JP7559564B2 - Notification management device, notification management method, and program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a notification management device, a notification management method, and a program.

Electronic notification services that notify customers online have become available as a means of notification for companies to inform them of information introducing new products, etc. Patent Document 1 discloses a technology for sending information to an address that is likely to be seen by the customer immediately when notifying the customer.

Among such electronic notification services, the message service addressed to a mobile phone number is highly convenient and widely used because it allows you to send a message even when you do not know the recipient's email address. There are several communication protocols for such message services addressed to a mobile phone number, such as RCS (Rich Communication Services), SMS (Short Message Service), and MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service). RCS is a standard for implementing instant messengers for mobile phones at the terminal level, and uses a phone number instead of a user name or email address when communicating with the recipient. RCS is designed with consideration for interconnection between different communication carriers. In addition, the upper limit of the number of characters that can be sent in RCS is set to be larger than that of conventional SMS and MMS. Therefore, while SMS can only send and receive small amounts of information such as text with a limited number of characters, RCS can send and receive large amounts of information such as images. For this reason, for companies that want to notify their customers of various information, it is preferable for the customers' mobile phones to be terminals that can use RCS.

JP 2007-241732 A

However, while SMS is pre-installed on most mobile phones, there are mobile phones that do not have RCS pre-installed, or that have it installed but not activated. For example, one possible operation would be to notify a customer of information from a company via SMS if the customer's mobile phone does not have RCS installed, and to notify the customer of information from a company via RCS if the customer has RCS installed. If this operation were to be carried out, even if a customer's mobile phone that did not previously have RCS installed now has RCS installed, the information would still be notified via SMS, resulting in opportunity losses.

The present invention was made in consideration of these circumstances, and its purpose is to provide a notification management device, notification management method, and program that can notify information using RCS when RCS is installed on a customer's mobile phone that did not previously have RCS installed.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the notification management device of the present invention includes a memory unit that stores a notification flag set as a notification means for notifying the customer terminal of information when, among electronic notifications addressed to the mobile phone number of a customer terminal, either a first notification using a first app that is a message application preinstalled on the customer terminal, or a second notification using a second app that is a message application not preinstalled on the customer terminal, the first notification is sent using a first app that is a message application preinstalled on the customer terminal, and when the execution timing arrives to execute a usability check (RC) that determines whether the customer terminal is usable for the second notification, the notification management device notifies the mobile carrier that provides the second app of the fact that the customer terminal is able to use the second notification. The device includes an RC execution unit that executes the availability check (RC) by sending a notification inquiring whether the second application is available for use, a notification flag update control unit that changes the setting value of the notification flag according to the execution result of the availability check (RC) by the RC execution unit and stores the changed setting value of the notification flag in the storage unit, and a notification control unit that, when a notification timing for notifying the customer terminal of information arrives, notifies the customer terminal of information using the first notification or the second notification addressed to the mobile phone number of the customer terminal according to the setting value of the notification flag, and the execution timing is a timing before the notification timing arrives.

The present invention further includes an RC execution determination unit in the notification management device described above that determines whether an execution condition for executing the availability check (RC) is met, and causes the RC execution unit to execute the availability check (RC) when it is determined that the execution condition is met, and the RC execution unit executes the availability check (RC) when the RC execution determination unit determines that the availability check (RC) should be executed, and the execution condition is either a condition that the first notification is set in the notification flag corresponding to the customer terminal, or a condition that a predetermined period of time has elapsed since the availability check (RC) was executed on the customer terminal.

The present invention also relates to the notification management device described above, in which the RC execution unit executes the availability check (RC) on the customer terminal in which the notification flag is set to the second notification less frequently than the frequency with which the availability check (RC) is executed on the customer terminal in which the notification flag is set to the first notification.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the notification management method according to the present invention is a notification management method performed by a notification management device having a memory unit that stores a notification flag set as a notification means for notifying the customer terminal of information, in which, among electronic notifications addressed to a mobile phone number of a customer terminal, a first notification using a first app that is a message application preinstalled on the customer terminal, or a second notification using a second app that is a message application not preinstalled on the customer terminal, is a notification management method performed by a notification management device having a memory unit that stores a notification flag set as a notification means for notifying the customer terminal of information, in which, when an execution timing arrives for an RC execution unit to execute a usability check (RC) for determining whether the customer terminal is usable for the second notification, the RC execution unit executes ... The availability check (RC) is executed by sending a notification to a mobile carrier that provides the service to inquire as to whether the customer terminal can use the second application, a notification flag update control unit changes the setting value of the notification flag according to the execution result of the availability check (RC) by the RC execution unit, and stores the changed setting value of the notification flag in the storage unit, and when the notification timing for notifying the customer terminal of the information arrives, a notification control unit notifies the customer terminal of the information using the first notification or the second notification addressed to the mobile phone number of the customer terminal according to the setting value of the notification flag, and the execution timing is a timing before the notification timing arrives.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention is a program for causing a computer to operate as the notification management device described above, and for causing the computer to function as each unit of the notification management device.

