JP7721074B2 - Information processing method, information processing device, and information processing program - Google Patents

Description

This disclosure relates to an information processing method, an information processing device, and an information processing program.

In recent years, many companies have been offering fixed-price subscription services (hereinafter referred to as "services"). Users can receive services by subscribing to them (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2014-102857 A

However, with conventional technology, when a user starts a service subscription, they must select an arbitrary standard subscription plan from one or more standard subscription plans that are preset by the service provider. In other words, the user must start a service subscription for a preset standard subscription period at a preset standard subscription amount. However, users may not be sure whether the service subscription will satisfy them, and the psychological hurdle to subscribing to the service may be high. Furthermore, there are also cases where users complete service registration (such as creating a user account) but do not start the service subscription.

The purpose of this disclosure is to offer users highly flexible service subscription plans.

In an information processing method according to one embodiment of the present disclosure, an information processing device performs the following processes: providing a service; identifying a first user who has registered for the service but has not subscribed to the service for a predetermined period of time; and associating the first user with a special subscription plan that differs from the standard subscription plan for the service.

1A and 1B are diagrams illustrating a configuration of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, an example of a hardware configuration of an information processing device according to the embodiment, and an example of a block diagram illustrating the configuration of the information processing device according to the embodiment. FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a sequence diagram of processing between a server and a terminal according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure.

The following describes embodiments for implementing an information processing method, information processing device, and information processing program according to the present disclosure, with reference to the drawings.

<System Configuration>
1 shows a configuration of a communication system 1 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In the communication system 1, a server 110 and a terminal 120 are connected via a network 130. In the present disclosure, when it is not necessary to distinguish between the server 110 and the terminal 120, the server 110 and the terminal 120 may each be expressed as an information processing device 200. Note that the number of servers 110 and terminals 120 connected to the network 130 is not limited.

The server 110 may provide a predetermined service to a terminal 120 used by a user via the network 130. The predetermined service may be any subscription service. Examples of predetermined services include, but are not limited to, payment services, financial services, e-commerce services, SNS (Social Networking Services), content provision services such as music, videos, books, and news, food and drink services, car sharing, ride sharing, private lodging, rental space, and sharing services such as experience-based sharing services for renting clothing, accessories, bags, and furniture, as well as matching services. The server 110 may provide one or more predetermined services independently or in cooperation with other servers. When a user uses a predetermined service via the terminal 120, the server 110 provides the predetermined service to one or more terminals 120.

The network 130 serves to connect two or more information processing devices 200. The network 130 refers to a communication network that provides a connection path so that the terminal 120 can send and receive data after connecting to the server 110.

At least one of the networks 130 may be a wired network or a wireless network. Network 130 may include, by way of example and not limitation, at least one of an ad hoc network, an intranet, an extranet, a virtual private network (VPN), a local area network (LAN), a wireless LAN (WLAN), a wide area network (WAN), a wireless WAN (WWAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), a portion of the Internet, a portion of the public switched telephone network (PSTN), a cellular network, integrated service digital networks (ISDNs), wireless LANs, long term evolution (LTE), code division multiple access (CDMA), Bluetooth (registered trademark), and satellite communications. Network 130 may include at least one network.

The information processing device 200 may be any information processing device capable of implementing the functions, processes, and methods described in this disclosure. Examples of the information processing device 200 include, but are not limited to, smartphones, mobile phones (feature phones), computers (including, but not limited to, desktops, laptops, tablets, etc.), server devices, media computer platforms (including, but not limited to, cable and satellite set-top boxes, digital video recorders, etc.), handheld computer devices (including, but not limited to, personal digital assistants (PDAs), email clients, etc.), wearable devices (including, but not limited to, eyeglass-type devices, watch-type devices, etc.), and other types of computer or communication platforms.

<Hardware configuration>
The hardware configuration of a server 110 and a terminal 120 included in a communication system 1 will be described with reference to FIG.

(1) Hardware Configuration of Server 110 The server 110 includes a processor 111, a memory 112, a storage 113, an input/output interface (input/output I/F) 114, an input device 115, an output device 116, and a transmission/reception unit 117. The hardware components of the server 110 are connected to each other via a bus B, for example and not by way of limitation.

