Method and system of forwarding contact data

Abstract

The computer-implemented method of forwarding contact data associated with a potential customer generally has the steps of: receiving customer purchase data from the potential customer, the customer purchase data comprising the contact data and preference data; communicating a purchase interest notification to a plurality of vehicle dealers via a communication network, the purchase interest notification including the preference data; receiving a plurality of interest notices associated with the purchase interest notification from interested ones of the plurality of vehicle dealers; and forwarding the contact data of the potential customer to at least one privileged vehicle dealer based on said reception, in which the step of forwarding includes forwarding the contact data to at least one privileged vehicle dealer associated with a make different from the make associated with the vehicle make data of the customer purchase data.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method of forwarding contact data associated with a potential customer, the method comprising the steps of: receiving customer purchase data from the potential customer, the customer purchase data comprising the contact data and preference data, the preference data comprising vehicle make data; communicating a purchase interest notification to a plurality of vehicle dealers via a communication network, the purchase interest notification including the preference data of the customer purchase data; receiving a plurality of interest notices associated with the purchase interest notification from interested ones of the plurality of vehicle dealers; and forwarding the contact data of the potential customer to at least one privileged vehicle dealer based on said reception, wherein the step of forwarding includes forwarding the contact data to at least one privileged vehicle dealer associated with a make different from the make associated with the vehicle make data of the customer purchase data.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 wherein said communicating comprises publishing the purchase interest notification on an Internet-based live data stream accessible by the plurality of vehicle dealers via an Internet-based communication network.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 wherein said communicating comprises transmitting a plurality of emails to respective ones of the plurality of vehicle dealers via an Internet-based communication network, the emails having the purchase interest notification.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 3 wherein said plurality of emails are transmitted to the plurality of vehicle dealers as part of an email newsletter to which the plurality of vehicle dealers are subscribed.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 3 wherein the purchase interest notifications of the plurality of emails have hyperlinks directing to a web-based purchase interest notification.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 5 wherein the web-based purchase interest notification is part of an Internet-based live data stream.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 3 wherein said receiving the plurality of interest notices comprises receiving response emails comprising the interest notices from said interested ones of the plurality of vehicle dealers.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 3 wherein said forwarding comprises transmitting the contact data to the at least one privileged vehicle dealer via an email.

9. The computed-implemented method of claim 1 wherein said communicating comprises transmitting a plurality of instant electronic messages to respective ones of the plurality of vehicle dealers, the instant electronic messages having the purchase interest notification.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 9 wherein said plurality of instant electronic messages are transmitted over at least one of an Internet-based communication network and a cellular communication network.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 9 wherein the purchase interest notifications of the plurality of instant electronic messages have hyperlinks directing to a web-based purchase interest notification.

12. The computer-implemented method of claim 11 wherein the web-based purchase interest notification is part of an Internet-based live data stream.

13. The computer-implemented method of claim 9 wherein said receiving the plurality of interest notices comprises receiving response instant electronic messages comprising the interest notices from said interested ones of the plurality of vehicle dealers.

14. The computer-implemented method of claim 9 wherein said forwarding comprises transmitting the contact data to the at least one privileged vehicle dealer via an instant electronic message.

15. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 wherein the customer purchase data further comprise geographical data associated with the potential customer.

16. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 wherein the preference data comprise desired price data.

17. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 wherein said forwarding is further based on the interest notices which are received first.

18. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 wherein said contact data comprise at least one of a telephone number and an email address associated with the potential customer.

19. A system for forwarding contact data associated with a potential customer, the system comprising: a processor coupled with a computer-readable memory, the computer-readable memory being configured for storing computer executable instructions that, when executed by the processor, perform the steps of: receiving customer purchase data from the potential customer, the customer purchase data comprising the contact data and preference data, the preference data comprising vehicle make data; communicating a purchase interest notification to a plurality of vehicle dealers via a communication network, the purchase interest notification including the preference data; receiving a plurality of interest notices associated with the purchase interest notification from interested ones of the plurality of vehicle dealers; and forwarding the contact data of the potential customer to at least one privileged vehicle dealer thereby allowing the at least one privileged vehicle dealer to contact the potential customer in response to the customer purchase data, wherein said forwarding includes forwarding the contact data to at least one privileged vehicle dealer associated with a make different from the make associated with the vehicle make data of the customer purchase data.

