RIGHTSLEEVE news/views

Red Bull Street Style

2009-11-15T23:38:00.005-05:00

I just returned from the Canadian National Championships of Red Bull Street Style (a client of ours). I will let the images taken from my video camera do the talking.

The point of this video is to demonstrate how effective Red Bull has been at living the values of their brand. The vibe at their events is contagious. An amazing brand story.

Webcast - Live from Dell

2009-11-10T10:33:00.004-05:00

On Nov 12 (at 12 noon EST), I am participating in a live webcast from Dell's headquarters in Round Rock TX.

Dell is hosting a virtual panel discussion featuring the winners of the Dell SMB Award (from Canada, US, Mexico and Brazil). The discussion will focus on how companies are using technology to cut costs, increase efficiency, improve customer relations and grow.

You are welcome to join the webcast by registering here

The official press release can be found here

Michael Dell and the Internet: a view from 1999

2009-11-01T05:20:00.001-05:00

I was just reading some remarks made in 1999 by Michael Dell on Building a Competitive Advantage in an Internet Economy.

While so much has changed in the 10 years since Dell made this speech, I am struck by how much of this is still relevant in 2009.

Consider the following excerpt:

"The Internet is also decreasing the cost of interactions. For instance, instead of making printer circuit boards, Dell has a supplier that does it, whom we treat as part of our company and with whom we exchange information at very little cost and at very high speeds. The Internet is shrinking time and distance, allowing us to bring our customers and our suppliers inside our business, and creating shared efficiencies and greater loyalty. Companies that recognize this can take advantage of it; those that don’'t will end up as road kill on the information super highway."

The fact that information has become even more readily available in the last 10 years reinforces this point. This has even extended beyond business into the consumer realm with the advent of Web 2.0 and how we as consumers now embrace open and public relationships with one another on Twitter, Facebook, etc. Web 2.0 indeeds shrinks time and distance when it comes to how we now interact with each other as individuals online.

Dell's thoughts on how to build an internet based business also remain true to this day.

"We focus on three areas: (i) building rich content, (ii) growing our commerce capabilities, and (iii) establishing communities of suppliers and end users that share common interests."

While a lot of this is pretty standard - table stakes, even - in 2009, it's interesting to reflect back on what the internet was like in 1999. I know in our case at RIGHTSLEEVE, we had a static web site with html product pages that were time consuming to update. We had no e-commerce functionality other than a simple quote request tool to interact with our customers. Having said that, it was pretty unique at the time in the context of the industry. It was a start.

In the early 2000's, we evolved into a database driven web site with full e-commerce capabilities, online store applications and a backend CRM/VRM system that allows us to interact with every customer and supplier around the world online. In the process, we dramatically changed how we did business, giving us a platform on which to compete within a hyper competitive industry.

It's interesting to consider how fast internet technology has changed in the past decade. The Web 1.0 (webvan.com, pets.com) bubble has burst, Web 2.0 (youtube.com, twitter.com) has taken the world by storm and now we are starting to see the beginnings of Web 3.0 (twine.com) and the so-called semantic web.

Despite these rapid changes in the types of internet models we see today, I don't think we have strayed too far from the enduring principles that were discussed by Michael Dell in 1999.

RIGHTSLEEVE in Profit Magazine - get your free copy here!

2009-10-20T11:25:00.005-04:00

RIGHTSLEEVE's customer retention strategies are featured in the latest issue of Profit Magazine. To honour this occasion, we'd like to send you a free copy.

Just fill out this form here, and we will mail out the issue on the double.

Customer Retention Strategies

2009-10-20T07:00:00.003-04:00

In the current issue of Profit Magazine, we were featured in a story on innovative ways to retain customers.

You can read the article here

It was also nice to be featured alongside two entrepreneurs I have a great deal of respect for - Dmitry Buterin of Bonasource and Matt Teichmann of Life Choices Foods.

Timeless Business Principles

2009-09-26T05:57:00.005-04:00

Fresh out of university in 1997, I started my business career in investment banking. I lasted 4 months.

While the experience was rewarding (I learned how to use Excel like a pro), I was more suited to entrepreneurship as I always wanted to build something I could call my own. (I also had a mind for sales/marketing, not finance).

Given my time in investment banking, I was interested how Goldman Sachs - the industry's 800 pound gorilla - grew from a mid-tier firm to a global powerhouse over the course of a few decades. To learn more about this rise, I have been reading Charles Ellis's The Partnership: The Making of Goldman Sachs

I have very little connection to the investment banking industry these days (my Excel skills have also weakened over time!), nor do I endorse the shenanigans of modern day Wall Street. However, what I have found interesting about this book are some of the timeless business principles that can be applied to almost any enterprise, regardless of industry or company size.

This is also not a commentary on Goldman Sachs per se, but rather a look at how one company within one industry was able to grow by applying some surprisingly simple principles.

In 1970 (long before subprime mortgages and credit default swaps), John Whitehead, a co-head of the firm, wrote the following ten commandments that guided their business development efforts:

1. Don't waste your time going after business we don't really want.
2. The boss usually decides - not the assistant treasurer. Do you know the boss?
3. It's just as easy to get a first-rate piece of business as a second-rate one.
4. You never learn anything when you are talking.
5. The client's objective is more important than yours.
6. The respect of one person is worth more than acquaintance with 100.
7. When there's business to be done, get it!
8. Important people like to deal with other important people. Are you one?
9. There's nothing worse than an unhappy client.
10. If you get the business, it's up to you to see that it's well handled.