According to the present invention, when an RCS is installed on a customer's mobile phone that did not previously have an RCS installed, information using the RCS can be notified.

1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a notification management system 1 to which a notification management device 10 according to an embodiment is applied. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of customer information 120 according to the embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of execution condition information 121 according to the embodiment. 2 is a sequence diagram showing the flow of processing performed by the notification management system 1 according to the embodiment. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing performed by the notification management device 10 according to the embodiment. 4 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing performed by the notification management device 10 according to the embodiment. 4 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing performed by the notification management device 10 according to the embodiment.

One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example configuration of a notification management system 1 to which a notification management device 10 according to an embodiment is applied. The notification management system 1 includes, for example, a notification management device 10, a customer terminal 20, a mobile carrier server 30, and a corporate server 40. The notification management device 10, the customer terminal 20, the mobile carrier server 30, and the corporate server 40 are communicatively connected via a communication network NW. The notification management system 1 may be configured to include multiple customer terminals 20. The notification management system 1 may also be configured to include multiple mobile carrier servers 30 and multiple corporate servers 40.

The notification management device 10 is a computer device that manages notifications to customers. The notification management device 10 is, for example, a server device or a PC. The notification management device 10 notifies the customer's customer terminal 20 of information upon request from the company server 40. The information notified to the customer terminal 20 is, for example, information about products and services from the company, or information such as delivery notes and itemized statements for products purchased by the customer or services used by the customer.

The notification management device 10 uses electronic notification to notify the customer terminal 20 of information via the mobile carrier server 30. Specifically, the notification management device 10 uses either SMS or RCS, which are message services addressed to the mobile phone number of the customer terminal 20, to notify the customer terminal 20 of information. SMS is a message application (first app) that is pre-installed on most mobile phones. RCS is a message application (second app) that is not pre-installed on some mobile phones.

The customer terminal 20 is a customer's computer device. The customer terminal 20 is a terminal that is assigned at least a mobile phone number and is capable of using a message service addressed to the mobile phone number, such as a smartphone or mobile phone.

The customer terminal 20 includes, for example, a communication unit 21, a storage unit 22, and a control unit 23. The communication unit 21 communicates with the notification management device 10. The storage unit 22 stores programs for executing various processes of the customer terminal 20, and temporary data used when performing various processes. The storage unit 22 stores programs related to a message application. The control unit 23 controls the customer terminal 20. For example, when the control unit 23 receives a message addressed to the customer terminal 20 from the notification management device 10, the control unit 23 displays a pop-up message indicating that the notification has been received on a display unit (not shown).

The mobile carrier server 30 is a computer device operated by a mobile carrier (mobile phone operator) that provides a messaging service using RCS, such as a server device or a PC.

The mobile carrier server 30, for example, stores a list of RCS users who use the RCS provided by the mobile carrier. The mobile carrier server 30, for example, acquires the mobile phone numbers of customer terminals 20 that have newly become able to use the RCS and the mobile phone numbers of customer terminals 20 that can no longer use the RCS, and reflects them in the list of RCS users. Here, a customer terminal 20 that has newly become able to use the RCS is, for example, a customer terminal in which the second app has been installed. Also, a customer terminal 20 that can no longer use the RCS is, for example, a customer terminal in which the second app has been uninstalled.

The notification management device 10 includes, for example, a communication unit 11, a memory unit 12, a notification request acquisition unit 13, a notification control unit 14, a device control unit 15, an RC execution determination unit 16, an RC execution unit 17, and a notification flag update control unit 18. The communication unit 11 communicates with the customer terminal 20, the mobile carrier server 30, and the company server 40.

The storage unit 12 is configured with a storage medium, such as a hard disk drive (HDD), flash memory, electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM), random access read/write memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), or any combination of these storage media. The storage unit 12 stores programs for executing various processes of the notification management device 10, and temporary data used when performing various processes.