20. The system of claim 19 wherein said communicating comprises transmitting a plurality of electronic messages to respective ones of the plurality of vehicle dealers via at least one of an Internet-based communication network and a cellular communication network, the electronic messages having the purchase interest notification.

Description

DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

(1) In the figures,

(2) FIG. 1 is a schematic view of an example of an Internet-based network;

(3) FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an example of a method of forwarding contact data associated with a potential customer to at least one privileged vehicle dealer, in accordance with an embodiment;

(4) FIGS. 3A-D are schematic views of the steps of the method shown in FIG. 2, in accordance with an embodiment;

(5) FIGS. 4A-C are schematic views of steps of another example of a method of forwarding contact data to at least one privileged vehicle dealer, in accordance with an embodiment;

(6) FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing another example of a method of forwarding contact data associated with a potential customer to at least one privileged vehicle dealer using electronic messages, in accordance with an embodiment; and

(7) FIGS. 6A-C are schematic views of steps of the example method of FIG. 5, in accordance with an embodiment.

(8) These figures depict example embodiments for illustrative purposes, and variations, alternative configurations, alternative components and modifications may be made to these example embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(9) FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a communication network 100 that is used in the methods and systems described in this disclosure. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, the communication network 100 is provided in the form of an Internet-based communication network including a plurality of computers 110 which are interconnected with one another via the Internet 120. Each computer 110 of the network 100 can transmit data towards another computer 110 of the network 100 via the Internet 120 and/or receive data from another computer 110 via the Internet 120. Each computer 110 can be a desktop computer, a laptop computer, and/or any mobile devices such as a smart phone or an electronic tablet, for instance.

(10) Although the communication network 100 is an Internet-based communication network, the communication network 100 can differ from one embodiment to another. In some other embodiments, the communication network 100 can be provided in the form of a local area network (LAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), a wild area network (WAN), a wireless network, or a combination thereof. For instance, the communication network 100 can be an Internet-based communication network in some embodiments whereas the communication network 100 can be a cellular communication network in some other embodiments. The cellular communication network can be of first generation (1G), second generation (2G), third generation (3G), fourth generation (4G), fifth generation (5G) and any following generation. In some embodiments, the communication network 100 can be a combination of an Internet-based communication network and of a cellular communication network.

(11) FIG. 2 shows a flowchart of an example of a computer-implemented method 200 for forwarding contact data associated with a potential customer to at least one privileged vehicle dealer. As will be understood, each step of the computer-implemented method 200 can be performed either by a single computer 110 or by a plurality of computers 110, which can be collectively referred to herein as “the system”. In an embodiment, the system, generally shown at 10 in FIG. 1, is embodied in the form of a single computer 110, for instance. In another embodiment, the system 10 is provided in the form of a server.

(12) The computer-implemented method 200 has a step 210 of receiving, by the system 10, customer purchase data from a potential customer via the Internet 120. The customer purchase data comprise contact data and preference data. The contact data are meant to encompass any data which can be used to contact the potential customer. For instance, the contact data can be one or more telephone number and/or one or more email address associated with the potential customer. The preference data can be data which indicate the preferences associated with a new vehicle that the potential customer would be interested to purchase. It will be understood that the vehicle can be anything used for transporting people or goods, especially on land, such as a car, truck, cart and the like. In an embodiment, the preference data can include desired price data indicating, for instance, a desired monthly term that the potential customer can afford. In another embodiment, the preference data can include vehicle make data such as a vehicle make (e.g. Honda™, Volvo™, Porsche™ and the like). In still another, the preference data can include both the desired price data and the vehicle make data. In alternate embodiments, the preference data can include geographical data (e.g. a zip code associated with the potential customer), estimated purchase date data, vehicle status data (e.g. new, used, in good condition) and/or vehicle model data and vehicle year data.

(13) In an embodiment, the potential customer browses on a website (e.g. the website Automatix.ca) where he/she can fill an electronic form having fields associated with the contact data, the vehicle make data and the preference data. Once the electronic form is filled and submitted, it can be received, via the Internet 120, by the system 10 for use with other steps (e.g. 220, 230 and 240) of the computer-implemented method 200. In a specific example, the potential customer uses his/her smart phone to fill the electronic form accessible on the website so that the customer purchase data can be received by the system 10 thereafter.