As an entrepreneur, I reflect on these "10 commandments" and many of them make perfect sense, especially for an organization that wants to be outstanding (or be a Purple Cow, as Seth Godin would say). Many people in business waste a lot of time chasing opportunities that just do not make sense and act as a distraction to what really matters.

I particularly agree with commandments 4, 5, 6, 9 and 10. These are absolutely timeless and should be ingrained in any organization's culture, for-profits and non-profits alike.

This is a long book at 752 pages, but if you were to read anything, I would recommend Chapter 11, entitled "Principles" (pp 183-214).

My Take on Google Apps: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

2009-09-15T20:54:00.004-04:00

Now that we have been using Google Apps for the better part of 3 months, I wanted to give a review of how it has worked for us and whether we really miss Microsoft Outlook. This is also a glimpse into how we work on a daily basis at RIGHTSLEEVE.

I was intrigued about Google Apps ever since I learned about its forthcoming release back in 2006 when I attended the Office 2.0 conference in San Francisco. The idea that one could run an entire email service off the web (with our own domain) offered some huge advantages.

It took a few years for us to finally pull the trigger as we were so heavily invested in Microsoft technology. Old habits also die hard.

Now that we have moved over to Google Apps, here's the good, the bad and the ugly:

The Good

- the price is right. Google Apps is free, though you can upgrade to $50/user/year for some additional features.

- avoid paying for the expensive Microsoft Exchange which offers calendar sharing, among other enterprise friendly features.

- shared calendars

- syncing contacts and calendar records with a Blackberry/iPhone is done wirelessly

- no more spam (or at least very little of it)

- our IT administrator's time has been freed up as he no longer manages the myriad problems we had with Outlook (mail server crashing, etc)

- no need to backup our mail server

- more intuitive email filters

- email search capabilities are vastly superior to Outlook

- Google Docs is great for sharing documents and spreadsheets in real time across the organization. We still use our server for the majority of our files (ie artwork), but Google Docs makes it easy to work on projects in real time with other team members - no emailed Word attachments!

- the ability to access our files anywhere on any internet connected computer (this is also how our own CRM and production system works as well).

- email is stored in one place regardless of where the email was sent or received.

- managing "out of office" replies is so much easier

The Bad

- Google's Blackberry App is average at best (I am referring here to the Blackberry BIS service as I believe Google works better with Blackberry BES).

- searching for past emails takes quite a while on the Blackberry (min 20 seconds - a surprise for the company that pioneered the 0.7 second search results)

- when using the Blackberry, it does not access "all contacts" when composing emails (it only accesses your most recent contacts). You can access all contacts but it means digging into a few menus and then waiting minimum 20 seconds for all of the contacts to load).

- on the web, the contacts menu within Gmail takes a while to load and searching for contacts is time consuming (searching for a contact takes approx 4x longer than searching for a past email)

- cannot copy and paste attachments into Gmail like you can with Outlook (if I want to add an attachment I have to upload it to the outgoing message, something I could have just pasted into an Outlook message before).

- when you import your calendar records from Outlook into Google Apps, you lose your recurring events.

The Ugly

- data usage is very high on the Blackberry which means having to upgrade to a more expensive local plan. It gets even worse when you are in a different country as data charges are a usurious $6/MB - I use an average of 45-55MB of data per month. Data usage on the Blackberry before I moved to Google Apps was a tenth of what I use now.

The Bottom Line

Over the past 3 months, Google Apps have been down twice (a much publicized event on Twitter). The sum total of the service outage has been 3-4 hrs, not really a big deal in the grand scheme of things. When we were using Outlook and had to manage our own mail server, we spent more time dealing with problems which affected our access to email.

Overall, the switch has been worth it. The ability to collaborate with one another across our organization has been the number one benefit, with the time we have saved on IT hassles being a close second.

Hope this helps. If we've missed anything, be sure to comment accordingly.

hoHOTo merchandise - a sneak peak!

2009-08-17T07:46:00.010-04:00

We are proud to introduce the gear for hoHOTo. Special thanks to Sheri Moore (@s_moore) for her keen eye in picking the styles with us!

This limited edition merchandise is for sale on site at hoHOTo - cash sales only.

All proceeds from the merchandise will be donated to the Daily Bread Food Bank. Spread the word!

(click image to enlarge)

hoHOTo

2009-08-14T07:54:00.005-04:00

We are super proud (and excited) to be on board as the swag/merchandise sponsor for hoHOTo, to be held Aug 18 at Wetbar & Suite 106 (106 Peter St ).

We are in the process of designing the hoHOTo merchandise that will be on sale at the event. All proceeds will be donated to the Daily Bread Food Bank.

Tickets to the event can be bought here

At the crossroads between fashion and function

2009-08-11T20:41:00.009-04:00

Every so often in this business, we come across an "it" product, something that has an almost universal appeal (as it touches upon the following critical elements in a modern-day promotion: style, eco-friendly, functionality, quality and price point).

