EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

TalentLaunch knew its suite at the Quicken Loans Arena was valuable. But without a reliable way to see how its tickets were being used, it had no way to measure it. After trying several in-house solutions, TalentLaunch implemented a fully-automated system specifically built to help companies manage their tickets and suites.

THE PROBLEM

Talk about good timing, thought Meredith Barnett, Executive Administrator at TalentLaunch. Her company had just purchased a private suite at the Quicken Loans Arena. A few weeks later, it was announced that LeBron James would be returning to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

TalentLaunch knew live events were a powerful way to connect with clients. Based in Cleveland, the company powers the staffing and recruitment industry by providing tech, marketing, and back-office services so recruiters can focus on what they do best: finding the best talent for their clients. TalentLaunch understood that in the business of recruiting, personal relationships are key.

“When we take our clients to a special event, it’s a chance for us to get to know them on a personal level,” observed Barnett. “They realize that we really care, and that they are more than a business transaction to us.”

While taking clients to events is a powerful way to build relationships, managing all the details for these events can be extremely challenging. Like many companies, TalentLaunch initially tried to manage them through Excel and email. The high volume of email Barnett normally received grew much higher as people contacted her for event tickets. The company moved to an internal system in which people could request tickets through web forms. While it provided some relief from the daily crush of email and offered a glimpse of what a fully-automated solution could offer, it still required a tremendous amount of follow-up.

“It was still a ton of manual work,” Barnett recalls.

Another challenge existed when it came to knowing how much food to cater in TalentLaunch’s suite. Guests sometimes dined beforehand or hit the concession stands on their way in, making it difficult to predict just how much catering would be needed. To be on the safe side, food was almost always ordered, but this resulted in excessive catering costs and wasted food when guests chose to dine elsewhere.

These difficulties in knowing how their suite was being used underscored a larger challenge: how could TalentLaunch measure whether their investment in client entertainment was generating strong returns? When people requested tickets for events at the Quicken Loans Arena, they would often forget to include all necessary information, such as the name of the invitee, their job title, or the company they represented. Without a complete picture of who was going to events, it could be impossible to later track whether the company’s suite was actually resulting in new business.

THE SOLUTION

After learning about TicketManager’s track record supporting hundreds of companies manage their tickets through automation, Meredith knew she had found the right solution for TalentLaunch. Not everyone was convinced.

“Over the years, we had tried a lot of different ways of managing tickets. The idea of trying something new made some people a little hesitant,” recalls Barnett. “But I knew this was the solution we had been waiting for.”

To request tickets, TalentLaunch employees had to include essential data such as their guest’s name, job title, and company, as well as their potential revenue value. This ensured that TalentLaunch’s private suite was being used to drive the largest returns. Another benefit was that TalentLaunch no longer had to guess about how much food and beverage to provide its guests for each event: invitees would indicate beforehand whether they wanted snacks, appetizers, dinner, or no food at all— no more guesswork. TalentLaunch’s guests would get exactly what they wanted when they arrived at the suite.

Capturing essential information before the event took place meant Barnett could run detailed reports showing exactly how tickets were being used. “With TicketManager, everyone fills out a custom template when requesting tickets. It captures all the information we need to run detailed ROI reports.”