(14) Still referring to FIG. 2, the computer-implemented method 200 has a step 220 of publishing, by the system 10, a purchase interest notification on an Internet-based live data stream accessible by a plurality of vehicle dealers. The purchase interest notification includes only a portion of the customer purchase data, i.e. the preference data. By doing so, the vehicle dealers do not have direct access to the contact data so that the vehicle dealers cannot contact the potential customer directly solely based on the published purchase interest notification. In an embodiment, the system 10, upon reception of the customer purchase data, is configured to, in real-time or in near real-time, publish the purchase interest notification on the Internet-based live data stream to be seen by the vehicle dealers. In an embodiment, the vehicle dealers can be associated with a given make, or associated with different makes. In another embodiment, the vehicle dealer is a new and/or a used vehicle dealer. In still another embodiment, the vehicle dealer is a wholesaler. The Internet-based live data stream can be any type of platform accessible via Internet and which allows instant publication of the data to the vehicle dealers. In an embodiment, the Internet-based live data stream can notify the vehicle dealers that a new purchase interest notification has been published. In another embodiment, the Internet-based live data stream is embodied in the form of a Facebook™ live feed, a Facebook™ group or a Facebook™ private group. It will thus be understood that any other suitable Internet-based live data stream 22 can be used. In this specific embodiment, the system 10 is configured to allow access to the Facebook™ group to member vehicle dealers only.

(15) Referring now to FIG. 3A, the system 10 for forwarding contact data associated with a potential customer is generally shown at 10. The system 10 typically has a processor 14 in communication with a computer-readable memory 16 and can access to the Internet 120. The processor 14 can be in wired or in wireless communication with the computer-readable memory 16. Alternately, the system 10 can be in wired or in wireless communication with the Internet 120. As depicted in FIG. 3A, the system 10 receives the customer purchase data 18 which has been provided by the potential customer via a website, for instance. Once the customer purchase data 18 are received by the system 10, the system 10 is configured to publish the purchase interest notification 20 on the Internet-based live data stream 22 to be seen by the vehicle dealer 1, the vehicle dealer 2, the vehicle dealer 3 and the vehicle dealer N, as shown in FIG. 3B. Only a few vehicle dealers are shown in FIG. 3B. It is understood that the number N of vehicle dealers is not limited to a precise number. For instance, the number N of vehicle dealers can be as few as two, three, four and as high as a hundred or a thousand, depending on the circumstances. It is understood that use of the term “vehicle dealer” is meant to encompass any employee and/or sales representative of the vehicle dealer.

(16) Referring back to FIG. 2, the method has a step 230 of receiving, by the system 10, one or a plurality of interest notices 24 associated with one of the purchase interest notifications 20 published on the Internet-based live data stream 22. The interest notices 24 are received by the system 10 once the interest notices 24 are sent from interested ones of the vehicle dealers (referred to as “the interested vehicle dealers”) having access to the Internet-based live data stream 22. In an embodiment, the Internet-based live data stream 22 allows the vehicle dealers to show their interest by clicking on a button associated with the purchase interest notification 20 which is published in the Internet-based live data stream 22. In an embodiment, the interest notices 24 are transmitted, by the interested vehicle dealers, directly to the system 10 via the Internet 120. In another embodiment, the interest notices 24 are published on the Internet-based live data stream 22 (e.g. in association with the published purchase interest notification 20) and the system 10 is configured to fetch the interest notices 24 from the Internet-based live data stream 22 such that the interest notices 24 are received by the system 10 in an indirect manner. In the specific embodiment where the Internet-based live data stream 22 is a Facebook™ private group, the interest notices 24 can be transmitted by clicking on a “Like Button” or by commenting under the purchase interest notification 20, for instance. In an embodiment, the interest notices 24 are received in chronological order depending on which of the interested vehicle dealers respond first. In this specific embodiment, the system 10 can associate a time value (e.g. the time at which interest notice 24 is received) associated with each of the interest notices 24 received by the system 10 and store the time values on the memory 16 of the system 10.

