Marsh, a global leader in insurance brokering and risk management, is a wholly-owned
subsidiary of Marsh & Mclennan Companies. With annual revenue exceeding $11 billion,
MMC ranks no. 228 on the Fortune 500. The company has 53,000 employees and serves
clients in more than 100 countries.
In a meeting with the CFO of Marsh, the company’s CMO Gary Grose was asked, ‘We’re
spending a lot on sports. What can we do to make sure we’re spending effectively?” The CFO added, “Can we team up and think through what are the options?”
It was an opportune moment for both to move forward and evaluate the company’s
investment in sports sponsorships and partnerships. Without a new system, it was challenging
to make informed decisions on increasing spending or shifting allocations between the
company’s regions. The current system had passing grades for ticket distribution, but it fell
short on:
Both executives recognized that the legacy system favored making distributions over making
decisions, hamstringing their ability to make the right spending changes.
In assessing areas for improvement, Marsh identified three key requirements in a new ticket
management system:
Marsh understood that a new system, one that moved tickets online and provided a common
platform for the regions to manage tickets, would bring transparency to ticket usage and this
would make decision-making easier, not harder. Data would support decisions to drive
allocations. Simply making a request, especially from a region with below-average usage rates
and business results, would not produce increased allocation. They were also looking for a
solution that works congruently with their upcoming move to Salesforce CRM.
In implementing an online system from InviteManager, Marsh made a key stipulation: to order
tickets, the Sales teams had to use the new system. It was NOT optional. With over 10
years in sales management, Grose understood the impact of a clear incentive: a new system
that measured and reported usage rates and business impact would reward a sales
team with in creased allocations.
Marsh had approached the decision to implement a new system on two levels:
For Marsh, the decision to implement InviteManager reflected a management style that prioritized giving improved tools and systems for their
regions to use. The decision also reflected a need to make more insightful decisions at a corporate level. “Our CEO counts on me to build into our
budget planning each year, not only what is our total ticket allocation, but what are the changes,” shared Grose. “He counts on me to come forward with
these recommendations. I’m able to explain allocation recommendations by saying “I saw it in InviteManager.”