Introducing our Porcelain To-Go Tumbler. It looks like a Starbucks paper cup, but instead features a porcelain bottom with a silicone lid. It's even microwave and dishwasher (top shelf) friendly.

We just announced our promotion today where we are shipping a free sample to those who want to see this for themselves (CDN addresses only, while supplies last).

More pictures of this product can be found here

My 10 most memorable concerts

2009-08-03T20:19:00.006-04:00

The following consists of the most memorable live concerts I have ever seen, in no particular order (other than chronological).

Rage Against The Machine
Lollapalooza (Barrie) 1993

Smashing Pumpkins
Metropolis (Montreal) 1993

Sarah McLachlan
Bloomsbury Theatre (London UK) 1994

Neil Young (with Pearl Jam and Soundgarden)
CNE (Toronto) 1994

Weeping Tile
Lee's Palace (Toronto) 1997

Martin Sexton
Lee's Palace (Toronto) 2004

Hawksley Workman
Danforth Music Hall (Toronto) 2004

Arcade Fire
Danforth Music Hall (Toronto) 2004

Radiohead
Parc Jean Drapeau (Montreal) 2008

Hey Rosetta!
Lee's Palace (Toronto) 2009

Live music is always a passionate topic - let me know your top ten.

Flip Books are back!

2009-07-21T08:20:00.003-04:00

I used to make these flip books when I was a kid in art class and it's interesting to see how they have made a comeback (no doubt the quality has dramatically improved since I used to make them)!

This is also a wonderful marketing vehicle as it possesses the following attributes that marketers love:

- low cost
- high perceived value
- novelty/play factor
- large imprint area to print a lot of information
- dynamic way of communicating a message
- low "throw-out" factor

Check out a few examples:

To promote a Subaru product launch:

To promote the launch of the Simpson's movie:

For some other ways on how to use this product as a clever marketing vehicle, click here

Swag 2.0: How we leverage technology at RIGHTSLEEVE

2009-06-25T21:31:00.011-04:00

The following is our submission for the 2009 Dell SME Business Excellence Award. This award honours SME's that apply technology in innovative ways to improve their customer experience and company growth. This was a great exercise for us to go through as it allowed us to crystalize our thoughts on how we have leveraged technology to reposition ourselves within the promotional products industry.

On June 23, we learned that we were chosen as a Top 10 Finalist in the competition.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Please give a brief description of the business.

RIGHTSLEEVE is a promotional design agency. Utilizing a unique mix of design, technology and promotional media, RIGHTSLEEVE develops promotional products programs for leading corporations across North America.

RIGHTSLEEVE has used technology in every aspect of its business model, from how clients interact with the company to how employees process orders and collaborate with one another. The company’s technology strategy has allowed RIGHTSLEEVE to scale, enhance margins as well as provide a point of differentiation in the marketplace.

What are some of the innovative ways you use information technology (IT) in your business to better serve your customers? (Think beyond standard practices like email, Internet, computer hardware, computer networks, use of productivity or accounting software, etc.) Provide a description.

We developed an online CRM and production management system that moved the company away from the paper-based model followed by the majority of promotional products companies. RIGHTSLEEVE broke from the crowd and created a unique IT alternative that allows efficient transfer of work and knowledge between all employees in the company. A Facebook-like news feed keeps employees tuned in to what their colleagues have been doing, electronic notes allow all employees to share knowledge discovered by co-workers, and a constantly updated production schedule allows us to advise customers of order status at any time. The system is also infinitely scalable, fostering company growth. Likewise, customized user-oriented features of the customer facing portion of our system, allow real-time feedback on products and services.

How has your innovative use of IT led to significant improvements in your customers’ experiences with your business, products or services? Give two or three specific examples to illustrate your answer. Be clear in describing how your innovative use of IT produced this outcome.

RIGHTSLEEVE has built two innovative web applications designed specifically to address the business needs and challenges of how customers interact with businesses of our type.

Our first application is a “Corporate Store” where corporate clients can create their own virtual merchandise store within RIGHTSLEEVE.COM. The corporate store gives customers the ability to approve products at a corporate level, yet pass the buying responsibility to employees in other areas. Purchasing managers across the country can order the sizing and styles necessary for their region knowing that all of the products have already been approved by their head office.

Our interactive “Retail Portal” was built specifically for the needs of our retail market. This tool saves our retail clients the hassle of contacting customers and manually tabulating sizing and styles needed for their upcoming retail season. Instead, each customer is able to log-in to the Retail Portal and place their order directly into our production system. The system tabulates the orders and provides the totals to the retailer for final sign-off. When it comes time for distribution, we supply the retailer with a final list of items ordered per customer, which facilitates the billing process for the retailer.

In addition to the web applications described above, RIGHTSLEEVE has built other features into our online retail store to assist customers when researching or placing orders. These features are specific to RIGHTSLEEVE.COM.

- Wishlists allow customers to keep tabs on products that they are interested in. It also allows them to easily share the product considerations with co-workers.

- Product Comments allow customers to share their opinions with other users. An added benefit is that RIGHTSLEEVE immediately responds to any concerns a customer might have with one of our products.

- Pricing information clearly outlines costs so there are no pricing surprises when our customers place an order.

- Automated tabulations displayed on the website allow customers to see how many times a specific item has been viewed and/or ordered.