The server 110 realizes the functions, processes, and methods described in this disclosure through cooperation between the processor 111, memory 112, storage 113, input/output I/F 114, input device 115, output device 116, and transmitter/receiver 117.

Processor 111 executes functions, processes, and methods implemented by code or instructions contained in a program stored in storage 113. Processor 111 may include, but is not limited to, a central processing unit (CPU), MPU (Micro Processing Unit), GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), microprocessor, processor core, multiprocessor, ASIC (Application-Specific Integrated Circuit), FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), etc., and may implement each process disclosed in each embodiment using logic circuits (hardware) formed in integrated circuits (IC (Integrated Circuit) chips, LSI (Large Scale Integration)), etc., or dedicated circuits. Furthermore, these circuits may be implemented using one or more integrated circuits, and multiple processes disclosed in each embodiment may be implemented using a single integrated circuit.

Memory 112 temporarily stores programs loaded from storage 113 and provides a working area for processor 111. Memory 112 also temporarily stores various data generated while processor 111 is executing programs. Examples of memory 112 include, but are not limited to, RAM (Random Access Memory), ROM (Read Only Memory), etc.

Storage 113 stores programs and various data. Examples of storage 113 include, but are not limited to, HDDs (Hard Disk Drives), SSDs (Solid State Drives), flash memory, etc.

The input/output I/F 114 is connected to an input device 115 that inputs various operations to the server 110 and an output device 116 that outputs the processing results processed by the server 110.

The input device 115 may be any device that can accept input from a user and transmit information related to that input to the processor 111 via the input/output I/F 114. Examples of the input device 115 include, but are not limited to, a touch panel, a touch display, hardware keys such as a keyboard, a pointing device such as a mouse, a camera (for inputting operations via images), and a microphone (for inputting operations via voice), and these may be combined.

The output device 116 may be any device capable of outputting the processing results of the processor 111 via the input/output I/F 114. When the processing results are output as video or video images, the output device 116 may be implemented by any type of device capable of displaying display data written to a frame buffer, or a combination thereof. Examples of the output device 116 include, but are not limited to, touch panels, touch displays, monitors (including, but not limited to, liquid crystal displays and organic electroluminescence displays (ELDs)), head-mounted displays (HMDs), projection mapping, holograms, devices capable of displaying images, text information, etc. in air (which may be a vacuum), speakers (audio output), printers, and combinations of these may also be used.

The input device 115 and output device 116 may be integrated or separate.

The transmitting/receiving unit 117 transmits and receives various data via the network 130. This communication may be performed either wired or wirelessly, and any communication protocol may be used as long as mutual communication is possible. The transmitting/receiving unit 117 has the function of communicating with other information processing devices via the network 130. The transmitting/receiving unit 117 transmits various data to other information processing devices in accordance with instructions from the processor 111. The transmitting/receiving unit 117 also receives various data transmitted from other information processing devices and transmits it to the processor 111.

Cloud computing, consisting of one or more information processing devices, may implement at least some of the functions, processes, and methods of server 110.

Another information processing device may implement at least some of the functions, processes, and methods of server 110. In this case, the processor of the other information processing device may implement at least some of the functions, processes, and methods implemented by processor 111.

The programs of each embodiment of the present disclosure may be provided in a state stored on a computer-readable storage medium. The storage medium may store the programs on a "non-transitory tangible medium." Examples of programs include, but are not limited to, software programs and computer programs.

The storage medium may include at least one of one or more semiconductor-based or other integrated circuits (ICs) (such as, but not limited to, field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application specific ICs (ASICs)), hard disk drives (HDDs), hybrid hard drives (HHDs), optical disks, optical disk drives (ODDs), magneto-optical disks, magneto-optical drives, floppy diskettes, floppy disk drives (FDDs), magnetic tapes, solid state drives (SSDs), RAM drives, secure digital cards or drives, and any other suitable storage media. The storage medium may be volatile, non-volatile, or a combination of volatile and non-volatile.

The server 110 or the terminal 120 may acquire the program of the present disclosure via any transmission medium (such as a communication network or broadcast waves) capable of transmitting the program.
Furthermore, each embodiment and each example of the present disclosure may also be realized in the form of a data signal embedded in a carrier wave in which the program is embodied by electronic transmission.