(17) Regarding the step 230 of receiving the interest notices 24, reference is now made to FIG. 3C. As shown, FIG. 3C is a schematic view that shows the indirect communication of the interest notices 1, 2, 3 and 4 to the system 10 by the interested vehicle dealers via the Internet-based live data stream 22.

(18) Referring back to FIG. 2, the method has a step 240 of forwarding the contact data of the potential customer to at least one privileged vehicle dealer based on the reception of the interest notices 24. Indeed, once the interest notices 24 are received by the system 10, the latter is configured to forward the contact data 26 associated with the purchase interest notification 20 which is, in turn, associated to a given potential customer, to the privileged vehicle dealers 2 and 3, for instance, as shown in FIG. 3D. Once the contact data 26 are forwarded to the privileged vehicle dealers, it is understood that the privileged vehicle dealers can contact the given potential customer in order to respond to his/her published purchase interest notification 20. For instance, in the case where a given purchase interest notification 20 indicates that a given customer is interested in buying a new Honda™, one privileged vehicle dealer can be a Honda™ vehicle dealer and one other privileged vehicle dealer can be a used vehicle dealer having at least one vehicle of make Honda™ which can correspond to the interest of the given customer. In this specific example, the given customer can be contacted by the Honda™ vehicle dealer and by the used vehicle dealer. The methods and systems described herein can thus allow the given customer to be contacted by a limited, and controlled, number of privileged vehicle dealers while the privileged vehicle dealers can contact the potential customer without having to compete with too many other privileged vehicle dealers. The number of privileged vehicle dealers is determined by the system 10 and depends on the embodiments. For instance, in an embodiment, the number of privileged vehicle dealers is limited to four. In another embodiment where the customer purchase data 18 have geographical data associated with a potential customer, the system 10 can be configured to forward the contact data 26 to privileged vehicle dealers that have a geographical position substantially near the location of the potential customer based on the geographical data. In an alternate embodiment, the system 10 can be configured to forward the contact data 26 to privileged vehicle dealers that are not located near the location of the potential customer, which can provide interesting opportunities for vehicle dealers to access new markets. In alternate embodiments, forwarding the contact data 26 to the privileged vehicle dealers includes associating a time value to each one of the received interest notices 24. In this specific example, the interested vehicle dealers who showed their interest to respond to the purchase interest notification 20 are selected to be privileged vehicle dealers. There is thus an incentive for encouraging the vehicle dealers to monitor the Internet-based live data stream 22 in real-time and to promptly react in accordance with the published purchase interest notifications 20. Accordingly, in this example, transmitting interest notices 24 promptly can increase the chances of being forwarded by the contact data 26. In the case where the number of received interest notices 24 is lower than the predetermined number of privileged vehicle dealers, every interested vehicle dealers can become privileged vehicle dealers and receive the contact data 26 associated with a given potential customer.

(19) In another embodiment of the method 200, the preference data comprise the vehicle make data which indicate that a given potential customer wishes to buy a new vehicle of make A (e.g. a new vehicle of make Honda™). In this embodiment, the method 200 can have an optional step of forwarding the contact data 26 to at least one privileged vehicle dealer associated with a make B which is different from the make A associated with the vehicle make data of the customer purchase data 18. More specifically, FIGS. 4A-C show schematic views illustrating this embodiment. It will be understood that after the step 210 of receiving the customer purchase data 18 and after the step 230 of publishing the purchase interest notification 20 (comprising the vehicle make data 28 as shown in FIG. 4A) on the Internet-based live data stream 22, the purchase interest notification 20 can be accessible by vehicle dealers of different makes. Indeed, in the illustrated example, the vehicle dealers 1, 2 and 3 are associated with the make A (e.g. Honda™ vehicle dealers), which is similar to the make desired by the potential customer. However, in this embodiment, the purchase interest notification 20 is also accessible by vehicle dealer 4 which is associated with a make B (e.g. Mazda™) different from the make A (i.e. A≠B). In this embodiment, and referring to FIG. 4B, the system 10 is configured to receive the interest notices 24 (i.e. 1, 2, 3, and 4) indirectly from the interested vehicle dealers 1, 2, 3, and 4 via the Internet-based live data stream 22. In this embodiment, as seen in FIG. 4C, the system 10 is configured to forward the contact data 26 associated with the customer to privileged vehicle dealers associated with make A and associated with make B, for instance. It is understood that the system 10 can be configured to forward the contact data 26 to a first quantity of vehicle dealers associated with a make similar to the make associated with the vehicle make data and to forward the contact data to a second quantity of vehicle dealers associated with a make different from the make associated with the vehicle make data. In the example illustrated in FIGS. 4A-C, it is understood that the first quantity is three and the second quantity is one. Other suitable numeric values for the first and second quantities can be used, depending on the circumstances.

