Transaction and communication system and method for vendors and promoters

Abstract

Transaction and communication systems and methods are disclosed for vendors and promoters. Some embodiments disclosed herein provide a deal manager system comprising transaction data associated with the promotional activities of one or more promoters, such as promoters registered with the deal manager system. The deal manager system can process the transaction data and provide compensation to promoters for their promotional activities based at least partly thereon. In certain embodiments, at least a portion of the transaction data can be provided to one or more vendors. A vendor may direct that benefits or promotional material be provided to a subset of promoters based at least in part on the received transaction data. The deal manager system may include promoter contact information, and materials provided by the vendor may be conveyed by the deal manager system to certain promoters based on the same.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A computer-implemented method of facilitating communication between a vendor and one or more deal promoters, the method comprising:
 by a deal manager system comprising one or more processors:
 storing contact information related to one or more deal promoters in one or more data storage devices; 
 receiving transaction data related to promotional activities of the one or more deal promoters; 
 generating promoter analysis data based at least in part on the transaction data; 
 providing the promoter analysis data to a vendor; 
 receiving promotional content from the vendor; and 
 providing the promotional content to the one or more deal promoters using the contact information, thereby permitting communication between the vendor and the one or more deal promoters without providing personal identity information of the one or more promoters to the vendor. 
   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more deal promoters are drivers of for-hire vehicles. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the contact information comprises email addresses. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the contact information comprises telephone numbers. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more deal promoters are a subset of a set of deal promoters registered with the deal manager system. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the subset of deal promoters is selected based at least in part on performance criteria. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the performance criteria is related to promotion of deals associated with the vendor. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the subset of deal promoters comprises a group of promoters that were involved with promotion of a relatively high number of deals. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the subset of deal promoters was selected by the vendor 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 5 , further comprising classifying the set of registered deal promoters based at least in part on territorial association. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 5 , further comprising classifying the set of registered deal promoters based at least in part on work schedule information. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 5 , further comprising receiving selection information selecting 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the promotional content comprises promotional benefits. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the promotional content comprises a voucher for redemption at the venue. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the promotional content comprises advertising material. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the promotional content comprises material advertising one or more deals that the deal manager system enables the promoter to promote. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising receiving a request from the vendor for the promoter analysis data. 
     
     
         18 . A computer-implemented method of providing benefits to deal promoters, the method comprising:
 by a deal manager system comprising one or more processors:
 receiving registration information from a driver of a for-hire vehicle, wherein the driver is an employee of a first company with which the deal manager system has a preexisting business relationship; 
 storing the registration information in a data storage device, the second driver thereby receiving a status as a registered promoter with the deal manager system; 
 generating an identifier associated with the driver; 
 providing the identifier to the driver; 
 processing a consumer transaction associated with the identifier; and 
 providing a benefit to the driver in response to processing the consumer transaction. 
   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18 , further comprising providing substantially real-time notification to the driver regarding the consumer transaction. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 18 , further comprising receiving information from the driver indicating that the driver is employed by a second company and no longer employed by the first company, wherein:
 when the second company is a company with which the deal manager system has a preexisting business relationship, the driver's registration information is maintained and the driver retains its status as a registered promoter; and   when the second company is not a company with which the deal manager system has a preexisting business relationship, the driver's status as a registered promoter is discontinued.   
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 20 , wherein when the driver's status as a registered promoter is discontinued, the driver's registration information is removed from the data storage device. 
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein the identifier is a unique sequence of alpha-numeric characters. 
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 22 , wherein the identifier is a number sequence. 
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 22 , wherein the consumer transaction associated with the identifier comprises request from a consumer to download a deal service application, wherein the request includes the identifier. 
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 22 , wherein the consumer transaction associated with the identifier comprises a deal acceptance received from a consumer, wherein the acceptance includes the identifier. 
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 22 , wherein the benefit is a money payment. 
     
     
         27 . A computer-implemented method of providing benefits to deal promoters, the method comprising
 by a deal manager system comprising one or more processors:
 receiving registration information from a service provider; 
 generating an identifier associated with the service provider; 
 providing the identifier to the service provider; 
 receiving a consumer transaction request including the identifier; and 
 providing compensation to the service provider in response to receiving the request. 
   
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 27 , wherein the compensation is calculated based on a transaction type of the consumer transaction request.