-type high-end model. In this case, the product type  41 - 3  shows the “middle tower”. 
         [0087]    Subsequently, the “middle tower” that is the value of the product type  41 - 3  is converted into the customer&#39;s purchasing trend  52  by using the product type conversion table  4   b  in the step S 302 . That is, based on the aforementioned assumption, one of the items listed in the product type  50  is searched for, which item is equal to the product type  41 - 3  of the customer “A”. Accordingly, the middle tower  51 - 2  is selected and the performance and extendibility  53 - 2  is retrieved from the items listed in the customer&#39;s purchasing trend  52 . Thus, the customer “A” is analyzed from the product type as tending to require two values: “performance” and “extendibility”. 
         [0088]    The customer “A” is also analyzed from another view. It is supposed that the product rank  41 - 4  for the customer “A” shows “high-end”. In the step S 303 , the value of the product rank  41 - 4  is retrieved. 
         [0089]    Subsequently, “high-end”, which is the value of the product rank  41 - 4 , is converted into the customer&#39;s purchasing trend  62  by using the product type conversion table  4   c  in the step S 304 . That is, one of the items listed in the product rank  60  is searched for, which item is equal to the product rank  41 - 4  of the customer “A”. Accordingly, high-end  61 - 1  is selected and the performance  63 - 1  is retrieved from the items listed in the customer&#39;s purchasing trend  62 . Thus, the customer “A” is analyzed from the product rank as tending to require the value, “performance”. 
         [0090]    In the step S 305 , it is checked whether the sub-process for the manufacturer&#39;s own product or for the competitor&#39;s product is chosen in the step S 100  as shown in  FIG. 8 . When the process is for a new product, the step S 306  is performed to designate an introduction sentence. When the sub-process for a collected used product is chosen in the step S 100 , the step S 306  is performed to check whether the customer emphasizes a price. 
         [0091]    In a case in which customers tend to emphasize the product price, the customers are likely to purchase used products that perform better than their PCs. Thus, when the sub-process for a collected used product is chosen, potential customers are retrieved from all customers who purchased retrieved products in the step S 2  as shown in  FIG. 7  in a condition in which the customer&#39;s purchasing trend  52  or  62  indicates the “price” in the step S 306 . When the potential customers are retrieved successfully, the step S 308  is performed. When there is no potential customer for the collected used product, the step S 307  is performed. 
         [0092]    For each potential customer, at least one introduction sentence is designated by a combination of the customer&#39;s purchasing trends  52  and  62  from the product introduction sentence table  4   d  in  FIG. 5 . In the case of the customer “A”, from the customer&#39;s purchasing trends  52  and  62 , one combination of the performance row and the performance column designates the introduction  22  and another combination of the extendibility row and the performance column designates the introduction  23  with reference to  FIG. 5 . For this customer “A”, two introduction sentences are indicated. Accordingly, the two designated introduction sentences are included in direct mail. 
         [0093]    Therefore, direct mail is not limited to including only one introduction sentence but may include a plurality of introduction sentences in accordance with the customer&#39;s purchasing trends  52  and  62  in the step S 3 . Furthermore, more than just one the product type and the product rank is applied to analyze customer&#39;s purchasing trends. The other information or combinations of many kinds of information related to a customer or product may be applied to analyze effectively. Moreover, this process can make suitable and more attractive product introduction sentences corresponding to each of potential customers, which suitability and attractiveness help the sales promotion effectively. 
         [0094]    As mentioned above, the present invention can provide appropriate and timely product information to each potential customer every time the manufacturer or its competitor starts to promote new products or every time the manufacturer collects used products. 
         [0095]    In addition, with regard to providing information that fits the customer&#39;s needs, provided information is not limited to the PC business. The present invention can apply to other business dealings with other kinds of products, such as automobiles, and can apply to real estate businesses and financial institution. Moreover, the present invention can perform effectively for service businesses, for example, stuffing service businesses, magazine advertising agencies, banking services, stock market information providers, housing businesses, appraisal businesses, travel agencies, delivery services, and so on. Furthermore, software products, programs or data that the present invention applies to may be stored on computer readable recording media or provided via the Internet. 
         [0096]    The present invention is not limited to the specifically disclosed embodiments, variations and modifications, and other variations and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. 
         [0097]    The present application is based on Japanese priority application No. 10-355046 filed on Dec. 14, 1998, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.