The memory unit 12 stores, for example, customer information 120 and execution condition information 121. The customer information 120 is information about a customer. The customer information 120 includes at least a notification flag. The notification flag is information indicating the means of notification to the customer, and is information in which either SMS notification or RCS notification is set. An SMS notification is a notification that uses SMS. An RCS notification is a notification that uses RCS. The execution condition information 121 is information about the conditions for executing an availability check (hereinafter also referred to as RC), which will be described later.
Here, a supplementary explanation about the notification flag will be provided. The notification flag may be information that at least indicates a means of notifying the customer. For example, the notification flag may be a flag that indicates whether the RCS is available.
The notification flag may be a flag that permits notification using a specific notification means (e.g., SMS). Alternatively, the notification flag may be a flag that prohibits notification using a specific notification means (e.g., SMS). When a flag that prohibits notification using a specific notification means is set, for example, notification is performed by a notification means other than the prohibited notification means. Specifically, when the notification flag is set to prohibit notification using SMS, notification is performed using a notification means other than SMS (RCS).

The notification request acquisition unit 13 acquires a notification request from the corporate server 40. The notification request is a request to notify a customer of information, and is information indicating, for example, the destination and notification content. The notification request acquisition unit 13 acquires the notification request sent from the corporate server 40 to the notification management device 10 via the communication unit 11. The notification request acquisition unit 13 outputs the acquired notification request to the notification control unit 14.

The notification control unit 14 controls notifications to customers. The notification control unit 14 acquires a notification request from the notification request acquisition unit 13. The notification control unit 14 identifies the mobile phone number of the customer to which the notification is to be sent based on the notification request. The notification control unit 14 creates a notification message addressed to the telephone number of the customer terminal 20.

The notification control unit 14 refers to the storage unit 12, acquires the setting of the notification flag in the customer information 120 of the customer to be notified, and issues a notification according to the acquired notification flag. Specifically, the notification control unit 14 issues a notification using SMS to a customer whose notification flag is set to SMS notification. The notification control unit 14 issues a notification using RCS to a customer whose notification flag is set to RCS notification.

The device control unit 15 has overall control over the notification management device 10. For example, when the communication unit 11 receives a notification request from a company, the device control unit 15 outputs the notification request to the notification request acquisition unit 13. The device control unit 15 sends a message created by the notification control unit 14 and addressed to the customer's telephone number via the communication unit 11.

The RC execution determination unit 16 determines whether to execute a usability check (RC). RC is a process that determines whether the customer terminal 20 can use the RCS. The RC execution determination unit 16 determines whether to execute the RC based on the execution condition information 121.

The RC execution determination unit 16 determines whether or not to execute RC when the RC execution timing arrives. The RC execution timing is any timing before the notification timing for notifying the customer terminal 20 of information arrives. The RC execution timing is, for example, the timing when a notification request is received from the corporate server 40. Alternatively, the RC execution timing is the timing a predetermined period (for example, one day) before the scheduled notification date for notifying the customer terminal 20 of information.

When the RC execution timing arrives, the RC execution determination unit 16 refers to the execution condition information 121. If the conditions in the execution condition information 121 are satisfied, the RC execution determination unit 16 determines to execute RC. If the conditions in the execution condition information 121 are not satisfied, the RC execution determination unit 16 determines not to execute RC. The RC execution determination unit 16 outputs the determination result to the RC execution unit 17.

The RC execution unit 17 executes RC according to the determination result of the RC execution determination unit 16. The RC execution unit 17 executes RC by sending an inquiry notification regarding the customer terminal 20 to the mobile carrier server 30. The inquiry notification is a notification inquiring whether or not the mobile phone number of the customer terminal 20 can use RCS.

(How to perform RC)
Here, a method in which the RC execution unit 17 executes RC will be described.
When the mobile carrier server 30 receives the inquiry notification from the RC execution unit 17, the mobile carrier server 30 refers to the list of RCS users in response to the inquiry notification from the notification management device 10. If the telephone number of the customer terminal 20 exists in the list of RCS users, the mobile carrier server 30 notifies the notification management device 10 of a response indicating that the customer terminal 20 can use the RCS. On the other hand, if the telephone number of the customer terminal 20 does not exist in the list of RCS users, the mobile carrier server 30 notifies the notification management device 10 of a response indicating that the customer terminal 20 cannot use the RCS.
Alternatively, when the inquiry notification by the RC execution unit 17 is received by the mobile carrier server 30, the mobile carrier server 30 may notify the customer terminal 20 of a control signal related to the RCS notification. This control signal includes, for example, a request signal requesting the customer terminal 20 to respond as to whether the RCS notification is available. The customer terminal 20 receives the control signal related to the RCS notification, and responds to the mobile carrier server 30 in response to the received control signal as to whether the RCS is available. The mobile carrier server 30 notifies the notification management device 10 as to whether the customer terminal 20 is able to use the RCS, based on the response from the customer terminal 20.