(20) FIG. 5 shows a flow chart of an example method 500 of forwarding contact data associated to a potential customer.

(21) As depicted, the method 500 has a step 510 of receiving customer purchase data from the potential customer. As depicted, the customer purchase data comprises the contact data and preference data. In this specific embodiment, the preference data also comprise the vehicle make data.

(22) At step 520, a purchase interest notification is communicated to vehicle dealers via a communication network, in which case the purchase interest notification includes the preference data.

(23) It is noted that the communication network can differ from one embodiment to another. In some embodiments, the communication network can be provided in the form of a local area network (LAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), a wild area network (WAN), a wireless network, or a combination thereof. For instance, the communication network can be an Internet-based communication network in some embodiments whereas the communication network can be a cellular communication network in some other embodiments. The cellular communication network can be of first generation (1G), second generation (2G), third generation (3G), fourth generation (4G), fifth generation (5G) and any following generation(s). In some embodiments, the communication network can combine an Internet-based communication network and a cellular communication network.

(24) For instance, in an embodiment, the purchase interest notification is published on an Internet-based live data stream accessible by the vehicle dealers via an Internet-based communication network.

(25) Additionally or alternately, the purchase interest notification can be communicated by transmitting emails to the vehicle dealers via an Internet-based communication network. It is envisaged that in such embodiments, the emails have the purchase interest notification for consultation by the vehicle dealers. For instance, the emails transmitted to the vehicle dealers can be part of an email newsletter to which the vehicle dealers are subscribed.

(26) Additionally or alternately, the purchase interest notification can be communicated by transmitting instant electronic messages to the vehicle dealers. The instant electronic messages can be transmitted via any suitable communication network. For instance, the instant electronic messages can be transmitted via an Internet-based communication system, a cellular communication network, or both. In any case, the instant electronic messages have the purchase interest notification for consultation by the vehicle dealers. For instance, the instant electronic messages transmitted to the vehicle dealers can be received via a group messaging app (e.g., Whatsapp©, Facebook Messenger©, Skype©) on which the vehicle dealers follow a given message thread, are part of a given group discussion, and the like. The instant electronic messages can also be provided in the form of the short message service (SMS) electronic messages, Apple's iMessage or any equivalent electronic message, which may be communicated to phone numbers, email addresses and/or identifiers associated to the vehicle dealers.

(27) In the latter embodiments, the purchase interest notification carried by the email and/or instant electronic message can be presented in the form of a hyperlink which when clicked thereon directs to a web-based platform displaying the purchase interest notification. It is envisaged that the web-based platform may be provided in the form of an Internet-based live data stream at least in some embodiments.

(28) It is thus noted that the purchase interest notification can be communicated by transmitting any suitable type of electronic message to the vehicle dealers over any type of communication network.

(29) At step 530, interest notices associated with the purchase interest notification are received from interested ones of the vehicle dealers.

(30) In view of the aforementioned embodiments, the interest notices can be transmitted via email(s) and/or instant electronic message(s), e.g., as a response to one of the transmitted email(s) and/or instant electronic message(s).

(31) At step 540, the contact data of the potential customer are forwarded to at least one privileged vehicle dealer based on said step 530 of receiving and more specifically to at least one privileged vehicle dealer associated with a make different from the make associated with the vehicle make data of the customer purchase data.

(32) The contact data can be transmitted via email or instant electronic message, e.g., as a response to one of the received email(s) and/or instant electronic message(s) in some embodiments.