- Related Product displays allow our customers to get ideas for their promotions based off data that indicates what other customers have either viewed or ordered in relation to the products that they are currently viewing. For example, if a customer is ordering notebooks, the related product display will remind them that they might also need to order pens.

How do you use IT to better manage your business operations? That is to coordinate with suppliers, contractors, and internally with employees? Please provide a clear description

Our online system allows our Account Representatives to create one sales order that then generates customer-facing and vendor-facing information. Creating everything from the same initial order prevents mistakes at all levels of the organization. Doing calculations automatically in the system eliminates many “human error” mistakes and also allows the representatives to see margins, shipping costs, duties, and other factors in a fraction of the time it would take them to calculate on their own. Purchase Orders are then transmitted to internal Production staff and external vendors at the touch of a button. Once created, the POs are placed on a report that is updated with real-time information on all open orders. The system also generates real time reporting that facilitates managing staff and financial performance.

How has your innovative use of IT affected the success of your organization? Give specifics. For example: growth, profit, cost reduction, or market share increases. Be clear in terms of how IT actually led to improved performance results.

1 - Our cost of goods sold have reduced by 10%. Our vendors extended better pricing terms to us because our automated Purchase Order system relieved workload from their Customer Service personnel.

2 – The scalability of our system has allowed us to double the company staff within the last 12 months. The new-hire on-boarding process has been vastly simplified as all product and pricing information is in one central place as opposed to being scattered throughout hundreds of catalogs.

3 - Detailed real-time reporting has provided far greater insight into individual and company performance. This has allowed for greater goal-setting and accountability which in turn has increased sales performance and reduced turn-over.

How is your company’s use of IT unique or differentiated so that it sets you apart from your competition?

RIGHTSLEEVE is a trendsetter by creating and using a digital order flow and CRM tool built specifically for the unique needs of a promotional products distributor. Moving to a paperless, web-powered system is something that few of our peers have done. By creating our online system, we have automated processes that most of our competitors still do by hand, thereby eliminating many human errors and streamlining the entire process from order placement to final invoicing.

By placing product pricing on the front end, we have also created transparency in an industry not known for transparency. Our up-front pricing empowers consumers to research products on our retail website, even giving them the ability to place their promotional orders directly online. RIGHTSLEEVE.COM is as “What You See Is What You Get” as a company in our industry can be.

RIGHTSLEEVE chosen as a Top 10 finalist in the Dell Small Business Excellence Award Competition

2009-06-25T13:55:00.007-04:00

DELL HONOURS RIGHTSLEEVE AS ONE OF THE NATION’S MOST INNOVATIVE SMALL AND MID-SIZE BUSINESSES AS PART OF 2009 GLOBAL DELL SMALL BUSINESS EXCELLENCE AWARD

·RIGHTSLEEVE honoured for its creative use of technology to transform its business model within the promotional products industry.

·Ten Canadian Entrepreneurs Delight Customers and Empower Employees with Innovative Use of Technology

·130 Finalists Worldwide Compete to Win $50,000 in Dell Technology, Consulting Time with Michael Dell

TORONTO, June 23, 2009

The News:

· Dell, today, announced the 10 finalists for the Fifth Annual Dell Canada Small Business Excellence Award.

· Founded in 2004 by Dell, the award recognizes companies using technology to better serve customers and grow. Just as Michael Dell did 25 years ago in starting his own small business, award honorees understand that listening and delivering on behalf of customers is instrumental to business success. Today, the award has expanded to 13 countries worldwide, honoured more than 370 companies, and is an important source of inspiration given today’s global economic crisis.

· Selected by the International Council for Small Business in Canada, finalists receive a Dell business-class laptop and go on to compete for the national award.

· To be announced in September, the national winner will receive consulting time with Michael Dell and $25,000 in Dell technology. Last year’s Canadian winner, Fifth P Solutions was honoured for its innovative use of technology to develop e-learning and performance support solutions that enable its clients to deliver a superior experience at every touch point with customers.

· Once named, 13 national winners selected from each participating country including Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Spain, United Kingdom and the United States will be considered for the 2009 global Dell Small Business Excellence Award worth $50,000 in Dell technology and services and benefits from global partners International Council for Small Business and Endeavor.

The global winner will be announced in fall 2009. 2008 global winner Wiggly Wigglers, a rural, England-based natural gardening company, was awarded for its innovation and leadership in social media. Using tools like Facebook, podcasting and blogging, Wiggly Wigglers has grown to serve 90,000 customers worldwide while cutting their advertising budget by 80 percent.

This year’s finalists represent diverse industries, size and revenues, ranging from an emergency response planner for schools to a tube-bending/machining company, from four employees to 55, and revenues up to $80M. The 2009 Dell Small Business Excellence Award finalists include:

Canadian Top 10 Finalists

·RIGHTSLEEVE, Toronto, Ontario, is a promotional design agency that uses creative design, promotional products and technology to deliver marketing results for its clients. Through its internally developed open source customer/vendor relationship management and employee collaboration system, the agency benefits from real-time feedback and input from internal and external stakeholders.

·Britec Computer Systems, Calgary, Alberta, is a multi-disciplinary technology solutions provider specializing in design, implementation, operation, and administration of corporate computing environments in Canada. Britec uses customer relationship and project management tools to enhance productivity and also has a virtual infrastructure that allows for business mobility and faster customer service.