The programs disclosed herein may be implemented using, but are not limited to, scripting languages such as JavaScript (registered trademark), Python, C, Go, Swift, Kotlin, Java (registered trademark), etc.

(2) Hardware Configuration of Terminal 120 The hardware configuration of the terminal 120 is similar to the hardware configuration of the server 110 described above, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted.

<Embodiment>
In this embodiment, if a user has registered for a service using the terminal 120 but has not subscribed to the service for a predetermined period of time, the standard subscription plan prompts the user to subscribe to a service under a different special subscription plan.

Embodiments lower the barrier to users subscribing to services, increasing the likelihood that users will start subscribing.

Note that subscribing to a service for a fee is referred to as "subscribing to a service." Using at least a portion of a service (including access to the service provider), either for a fee or free of charge, is referred to as "using a service." Note that there are cases where at least a portion of a service can be used without subscribing (for example, freemium model services).

Furthermore, a subscription plan that is preset by a service provider or the like will be referred to as a standard subscription plan, the subscription amount for a standard subscription plan as the standard subscription amount, and the subscription period for a standard subscription plan as the standard subscription period.

<Configuration of the embodiment>
The configuration of the server 110 and the terminal 120 will be described with reference to FIG.

(1) Server configuration
The server 110 includes a processor 111 , a memory 112 , a storage 113 , an input/output I/F 114 , an input device 115 , an output device 116 , and a transmission/reception unit 117 .

The processor 111 cooperates with the memory 112 to form the control unit 1111 (not shown). To the extent feasible, machine learning or AI (artificial intelligence) may also be used to execute the functions or processes of each unit.

The input device 115 accepts various setting operations from operators of the various services provided by the server 110.

The transmission/reception unit 117 transmits and receives data to and from the terminal 120 in accordance with instructions from the control unit 111. For example, when the user of the terminal 120 is authenticated by the user ID and password included in a login request from the terminal 120, the transmission/reception unit 117 connects a communication session with the terminal 120 using HTTPS or the like. The transmission/reception unit 117 then stores the communication address and user ID of the terminal 120, etc., in association with the ID of the connected communication session. Then, the transmission/reception unit 117 transmits data to the terminal 120, etc., using the connected communication session.

The control unit 111 performs the processes of providing a specified service to the user of the terminal 120, proceeding with payment, and performing the processes described below.

At least one of the memory 112 and the storage 113 constitutes a storage unit 1112 (not shown). The storage unit 1112 may include a program storage unit that stores various programs and a user information storage unit that stores user information.

The user information storage unit stores user information in association with the user ID. By way of example and not limitation, the user information storage unit stores user information such as name, gender, whether or not identity verification has been performed, service subscription status, service registration date and time, and service usage status (login time and login frequency) in association with the user ID.

User information may be any information associated with a user, an account used by the user, or a device used by the user. User information may include, but is not limited to, at least one of the following: identification information that uniquely identifies the user (user ID, device ID, etc.), the user's name, a user icon image, the user's age, the user's gender, the user's address, the user's hobbies and interests, the user's email address, the user's phone number, the identifier of the SNS used by the user, the user's service usage history, the user's service usage trends, the user's asset information (annual income, assets held, account balance, payment history, etc.), balance information for electronic value (electronic money) associated with the user, credit card information associated with the user (credit card number, etc.), and service subscription status (subscribed services, subscription amount for subscribed services, subscription start date and time for subscribed services, subscription end date and time for subscribed services, subscribed services, etc.). User information may be entered by the user or assigned by a specific service.

(2) Terminal configuration
The terminal 120 includes a processor 121 , a memory 122 , a storage 123 , an input/output I/F 124 , an input device 125 , an output device 126 , and a transmission/reception unit 127 .

The input device 125 accepts various operations from the user of the terminal 120.

The transmission/reception unit 127 transmits and receives data to and from the server 110, etc., in accordance with instructions from the processor 121. For example, when logging in to the server 110, the transmission/reception unit 127 connects a communication session with the server 110 using HTTPS, etc. Then, it stores the communication address of the server 110, etc., in association with the ID of the connected communication session. Then, it transmits data to the server 110 using the connected communication session.