The RC execution unit 17 determines whether the mobile phone number of the customer terminal 20 can use the RCS based on the response from the mobile carrier server 30. Specifically, when the RC execution unit 17 receives a response from the mobile carrier server 30 indicating that the customer terminal 20 can use the RCS, it determines that the customer terminal 20 can use the RCS. When the RC execution unit 17 receives a response from the mobile carrier server 30 indicating that the customer terminal 20 cannot use the RCS, it determines that the customer terminal 20 cannot use the RCS.

The notification flag update control unit 18 changes the setting value of the notification flag according to the execution result of RC by the RC execution unit 17. For example, when the result of executing RC on a customer terminal 20 whose notification flag was previously set to SMS notification is that the customer terminal 20 can use RCS, the notification flag update control unit 18 changes the notification flag of the customer terminal 20 to RCS notification. When the result of executing RC on a customer terminal 20 whose notification flag was previously set to RCS notification is that the customer terminal 20 cannot use RCS, the notification flag update control unit 18 changes the notification flag of the customer terminal 20 to SMS notification. When the notification flag update control unit 18 changes the setting value of the notification flag, it stores the changed setting value of the notification flag in the notification flag in the customer information 120 in the storage unit 12.

Figure 2 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of customer information 120 according to an embodiment. Customer information 120 is created for each customer. Customer information 120 includes items such as a customer ID, a notification flag, a mobile phone number, and the date and time of the last RC execution. The customer ID is identification information that uniquely identifies a customer. The notification flag is information indicating the notification means for the customer identified by the customer ID, and is information indicating either SMS notification or RCS notification. The mobile phone number is information indicating the mobile phone number that is the destination when notifying the customer identified by the customer ID of information. The date and time of the last RC execution is information indicating the date and time when the RC of the customer terminal 20 was executed last time. In the example of this figure, when the notification flag is 0 (zero), it indicates that an SMS notification is set. Also, when the notification flag is 1, it indicates that an RCS notification is set.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of execution condition information 121 according to an embodiment. The execution condition information 121 includes items such as execution timing and execution conditions. The execution timing is the timing for executing RC. The execution conditions are the conditions for executing RC.

In the example shown in this figure, the execution timing is when a notification request is received from the corporate server 40 (when a notification request is received) and the day before the scheduled notification date when the information is notified to the customer terminal 20. Also, in the example shown in this figure, the execution condition for RC performed "when a notification request is received" is "the mobile phone number of the notification destination is a new number not stored in the customer information 120." Note that, although an example has been described here in which the timing for executing RC is the day before the scheduled notification date, this is not limited to this. Of course, the timing for executing RC may also be two or three days before the scheduled notification date.

In addition, in this example, two conditions are shown for the execution condition of RC that is performed on the "day before the scheduled notification date." The first condition is that "the notification flag is set to SMS notification." The second condition is that "a specified amount of time has passed since the last time RC was performed."

In this way, multiple execution conditions may be included in one execution timing. When there are multiple execution conditions, the RC may be operated so that it is executed when at least one of the multiple execution conditions is satisfied, or the RC may be operated so that it is executed when all of the multiple execution conditions are satisfied.

Here, the flow of processing performed by the notification management system 1 will be described. FIG. 4 is a sequence diagram showing the flow of processing performed by the notification management system 1 according to an embodiment. FIG. 5 to FIG. 7 are flowcharts showing the flow of processing performed by the notification management device 10 in the sequence diagram of FIG. 4.