·Canadian Institute for the Relief of Pain and Disability (CIRPD), Vancouver, British Columbia, mission is the prevention and reduction of pain, pain-related suffering, and disability by creating and disseminating evidence-informed best practices through technology-enabled collaborations and partnerships.

·Hour-Zero Crisis Consulting Ltd., Edmonton, Alberta, specializes in K-12 school emergency preparedness. Powered by a robust web-based application, which features interactive mapping, online training, critical data management, pandemic planning and first responder access, the organization helps school districts develop, operationalize and maintain their plans quickly, efficiently and cost-effectively.

·Jolera Inc., Toronto, Ontario, is a global provider of IT solutions with a key focus on the not-for-profit sector. Jolera’s suite of services includes: 24/7 technical support, onsite service personnel, network migrations and deployments, sharepoint and .net development, as well as disaster recovery planning/implementation. Jolera utilizes various technology applications to enable data management, employee training, client documentation, internal workflow, employee collaboration and task management.

·Nisha Technologies Inc., Ottawa, Ontario, is one of Canada's fastest growing aboriginal suppliers of professional services and enterprise products. The company’s robust IT infrastructure enables it to manage its telecommunications systems and client interactions to deliver better customer service in a cost-effective manner.

·Race Headquarters, Coquitlam, British Columbia, specializes in processing sporting events’ timing and results using technology tools that record participants running times for over 120 events throughout Western Canada. By keeping its website regularly updated with event statistics and results, the organization enables its clients and event participants to access relevant information and resources.

·RITZ Machine Works Inc., Dauphin, Manitoba, is a tube-bending/machining company in rural Manitoba that produces components for original equipment manufacturing customers in Canada and the United States. The company deployed computerized hi-tech machines to measure and bend tubes for higher precision and speed, and also uses advanced handprint technology to efficiently manage employees’ work-hours and payroll systems.

·SAFEC Inc., Saint-Laurent, Quebec, Support and Financing for Entrepreneurs in Canada was created to provide those wishing to develop or establish a business in Canada with the assistance and support needed to achieve their most daring projects. Powered by a unique web-based search tool, this organization provides crucial and specific information to help entrepreneurs accomplish their business goals.

·Wildplay Ltd., Victoria, British Columbia, is an adventure recreation company that brings wilderness playgrounds to urban areas. To improve guest experience, streamline reservation processes and simplify sales, Wildplay developed its own Reservation and Point of Sale System to meet its specific business needs and improve customer experience.

Global 2009 Small Business Excellence Award Value

·$50,000 in technology and services from Dell;
·Featured in an entrepreneurs summit;
·Lifetime membership to the International Council for Small Business (ICSB), and
·Engagement with Endeavor’s network of business leaders and high-impact entrepreneurs in emerging markets worldwide.

2009 Dell Canada Small Business Excellence Award Value

· $25,000 in Dell products and services;
· Day of best-practice sharing with Dell executives, including Chairman and CEO Michael Dell
Quotes:
· “Technology is a tangible enabler for small and medium enterprises, and this year’s top 10 finalists are shining examples of businesses benefiting from smart IT investments,” said Kevin Peesker, vice president and general manager, Small and Medium Business, Dell Canada. “From enhancing customer experience to boosting productivity and collaboration within the organization, these small businesses are leveraging technology to achieve fast-paced growth and success.”

Links to Additional Information:
· www.dell.ca/ceaward
· Direct2Dell/smallbusiness post
· Video with Michael Mattalo, 2008 Canadian winner and president of Fifth P Solutions
·Video with Heather Gorringe, 2008 global winner and founder of Wiggly Wigglers

About RIGHTSLEEVE
RIGHTSLEEVE is a promotional design agency. Utilizing a unique mix of design, technology and promotional media, RIGHTSLEEVE develops merchandise programs for brand leading corporations. RIGHTSLEEVE has used technology in every aspect of its business model, from how clients interact with the company (http://www.rightsleeve.com/ and social media) to how employees process orders and collaborate with one another. RIGHTSLEEVE's technology strategy has allowed the company to scale, enhance margins as well as provide a point of differentiation in a crowded marketplace.

About Endeavor
Endeavor breaks down barriers that prevent emerging-market entrepreneurs from reaching their high-impact potential. Hailed by NYT columnist Thomas Friedman as the "mentor capitalist" model, Endeavor identifies entrepreneurs leading high-growth innovative companies in emerging markets. These entrepreneurs are given world-class strategic advice, access to key networks and other tools that will catapult them to success. With Endeavor's guidance they become “high-impact” – expanding employment, generating wealth and inspiring others to innovate. Often overlooked, these local entrepreneurs are now jumpstarting private sector development in their countries. For more information, visit http://www.endeavor.org/

About ICSB
Founded in 1955, the ICSB is the premier global membership organization to promote the growth and development of small businesses worldwide. With over 2,000 members from over 70 countries, the ICSB brings together educators, researchers, policy makers and practitioners to share knowledge and experience in their respective fields. ICSB promotes the development of knowledge in all areas of business theory and practice and is particularly focused on strategies and policies proven to be effective in sustaining small businesses and entrepreneurship. For more information, visit http://www.icsb.org/

About Dell
As the visionary outcome of a true entrepreneur, Dell (NASDAQ: DELL) is committed to helping small and medium businesses solve their technology challenges, ease business pain points and draw greater value from IT. With ProManage-Managed Services, Optiplex desktops, Latitude laptops, the designed-for-small business Vostro line, energy-efficient PowerEdge servers and Small and Medium Business Solutions Center, Dell is here to support entrepreneurs every step of the way.