The control unit 1211 (not shown) performs processing to use the specified services provided by the server 110.

The memory unit 1212 (not shown) stores programs executed by the terminal 120.

<Operation Processing of the Embodiment>
FIG. 2 shows an example of a processing sequence of the communication system 1 according to the embodiment.

(Step S101) The transmitter/receiver 127 of the terminal 120 sends a service registration request to the server 110. The service registration request may also include user information.

(Step S102) When the control unit 1111 of the server 110 receives a registration request for the service from the terminal 120, it issues a user ID that can uniquely identify the user, associates it with the user information received from the terminal 120, and stores it in the user information storage unit (service registration process). Note that the user information may be input by the user using the terminal 120. After the service registration process is complete, the server 110 may provide at least a portion of the service to the user. The process related to service registration may be implemented using known technology. The service registration process may also be referred to as account creation.

(Step S103) The control unit 1111 references the user information storage unit at a predetermined timing or at any timing, and identifies users who satisfy predetermined conditions related to the user's use of the service or predetermined conditions related to the user's user information (user identification process).

(user specific conditions)
The predetermined condition regarding the user's use of the service and the predetermined condition regarding the user's user information may be combined in any manner.

The predetermined condition for using the service may be at least one of the following conditions or a combination of these conditions. These may also be conditions for a predetermined period of time.
・Service registration is complete.
- A specified period of time has passed since the date and time of service registration.
- A specified period has passed since the end date and time of your previous service subscription.
- You do not subscribe to the service.
- You are not currently subscribed to the service, but have a history of subscribing to the service in the past.
- You are not subscribed to the service and have no history of subscribing to the service in the past.
- Having logged in or accessed the service more than the specified number of times.
- Not logging in or accessing the service more than the specified number of times.
- You have used the service (viewing content, etc.) more than the specified number of times.
- You have not used the service (viewed content, etc.) more than the specified number of times.

The predetermined condition regarding the user information may be at least one of the following conditions or a combination thereof.
- Possessing user information that is the same as or similar to that of a user who subscribes to the service and has a relatively high frequency of use, period of use, or number of uses.
- Possessing user information that is the same as or similar to that of users who subscribe to the service but whose frequency of use, period of use, or number of uses is relatively low.
- Possessing user information that is the same as or similar to the user information of users who subscribe to the service and whose frequency of use, period of use, or number of uses is greater than or equal to a specified level.
- Possessing user information that is the same as or similar to the user information of users who subscribe to the service and whose usage frequency, usage period, or number of uses is below a specified level.
- Possess user information that is the same as or similar to the user information of users who subscribe to the service and whose subscription period is longer than a specified period.
- The user has user information that is the same as or similar to the most common user information among users who subscribe to the service.
- The service has user information that is the same as or similar to the least amount of user information among users who subscribe to the service.
- The service provider has user information determined at its discretion.
- The service has user information that accounts for less than a specified percentage of all users who subscribe to the service.
- The service provider has user information for a specified percentage or more of all users who subscribe to the service.
- Service information similar to the service is stored in the terminal 120. After the terminal 120 receives the request transmitted from the control unit 1111, the control unit 1211 of the terminal 120 may confirm whether service information similar to the service is stored in the terminal 120 or whether service information similar to the service is not stored in the terminal 120. As an example, the terminal 120 may store an application that provides a similar service, or information on a similar service may be stored in the cache of a browser running on the terminal 120.

The conditions including the above conditions may be, for example, at least one of the following conditions:
- The user must have completed service registration, a specified period of time has passed since service registration, and have no previous subscription history.
- The user must have completed service registration, not subscribed to the service for more than the specified period, and have no past subscription history.
- The user must have completed service registration, not subscribed to the service for more than the specified period, and have a history of subscriptions in the past.
An application for a service similar to the service is installed on the terminal 120 used by the user.
- The user has used or subscribed to a service similar to the service.

(Step S104) The control unit 1111 determines a special subscription plan to be sent to the identified user, which is a subscription plan different from the standard subscription plan (special subscription plan determination process). The special subscription plan may be stored in advance in the memory unit 1112, or may be generated each time by the control unit 1111.