First, the overall process flow of the notification management system 1 will be described with reference to the sequence diagram of FIG.
(Step S10)
The notification management device 10 acquires a notification request transmitted from the company server 40 to the notification management device 10. The notification request is a request from a company to notify a customer of information.
(Step S11)
The notification management device 10 receives a notification request in step S10, and when the RC execution timing arrives, determines whether or not to execute RC. The notification management device 10 refers to the execution condition information 121, and determines to execute RC if the execution conditions indicated in the execution condition information 121 are satisfied. The notification management device 10 determines not to execute RC if the execution conditions indicated in the execution condition information 121 are not satisfied.
(Step S12)
If it is determined in step S10 that RC is to be executed, the notification management device 10 executes RC. The notification management device 10 sends an inquiry notification to the mobile carrier server 30 and receives a response to the inquiry notification from the mobile carrier server 30. The notification management device 10 determines whether the customer terminal 20 can use RCS based on the response to the inquiry notification received from the mobile carrier server 30. The notification management device 10 updates the notification flag in the customer information 120 according to the determination result.
If it is determined in step S10 that RC is not to be executed, the notification management device 10 does not execute RC. In this case, step S12 is not executed.
(Step S13)
The notification management device 10 determines whether or not to execute RC at least before the scheduled notification date for notifying the information to the customer terminal 20. The method for the notification management device 10 to determine whether or not to execute RC is similar to that of step S11.
(Step S14)
The notification management device 10 performs RC when it is determined in step S13 to perform RC, such as when it is the day before the scheduled notification date for notifying the customer terminal 20 of information. The method in which the notification management device 10 performs RC is similar to that in step S12. The notification management device 10 does not perform RC when it is determined in step S13 not to perform RC. In this case, step S14 is not performed.
(Step S15)
When the scheduled notification date for notifying the customer terminal 20 of information arrives and the notification timing arrives, the notification management device 10 notifies the customer terminal 20 of a message via the mobile carrier server 30. The notification management device 10 references the customer information 120 of the customer terminal 20, and if the notification flag in the customer information 120 is set to SMS notification, the notification management device 10 performs notification using SMS. If the notification flag in the customer information 120 is set to RCS notification, the notification management device 10 performs notification using RCS.

Next, the flow of the process shown in step S11 in the sequence diagram of Fig. 4 will be described with reference to the flowchart of Fig. 5. Note that the flow of the process of step S13 in Fig. 4 is similar to the flow of the process shown in step S11, and therefore the description thereof will be omitted.
(Step S110)
The notification management device 10 determines whether a predetermined RC execution timing has arrived. Specifically, the notification management device 10 periodically (e.g., once a day) determines whether a notification request has been received. If the notification management device 10 receives a notification request, it determines that the RC execution timing has arrived. On the other hand, if the notification management device 10 does not receive a notification request, it determines that the RC execution timing has not arrived.
(Step S111)
When a predetermined RC execution timing arrives, the notification management device 10 determines whether or not the execution condition associated with the RC execution timing is satisfied. Specifically, when a notification request is received, the notification management device 10 determines whether or not the mobile phone number of the notification destination is a new mobile phone number. Specifically, the notification management device 10 extracts the notification destination of the received notification request and determines whether or not the extracted mobile phone number of the notification destination is a new mobile phone number. When the mobile phone number of the notification destination extracted from the notification request is not stored in the customer information 120, the notification management device 10 determines that it is a new mobile phone number. When the mobile phone number of the notification destination extracted from the notification request is stored in the customer information 120, the notification management device 10 determines that it is not a new mobile phone number.
(Step S112)
The notification management device 10 executes RC when the execution condition is satisfied. Specifically, the notification management device 10 executes RC when the mobile phone number of the notification destination is a new mobile phone number.
The notification management device 10 then creates customer information 120 associated with the new mobile phone number, and sets a setting value according to the result of executing RC to the notification flag of the created customer information 120. Specifically, if the result of executing RC shows that the new mobile phone number cannot use RCS, the notification management device 10 sets the notification flag to SMS notification. If the result of executing RC shows that the new mobile phone number can use RCS, the notification management device 10 sets the notification flag to RCS notification.
(Step S113)
On the other hand, if the execution condition is not satisfied, the notification management device 10 does not execute RC. Specifically, the notification management device 10 does not execute RC if the mobile phone number of the notification destination is not a new mobile phone number.