Contact Information/Media Contacts

Akshata Kalyanpur

GCI Group

(416) 486-5911

akshata.kalyanpur@gcicanada.com

Mark Graham
RIGHTSLEEVE
416-924-8181 x220
mg [at] rightsleeve.com

Official Dell Press Release, click here

The power of real time feedback

2009-06-21T01:45:00.005-04:00

A few months ago, we developed an online feedback tool that we send out to customers once we have shipped their orders. An example of this can be seen here.

The results are ultimately listed on the product pages, our customer review section, and sorted by client. The concept is hardly revolutionary, but we have been amazed at how customer feedback has transformed the way we approach the business.

Here is an example:

A few weeks ago, we produced an order of blankets for a customer's executive retreat. The blankets were reasonably well received, but the client had a concern about the embroidery backing on the opposite side of the blanket (90% of the time, embroidery requires a backing called pellon to hold the stitches in place). They posted a comment to this effect on our site. While the blankets were embroidered properly, there are two ways we could have done this: (i) with a backing or (ii) without a backing if one uses a tearaway material. We chose to embroider with the traditional backing, but realized quickly that we had made an error after reading the customer's comments.

The client posted the comment 48 hrs before their event. When we received notification of the concern, we were able to react quickly by looking at the tearaway option. We produced the re-run of blankets within 24 hrs and were able to overnight ship the goods to the location of the retreat. All in time for the event.

The concept of feedback is not new. However, what was different in this case is we were able to provide the customer with an easy forum with which to express their views.

By giving the customer a platform, we are able to keep on top of any issues that may arise. This has allowed us to pull certain products if we receive consistently negative feedback. On the flip side, it allows us to stock up the winning styles when the positive reviews come in. Most importantly, it gives us the chance quickly turn a mediocre client experience into a highly positive one.

Honest feedback also influences the purchase decisions of other customers who visit the site. While our product universe is vast and our knowledge of the products is deep, nothing complements this more effectively than an honest customer review.

Delight

2009-06-10T00:52:00.001-04:00

I saw Once the other day.

It's the story of a down and out street busker who meets a fellow musician in Dublin. It's an unlikely tale of how these two come together for a week and make incredible music.

It's a delightful tale as the power of their musical chemistry is so unexpected.

One of the best scenes in the movie is when they show up at the studio to record a few songs. The producer-for-hire looks dismissively at them when they are starting up ("who is this motley crew?"). It takes about a minute into the song for him to start paying attention and by the end he's sold. This is a fabulous scene.

In many ways, I draw parallels between the producer and customers. Customers want, but don't necessarily expect, to be delighted. I say this as the bar in business is often set at mediocre, making truly delightful experiences rare at best.

In business, delighting people (employees, customers, vendors, etc) should be the name of the game. It's actually pretty rare these days which is why when one is truly delighted, they seldom forget about it. It's always the little things that go a long way when it comes to delighting people (in our case, we make this a priority with an easy to navigate site, real time reviews, engaging staff, the ability to make people smile).

I was genuinely delighted by Once, and I loved how this scene in particular reinforced how nice it is to be taken by surprise.

Welcoming the newest member of the RS Team!

2009-05-27T10:00:00.003-04:00

On May 26, we welcomed Alexandra Susanne Graham into the world. She is tiny at 5lbs 15 ozs and is doing very well. We expect her to be roaming the office corridors in no time :)

Here are some photo highlights of Alex's first day.

$75,000 raised for Special Olympics!

2009-05-25T19:21:00.004-04:00

On May 23, the RIGHTSLEEVE Raiders participated in a day long fundraiser called Marathon of Sport. All funds raised at the event were donated to Canadian Special Olympics. Throughout the day, we competed alongside Special Olympians in Ultimate Frisbee, Flag Football, Soccer, Basketball, Volleyball and Floor Hockey.

Over the course of the day, all 18 teams collectively raised $75,000 for Special Olympics. We came in 4th place with a total of $6,132 raised.

Marathon of Sport is organized by motionball. motionball's mandate is to introduce the next generation of donors, volunteers and sponsors to the Special Olympics movement through integrated social and sporting events. Since inception in 2002, motionball has raised over $1,000,000 for Canadian Special Olympics.

Software is a curated collection of ideas, benefits and features

2009-05-20T05:53:00.006-04:00

I credit Jason Fried, of 37 Signals fame, for this clever statement on software development.

I really enjoyed Jason's presentation at the 2008 Web 2.0 Expo as he hit upon several of the issues we face at RIGHTSLEEVE as we roll out various web software features internally and externally.

One of the biggest challenges we face is feature creep and the desire to include every little request we get from our clients to improve a component of the merchandise store technology we provide.

This also impacts our internal development as it relates to our CRM/VRM engine that powers our business. After years of design, it's often the simple features that stick, while the complex features die a quiet death. For example, we developed a Facebook style news feed to highlight the important selling and production activities in our company - I am not sure where we would be without it. Ironically, this feature was an afterthought.