The special subscription plan may be any plan different from the standard subscription plan, and may include at least one of the following subscription plans: The subscription amount set for the special subscription plan is referred to as the special subscription amount, and the subscription period set for the special subscription plan is referred to as the special subscription period.
- A subscription plan that allows you to subscribe to the service for a period longer than the standard subscription period for an amount equal to or less than the standard subscription amount.
- A subscription plan that allows you to subscribe to the service for an amount equal to or less than the standard subscription amount and for a period equal to or less than the standard subscription period.
- A subscription plan that allows you to subscribe to a service for an amount equal to or less than the standard subscription amount and for a period equal to or less than the standard subscription period, where the value of the special subscription amount divided by the special subscription period is greater than the value of the standard subscription amount divided by the standard subscription period.
- A subscription plan that allows you to subscribe to a service for an amount equal to or less than the standard subscription amount and for a period equal to or less than the standard subscription period, where the value of the special subscription amount divided by the special subscription period is less than the value of the standard subscription amount divided by the standard subscription period.
- A subscription plan that provides cash back (refund in the form of cash) or points back (refund in the form of points that can be used within or outside the service) for at least a portion of the subscription amount.

For example, if a special subscription plan is a "subscription plan that allows you to subscribe to a service for a price less than the standard subscription amount and for a period less than the standard subscription period," users can subscribe to the service for a short period of time for a price lower than the standard subscription amount, and learn about the service content of a service that would not be available unless they subscribed to it.

Special subscription plans may include a period during which subscriptions under the special subscription plan are valid.

Special subscription plans may be determined based on specified conditions regarding service usage or specified conditions regarding user information.

(Determination of special subscription amount)
The special subscription amount may be any amount equal to or greater than 0 yen. If the special subscription amount is equal to or greater than 1 yen, the service provider can obtain a financial benefit. The special subscription amount may be set lower than the standard subscription amount.

Even if the special subscription amount is 0 yen, by starting a subscription, the user can lower the hurdle for switching to a subscription at the standard subscription amount, and can obtain the information necessary if they subscribe to the service at the standard subscription amount in the future. More specifically, if registering a payment method or entering user information is required when starting a subscription, these operations can be completed when subscribing at the special subscription amount. Therefore, these operations can be omitted when subscribing at the standard subscription amount, which requires payment, reducing the possibility that the user will abandon these operations midway.

The special subscription amount may include at least one of an amount arbitrarily set by the service provider, an amount determined based on the user's user information, and an amount determined based on the user's user behavior.

User behavior may include at least one of a user rating the service, a user rating the content provided by the service, a user rating the features provided by the service, and a user designating, bidding for, or selecting a special subscription amount.

The aforementioned users may include at least one of the following users:
At least one user who requests a subscription at a special subscription price.
At least one user who subscribes to the service or has subscribed to the service under a standard or special subscription plan.
At least one user who has a predetermined relationship in the social graph with the user requesting the subscription with the special subscription plan, where the user may be arbitrarily designated by the user requesting the subscription with the special subscription plan.

The method for determining the special subscription amount may be, for example, as follows.
The special subscription amount is determined to be the special subscription amount specified by a user who has a predetermined relationship in the social graph with the user requesting a subscription at the special subscription amount and who has a service subscription history.
The special subscription amount is the amount specified by the user requesting a subscription at the special subscription amount.
A special subscription amount is an amount specified by one or more users subscribing to the service.

The special subscription period may be automatically adjusted depending on the special subscription amount. More specifically, the higher the special subscription amount, the longer the special subscription period. Also, the smaller the special subscription amount, the shorter the special subscription period.

In addition, a special subscription period may be determined instead of the special subscription amount described in determining the special subscription amount. Special subscription plans may also be offered to different users.

(Service usage restrictions for users subscribing to the service under a special subscription plan)
There may be differences between the services available to users who subscribe to a service under a standard subscription plan and those available to users who subscribe to a service under a special subscription plan. The differences may be in at least one of the range of available services, the content provided by the service, the functionality of the service, and the time during which the service is available. Furthermore, there may be limitations on the services available to users who subscribe to a service under a special subscription plan compared to users who subscribe to a service under a standard subscription plan.