(Step S114)
If the predetermined RC execution timing does not arrive in step S111, the notification management device 10 determines whether another RC execution timing has arrived. Specifically, if the notification management device 10 does not receive a notification request, it determines whether it is the day before the scheduled notification date. For example, the notification management device 10 extracts the scheduled notification date indicated in the notification request and compares the extracted scheduled notification date with the date of the day to determine whether the day is the day before the scheduled notification date.
(Step S115)
When another RC execution timing arrives, the notification management device 10 determines whether a predetermined execution condition associated with the RC execution timing is satisfied. Specifically, if the day is the day before the scheduled notification date, the notification management device 10 refers to the customer information 120 corresponding to the mobile phone number of the notification destination and determines whether the notification flag in the customer information 120 is set to SMS notification (in this example, notification flag = 0).
(Step S116)
The notification management device 10 executes RC when the execution condition is satisfied. Specifically, the notification management device 10 executes RC when the notification flag of the customer information 120 corresponding to the mobile phone number of the notification destination is set to SMS notification.

(Step S117)
On the other hand, if the predetermined execution condition is not satisfied, the notification management device 10 determines whether another execution condition is satisfied. Specifically, the notification management device 10 determines whether a predetermined time (e.g., 24 hours) or more has passed since the previous RC was performed for the mobile phone number of the notification destination. If the other execution condition (here, a predetermined time or more has passed since the previous RC was performed) is satisfied, the notification management device 10 proceeds to step S116 and executes RC.
(Step S118)
The notification management device 10 does not execute RC if another execution condition is not met, that is, if a predetermined time or more has not elapsed since the previous execution of RC.

Next, the flow of the process shown in step S12 in the sequence diagram of Fig. 4 will be described with reference to the flowchart of Fig. 6. Note that the flow of the process of step S14 in Fig. 4 is similar to the flow of the process shown in step S12, and therefore the description thereof will be omitted.
(Step S120)
The notification management device 10 sends an inquiry to the mobile carrier server 30. The inquiry is a notification inquiring as to whether or not a specific customer terminal 20 can use the RCS.
(Step S121)
The notification management device 10 receives a response to the inquiry notification from the mobile carrier server 30. The response to the inquiry notification is a notification that includes information indicating whether or not a specific customer terminal 20 can use the RCS.
(Step S122)
The notification management device 10 determines whether a specific customer terminal 20 can use the RCS. The notification includes information indicating. When the notification management device 10 receives a response from the mobile carrier server 30 indicating that the customer terminal 20 can use the RCS, the notification management device 10 determines that the customer terminal 20 can use the RCS. When the notification management device 10 receives a response from the mobile carrier server 30 indicating that the customer terminal 20 cannot use the RCS, the notification management device 10 determines that the customer terminal 20 cannot use the RCS.
(Step S123)
When the notification management device 10 determines that the customer terminal 20 is capable of using the RCS, it sets the notification flag of the customer information 120 corresponding to that customer terminal 20 to RCS notification (in the example shown in this figure, notification flag = 1).
(Step S124)
On the other hand, if the notification management device 10 determines that the customer terminal 20 cannot use the RCS, it sets the notification flag of the customer information 120 corresponding to that customer terminal 20 to SMS notification (in the example of this figure, notification flag = 0).

Next, the flow of the process shown in step S15 in the sequence diagram of FIG. 4 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
(Step S150)
The notification management device 10 determines whether or not the notification flag of the customer information 120 in the customer terminal 20 that is the notification destination of the information notification is set to RCS notification (in the example shown in the figure, notification flag=1).
(Step S151)
If the notification flag is set to RCS notification (in the example shown in this figure, notification flag=1) in step S151, the notification management device 10 notifies the notification destination customer terminal 20 of the information using RCS.
(Step S152)
If the notification flag is set to SMS notification (in the example shown in this figure, notification flag=0) in step S151, the notification management device 10 notifies the notification destination customer terminal 20 of the information using SMS.

As described above, the notification management device 10 of the embodiment includes a memory unit 12, an RC execution unit 17, a notification flag update control unit 18, and a notification control unit 14. The memory unit 12 stores customer information 120 including at least a mobile phone number and a notification flag. The customer information 120 is an example of a "notification flag". The notification flag is information in which either an SMS notification or an RCS notification is set as a notification means for notifying the customer terminal 20 of information. The SMS notification is an example of a "first notification" and is a notification that uses SMS, which is a message application preinstalled in the customer terminal. The RCS notification is an example of a "second notification" and is a notification that uses RCS, which is a message application not preinstalled in the customer terminal 20. The RC execution unit 17 executes RC when the execution timing arrives. RC is a process that determines whether the customer terminal 20 can use RCS by notifying a mobile carrier that provides RCS to inquire whether the customer terminal 20 can use RCS. The notification flag update control unit 18 changes the setting value of the notification flag according to the execution result of RC by the RC execution unit 17. The notification flag update control unit 18 stores the changed setting value of the notification flag in the storage unit 12. When the notification timing arrives, the notification control unit 14 notifies the customer terminal 20 of the information by SMS addressed to the mobile phone number of the customer terminal or RCS according to the notification flag. The execution timing is the timing before the notification timing arrives.