We have a graveyard of nifty features that made sense in theory, but never worked in reality.

Having said this, software development is a process of trial and error .... and signal vs noise. Without the noise (ie. the attempts, brainstorm sessions, blue sky ideas) there would be no signals (ie. the simple "Aha" features that just work). It's improving the ratio between the hits and misses that's key.

As Fried says, it's our job to be the curator by collecting the best ideas while sifting out the rest.

Passion (continued)

2009-05-18T13:55:00.002-04:00

I was captivated (and haunted) by this 1994 Time Magazine article on the Life and Death of Kevin Carter, a relatively unknown photojournalist who covered the Apartheid conflict in South Africa at its most bloody and horrific. Carter, above all, was a man driven by a passion for his craft.

I am a big believer in passion, having written about it before on this blog.

I am drawn to the way it brings out the very best in people. Unfortunately for Kevin Carter, his passion to do the right thing (expose the evils of Apartheid through gripping photography) was overwhelmed by his unstable mental state as he claimed his own life in the summer of 1994, arguably at the height of influence.

I find it hard to draw any real comparisons between the work we do at RIGHTSLEEVE and the demanding work of a war photographer. However, what it did reinforce for me is that with passion, one can do anything. In Carter's case, this meant winning the Pulitzer Prize for Photography and, in doing so, shining a spotlight on the famine in Sudan with this photograph.

Passion brought out the best in Kevin Carter. His accomplishments still endure several years after his untimely death.

Swag 2.0 product launch

2009-05-08T14:05:00.002-04:00

Swag 2.0 was a great success yesterday. We had close to 200 people attend the product launch - thank you very much to those that were able to make the event (and for those who were not able to make it, you were missed and we look forward to seeing you in 2010)!

We have some great pictures of the event that are now hot off the press.

A number of people were also asking for a link to the product specials we had on display at Swag 2.0. Here they are

Thank you for your continued support.

The RIGHTSLEEVE team

Trust

2009-04-18T07:12:00.000-04:00

We recently launched a campaign focused on the single most important asset we have at RIGHTSLEEVE - our clients' trust in us.

We wanted to keep it short and sweet by letting the images do the talking.

To all of our trusted clients - thank you. We look forward to many more years of working with you.

Susur's challenge with Shang - the curse of being in the middle

2009-04-05T14:44:00.006-04:00

Prodigal son Susur Lee has returned home to Toronto from April 1-15 to offer Torontonians his 5 course tasting menu imported from his new NYC restaurant, Shang.

We went last night as we were eager to taste Susur's latest delicacies. It was okay.

Don't get me wrong - the dinner was superb. For $60/person, we had a 5 course tasting menu consisting of skirt steak, shrimp, hamache, tofu and molten chocolate cake. With a bottle of wine, we were around $200/couple tax and tip included.

But here's the challenge: Susur is a culinary genius. He is famous for exceedingly complex dishes and his former restaurant in Toronto, Susur, was near perfect according to most food critics in Toronto and beyond. It was also an expensive restaurant, hovering around $400/couple.

A few years ago, sensing demand for a less expensive alternative to Susur, he opened a lower end restaurant called Lee right next door to appeal to people who wanted Susur at a fraction of the cost. An average tab at Lee is $125/couple. Lee has been a great success as it occupies a good spot in the market - interesting food by a top chef with cheaper ingredients at a reasonable price.

Susur had done a masterful job at offering a product for two very different markets.

So what happened with Shang?

This is the issue I have with Shang (or at least Shang imported to Toronto for 2 weeks). The food was great, but I was not blown away and when I am paying $200/couple I am expecting to be wowed. The molten chocolate cake, for instance, was fantastic but I can get molten chocolate cake at 75% of Toronto's restaurants. I left wishing I had paid $400 and got the real Susur Lee experience, not the middle Susur option.

I think this is Shang's challenge and likely explains why his restaurant in NYC has met with average reviews - he's in the middle. NYC, even more so than Toronto, can accommodate a handful of wildy expensive restaurants run by top chefs. Furthermore, the people that Susur used to cater to in Toronto exist in droves in NYC - diners who will happily pay upwards to $500/couple for a stunning meal. Not many chefs are able to deliver outstanding masterpieces at any price, but Susur is most certainly one of them.

This is why I left scratching my head last night. Susur is at the top of his game and Shang was no more than 3.75/5. This is a chef who can do almost anything he wants. If his creations must cost $400-500/couple on account of top quality ingredients and complicated prep techniques, then he has the credentials to pull it off. By opening up a $200/couple restaurant, he's in the middle market in NYC and I wonder whether this prevents him from delivering the world class food he once did at Susur.

To make matters worse, I suspect that most wealthy diners would rather skip an above average $200/couple meal for a stunning $400/couple meal at a place like Nobu.

In my view, this is the curse of being in the middle - not cheap enough to attract diners looking for great food at a reasonable price (this would explain The Spotted Pig's success in NYC) or expensive enough to attract the high end diners looking for an extraordinary culinary experience (like Eisenginn Farm in Collingwood or the French Laundry in Napa).

I hope that Shang can find its place, but I suspect it will only come by differentiating itself through extraordinary food. Perhaps that means a return to the old Susur.