At least one of the user identification process of step S103 and the special subscription plan determination process of step S103 may be performed at predetermined intervals, or at any timing. Examples of any timing include when the services, content, or functions provided by the service change, when there is a change in the users subscribing to the service, or when specified by the service provider.

(Step S105) The transmitter/receiver 117 of the server 110 transmits the determined subscription plan to the terminal 120.

(Step S106) In response to the user's operation to send a subscription request, the transceiver 127 of the terminal 120 sends the subscription request to the server 110. The subscription request may include information that can identify the subscription plan (standard subscription plan or special subscription plan). Note that the subscription plan sent may be one selected by the user from one or more subscription plans.

(Step S107) When the control unit 1111 receives a subscription request from the terminal 120, it updates the subscription status of the user ID associated with the terminal 120 from not subscribed to subscribed, stores the subscription plan in the user information storage unit in association with the user ID, and starts providing the service. The subscription plan included in the subscription request may include at least one of the subscription amount, subscription period, and an identifier that can uniquely identify the subscription plan. Processing related to service subscriptions may be implemented using known technology. If the special subscription plan includes point back or cash back, the point back or cash back may be executed.

The control unit 1111 may automatically start a subscription under the standard subscription plan when the subscription period under the special subscription period ends.

This embodiment is applicable not only to users who do not subscribe to the service, but also to users who subscribe to the service but are eligible for a higher-level subscription plan.

1 Communication system 110 Server 111 Processor 112 Memory 113 Storage 114 Input/output I/F
115 Input device 116 Output device 117 Transmitting/receiving unit 120 Terminal 121 Processor 122 Memory 123 Storage 124 Input/output I/F
125 Input device 126 Output device 127 Transmitting/receiving unit

Claims (7)

The information processing device
providing a service of renting an item for a certain period of time in exchange for payment of a fee according to a first rate plan;
A user who has completed registration for the service, has had a predetermined period of time elapse since registration, and has no history of using the service in the past;
or
a process of identifying a user who has previously used the service by paying a fee for the service but has stopped paying the fee for the service and is therefore unable to use the service for a predetermined period of time as a first user ;
a process of associating the identified first user with a second rate plan that is different from the first rate plan and has at least one of a payment amount or a rental period for the item that is smaller than that of the first rate plan;
and presenting the second rate plan to the first user. In the providing process, the service is provided by
2. The information processing method according to claim 1, wherein a service of renting the item for a fixed period is provided in response to payment of the fee under the first rate plan, which is a subscription-based payment plan. The information processing method described in claim 1 or 2, wherein the range of items available for rental in the service is more limited in the second pricing plan than in the first pricing plan. An information processing method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein when the period for providing the service to the first user under the second rate plan has ended, provision of the service under the first rate plan is automatically started. An information processing method according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , wherein when the first user uses a service under the second pricing plan, the first user is given cash or points that can be used inside or outside the service. An information processing device including a control unit,
The control unit
providing a service of renting an item for a certain period of time in exchange for payment of a fee according to a first rate plan;
A user who has completed registration for the service, has had a predetermined period of time elapse since registration, and has no history of using the service in the past;
or
a process of identifying a user who has previously used the service by paying a fee for the service but has stopped paying the fee for the service and is therefore unable to use the service for a predetermined period of time as a first user ;
a process of associating the identified first user with a second rate plan that is different from the first rate plan and has at least one of a payment amount or a rental period for the item that is smaller than that of the first rate plan;
and presenting the second rate plan to the first user. An information processing program for operating an information processing device including a processor, the information processing program comprising:
providing a service of renting an item for a certain period of time in exchange for payment of a fee according to a first rate plan;
A user who has completed registration for the service, has had a predetermined period of time elapse since registration, and has no history of using the service in the past;
or
a process of identifying a user who has previously used the service by paying a fee for the service but has stopped paying the fee for the service and is therefore unable to use the service for a predetermined period of time as a first user ;
a process of associating the identified first user with a second rate plan that is different from the first rate plan and has at least one of a payment amount or a rental period for the item that is smaller than that of the first rate plan;
and presenting the second rate plan to the first user.