As a result, in the notification management device 10 of this embodiment, RC can be executed before the notification timing arrives. Therefore, it is possible to update the notification flag according to the result of executing RC before notifying the customer terminal 20 of the information. Therefore, when RCS is installed on a customer's mobile phone on which RCS was not previously installed, the notification flag can be updated from SMS notification to RCS notification. In other words, when RCS is installed on a customer's mobile phone on which RCS was not previously installed, it becomes possible to notify information using RCS.

The notification management device 10 of the embodiment further includes an RC execution determination unit 16. The RC execution determination unit 16 determines whether or not an execution condition for executing RC is satisfied, and when it is determined that the execution condition is satisfied, causes the RC execution unit 17 to execute RC. The RC execution unit 17 executes RC when it is determined by the RC execution determination unit 16 that RC is to be executed. The execution condition is either a condition that an SMS notification is set in the notification flag corresponding to the customer terminal 20, or a condition that a predetermined period has elapsed since RC was executed on the customer terminal 20. As a result, the notification management device 10 of the embodiment can execute RC when the execution condition is satisfied. As a result, it is possible to narrow down the customer terminals 20 that are targets for executing RC, and it is possible to reduce the processing load compared to when RC is executed for all customer terminals 20. Moreover, the execution condition is for executing RC on customer terminals 20 that cannot use RCS notification. Therefore, when a customer terminal 20 that could not use RCS notification becomes able to use RCS, the notification flag can be updated. Therefore, if RCS is installed on a customer's mobile phone where RCS was not previously installed, it will be possible to notify the customer of information using RCS.

In the above-described embodiment, an example was described in which RC is executed for a customer terminal 20 in which the notification flag is set to SMS notification. However, this is not limited to this. Even if the RCS is installed in a customer terminal 20, the RCS may be uninstalled.

As a countermeasure to this, the notification management device 10 may execute RC for customer terminals 20 for which the notification flag is set to RCS notification. This makes it possible to update the notification flag from RCS notification to SMS notification for customer terminals 20 that have RCS installed, even if the RCS is uninstalled. In other words, if the RCS is uninstalled on a customer's mobile phone that previously had RCS installed, it becomes possible to notify information using SMS.

The notification management device 10 may also execute RC at different frequencies depending on the execution conditions. For example, 7 times out of 10, RC may be executed for customer terminals 20 whose notification flags are set to SMS notification, and the remaining 3 times, RC may be executed for customer terminals 20 whose notification flags are set to RCS notification.

In cases where a new RCS is installed, but where the RCS is uninstalled infrequently, it is possible to notify a customer terminal 20 where the RCS has become available of information using the RCS one by one, while also being able to handle the occasional occurrence of a customer terminal 20 where the RCS has been uninstalled.

In the above embodiment, the notification management device 10 sends an inquiry to one mobile carrier server 30, but the present invention is not limited to this. The notification management device 10 may send an inquiry to multiple mobile carrier servers 30 to inquire whether the customer terminal 20 can use the RCS. In this case, the notification management device 10 may link the notification flag to a mobile carrier that can notify the customer terminal 20 of information and store the notification flag in the memory unit 12.

In the above embodiment, the notification flag is set to either SMS notification or RCS notification, but the present invention is not limited to this. The notification flag may be information indicating either SMS notification, RCS notification, or printed matter notification. Printed matter notification is a method of notifying information by delivering a printed matter. In this case, customer information 120 stores information indicating the delivery address, name, etc., when a printed matter notification is to be sent.

In the above embodiment, an example was described in which RC is executed before notifying the customer terminal 20 of information, but this is not limited to the above. After notifying the customer terminal 20 of information, the notification flag may be updated depending on the result of the notification. For example, if the customer terminal 20 receives information as a result of notifying the customer terminal 20 of information using RCS, the notification management device 10 maintains the notification flag of the customer terminal 20 as set to RCS notification. On the other hand, if the notification management device 10 receives a response indicating that the customer terminal 20 cannot receive messages using RCS, it changes the setting value of the notification flag of the customer terminal 20 from RCS notification to SMS notification.