(33) FIGS. 6A through 6C show schematic views of some of the steps of the method 500. For instance, FIG. 6A shows that the purchase interest notifications 20 discussed with reference to step 520 above can be communicated to the vehicle dealers via email(s) 30 and/or electronic message(s) 40 over the internet-based and/or cellular communication networks 22. FIG. 6B shows that the interest notices 24 discussed with reference to step 530 above can be communicated via response email(s) 32 and/or response electronic message(s) 42 over the internet-based and/or cellular communication networks 22. FIG. 6C shows that the contact data 26 discussed with reference to step 540 above can be transmitted via email(s) 34 and/electronic message(s) 44 to the privileged ones of the vehicle dealers.

(34) In another aspect, there are disclosed a system, a computer program product and a computer-implemented method for forwarding contact data associated with a potential customer. The system has a processor coupled with a computer-readable memory, and the computer-readable memory is configured for storing computer executable instructions that, when executed by the processor, perform the steps of a computer-implemented method. The computer program product can include the aforementioned computer-readable memory. The computer-implemented method includes the steps of receiving customer purchase data from the potential customer, the customer purchase data comprising the contact data and mortgage preference data; publishing a purchase interest notification on an Internet-based live data stream accessible by a plurality of lenders via Internet, the purchase interest notification including the mortgage preference data of the customer purchase data; receiving a plurality of interest notices associated with the purchase interest notification from interested ones of the plurality of lenders; and forwarding the contact data of the potential customer to at least one privileged lender based on said reception.

(35) In some embodiments, the method can have steps of, after said receiving the plurality of interest notices, associating a time value to each one of the plurality of received interest notices; and determining at least one privileged lender amongst the interested lenders based on the time values of the received interest notices.

(36) In some other embodiments, the mortgage preference data include loan data. For instance, the loan data can include an indication as to which of the following goal is pursued by the potential customer: i) renew or renegotiate the terms of the mortgage, ii) finance a new purchase (e.g., property), or iii) pre-approve a mortgage.

(37) The mortgage preference data can include property data indicative of the type of property that is desired (e.g., house, condo, duplex, triplex, multiplex). The mortgage preference data can include the desired amount of the mortgage loan, the estimated value of the property, the cash down amount that is available, the name of the financial institution with which the potential customer dealt in her/his last mortgage loan, if applicable, and/or estimated purchase date data indicative of the purchase date of associated with the purchase.

(38) In alternate embodiments, the customer purchase data further comprise geographical data associated with the potential customer. For instance, the customer purchase data can include a city, the zip code and/or the postal address associated with the property.

(39) The contact data can include a name, a surname, a work phone number, a home phone number, a mobile phone number, a personal email address, a work email address, a birth year associated with the potential customer. The contact data can also include preferences as to how and when to reach the potential customer. For instance, by phone, by SMS or by email, and between 8:00 AM and 12:00 PM, between 12:00 PM and 1:30 PM, between 1:30 PM and 17:00 PM or between 5:00 PM and 9:00 PM.

(40) The step of forwarding may be further based on the geographical data associated with the potential customer and on geographical position of the interested lenders. The step of forwarding may be based on the interest notices which are received first. The method may also have a step of forwarding the estimated purchase date data along with the contact data to the at least one privileged lender.

(41) As can be understood, the examples described above and illustrated are intended to be exemplary only. For instance, the Internet-based live data stream can be an intranet-based live data stream that is used within different vehicle dealers associated with the same make. Further, in an embodiment, the vehicle dealers have to become member vehicle dealers by paying a membership fee in order to access the Internet-based live data stream. In another embodiment, the vehicle dealers pay an amount of money for each potential customer contacted. It is understood that the methods and systems can be used by vehicle dealers and also by one or more other service providers of the vehicle industry or other industries (e.g., financial service industry). For instance, the service providers can be vehicle insurers which desire to obtain data about the potential customer. In this embodiment, the data that is forwarded to privileged ones of the vehicle insurers can comprise date of birth data indicating the date of birth of the potential customer as well as estimated purchase date data indicating the date at which he/she estimates that the new vehicle will be bought. In another embodiment, the methods and systems described herein can be used by other service providers of the vehicle industry (e.g. satellite radio providers and the like). The scope is indicated by the appended claims.