The notification management device 10 in the above-mentioned embodiment may be realized in whole or in part by a computer. In that case, a program for realizing this function may be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium, and the program recorded on the recording medium may be read into a computer system and executed to realize the function. Note that the term "computer system" here includes hardware such as an OS and peripheral devices. Furthermore, the term "computer-readable recording medium" refers to portable media such as flexible disks, optical magnetic disks, ROMs, and CD-ROMs, and storage devices such as hard disks built into a computer system. Furthermore, the term "computer-readable recording medium" may include a medium that dynamically holds a program for a short period of time, such as a communication line when a program is transmitted via a network such as the Internet or a communication line such as a telephone line, and a medium that holds a program for a certain period of time, such as a volatile memory inside a computer system that is a server or client in such a case. Furthermore, the above-mentioned program may be a program for realizing a part of the above-mentioned function, or may be a program that can realize the above-mentioned function in combination with a program already recorded in the computer system, or may be a program that is realized using a programmable logic device such as an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array).

The above describes an embodiment of the present invention in detail with reference to the drawings, but the specific configuration is not limited to this embodiment, and includes designs that do not deviate from the gist of the present invention.

1...Notification management system, 10...Notification management device, 12...Storage unit, 120...Customer information, 121...Execution condition information, 13...Notification request acquisition unit, 14...Notification control unit, 16...RC execution determination unit, 17...RC execution unit, 18...Notification flag update control unit, 20...Customer terminal, 30...Mobile carrier server, 40...Corporate server 40

Claims (5)

a storage unit that stores a notification flag that is set as a notification means for notifying the customer terminal of information, for electronic notifications addressed to a mobile phone number of the customer terminal, the first notification using a first app that is a message application preinstalled on the customer terminal, or the second notification using a second app that is a message application not preinstalled on the customer terminal;
an RC execution unit that, when an execution timing for executing an availability check (RC) for determining whether or not the customer terminal can use the second notification arrives, executes the availability check (RC) by sending a notification to a mobile carrier that provides the second application to inquire whether or not the customer terminal can use the second application;
a notification flag update control unit that changes a setting value of the notification flag in accordance with a result of execution of the availability check (RC) by the RC execution unit, and stores the changed setting value of the notification flag in the storage unit;
a notification control unit that notifies the customer terminal of information by using the first notification or the second notification addressed to the mobile phone number of the customer terminal in accordance with a setting value of the notification flag when a notification timing for notifying the customer terminal of information arrives;
Equipped with
The execution timing is a timing before the notification timing arrives.
Notification management device. a RC execution determination unit that determines whether an execution condition for executing the availability check (RC) is satisfied, and when it is determined that the execution condition is satisfied, causes the RC execution unit to execute the availability check (RC);
The RC execution unit executes the availability check (RC) when the RC execution determination unit determines that the availability check (RC) is to be executed;
The execution condition is either a condition that the first notification is set in the notification flag corresponding to the customer terminal, or a condition that a predetermined period of time has elapsed since the availability check (RC) was performed on the customer terminal.
The notification management device of claim 1 . The RC execution unit executes the availability check (RC) on the customer terminal whose notification flag is set to the second notification less frequently than the frequency at which the availability check (RC) is executed on the customer terminal whose notification flag is set to the first notification.
The notification management device of claim 1 . A notification management method performed by a notification management device having a memory unit that stores a notification flag set as a notification means for notifying a customer terminal of information, the notification being one of a first notification using a first app that is a message application preinstalled in the customer terminal and a second notification using a second app that is a message application not preinstalled in the customer terminal, among electronic notifications addressed to a mobile phone number of the customer terminal, the notification management method comprising:
When an execution timing arrives for an RC execution unit to execute an availability check (RC) for determining whether or not the customer terminal can use the second notification, the RC execution unit executes the availability check (RC) by sending a notification to a mobile carrier that provides the second application to inquire whether or not the customer terminal can use the second application;
a notification flag update control unit that changes a setting value of the notification flag in accordance with a result of execution of the availability check (RC) by the RC execution unit, and stores the changed setting value of the notification flag in the storage unit;
a notification control unit, when a notification timing for notifying the customer terminal of information arrives, notifies the customer terminal of the information by using the first notification or the second notification addressed to the mobile phone number of the customer terminal according to a setting value of the notification flag;
The execution timing is a timing before the notification timing arrives.
How to manage notifications. A program for causing a computer to operate as a notification management device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, the program causing the computer to function as each unit of the notification management device.

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