Individual color shots are here

2009-04-02T21:09:00.005-04:00

We just launched a new database feature that allows us to showcase individual color shots on http://www.rightsleeve.com/.

When we first went live with the site a few years ago, we simply displayed the same thumbnail/regular size/enlarged size colorway per product. The balance of the colors were listed as text on the product page, without the ability to click a link and see an individual colorway. This was fine for a color like black, but did not help as much with a color like Dijon.

This was inconvenient and grew to be a point of frustration for clients who wanted to see all of their options. You told us this, and we did something about it.

Over the next few weeks, we will be adding individual color shots to the majority of our web database. Thanks for bearing with us.

Check out a few examples of what the individual colorways look like on these products:

Zoomies

Bowling Shirt

No more emailing individual color shots - everything can now be seen on one web page.

Earth Hour - A year of coffee savings

2009-03-28T07:18:00.007-04:00

It's hard to believe that a year has passed since 2008's Earth Hour (scene from our house pictured above). We'll be turning off the lights again tonight for the 2009 affair, but the lead up to this year's Earth Hour has made me reflect on one of the simple things I started doing about a year ago to reduce my carbon footprint and save some cash at the same time. I started using an enviro mug.

I know, I know - it's not revolutionary, but it's still a feel good story.

Here's my story:

I take my dog Jack on a walk every morning - and most days I stop by my local Starbucks. It's a great way to start the day as I have blogged about before. Each morning I leave with my favorite tumbler which fits nicely into my hooded sweatshirt pocket.

I ask for a Tall Bold (12oz), but the barista invariably tops up the tumbler which is more like a Grande (16oz). The charge for a Tall coffee is $1.68 (after the enviro mug discount). The cost of a Grande coffee in a regular Starbucks cup is $2.02.

So, here's the math on annual basis:

($2.02 - $1.68) x 52 weeks x 5 average weekly visits

= $88.40 per year

While I am not going to get rich doing this, $88.40 is better than nothing. It's also nice to know that I am not sending 260 Starbucks cups and lids into the landfill every year.

There you go - I still get my morning coffee treat, and I save cash and reduce the landfill in the process.

My take on Twitter

2009-03-23T10:00:00.002-04:00

There has been a lot of hype of late about Twitter and the debate still rages: "Is Twitter a soapbox for useless chatter or a legitimate communication medium"?

I have followed Twitter's rise since it started 3 years ago though it took me a while to really get into it. I suppose my hesitation had to do with finding my true voice on Twitter vs jumping in haphazardly and using it because all of the cool kids were hyping the heck out of it.

I wrote an article in 2007 on the value of social media for a business within a traditional industry. Twitter was left out of the post as I did not have a lot of personal experience with it at the time. As I have now jumped into the Twittersphere, I have come to learn a few interesting things about the service and its value as a social media tool, especially for businesses struggling to find their footing amidst all of the social media noise out there.

Here are my top 9 lessons learned:

1. Twittering is less time consuming than blogging. As opposed to spending hours on a blog post, you can jot down some whimsical thoughts and presto! you have joined the twittersphere. There is a reason they call Twittering microblogging.

This also means it's easier to be profilic and develop a following relatively quickly (note: this assumes your tweets are interesting, relevant and not full of narcissistic drivel). When you Twitter, you are publishing to the web which also raises your profile on Google ("Googlejuice" as Jeff Jarvis would say). If you google "rightsleeve", our Twitter feed is the 3rd result, second only to the RIGHTSLEVE blog and the main web site http://www.rightsleeve.com/.

2. Twitter is a very quick way to learn about breaking news. Depending on who you follow, Twitter is a great way to stay in the loop. The other thing is that the stories are also highly relevant (ie. if I am following tech blogger Michael Arrington, I know I can get up to the minute updates on news I am interested in).

Another example was the way I learned about the FedEx crash in Japan on 3/22/09. I saw the following on my feed from Mathew Ingram. Without Twitter, I likely would not have known about this until the following morning when I read the paper.

3. Twitter's news feed is an amalgam of your specific interests. If you follow 100 people whose opinions you respect, your news feed becomes your own personal newspaper. Instead of content being delivered to you by a predetermined number of journalists (as you would with a newspaper), you are able to read articles/musings/updates by those you are interested in following. The neat thing about Twitter is that you can access the feeds of total strangers (ie. Lance Armstrong, Barack Obama, etc) and get the low-down on what's interesting to them. This is fundamentally different than Facebook where the other person has to accept your friend request before you get access to their personal information.

4. Someone's feeds annoying you? Get rid of them! If you follow someone who spends their time yammering on about something boring, irrelevant, or just downright narcissistic, then remove them. You don't have to listen to anyone you don't want to.

5. Twitter is an amazing distribution channel for your content. As mentioned above (and in my previous post on blogging best practices), if your content is interesting and relevant to others, people will follow you. As Seth Godin discusses in Permission Marketing, having a group of people who actually want to listen to you is an incredibly powerful asset. If this privilege is abused, people will leave you as I point out in #4. In today's crowded marketplace, getting people's attention is getting harder and harder to do.

One of my favourite people to follow is Mark Evans, one of the co-founders of the Mesh Conference. Mark uses the platform to share his expertise on a wide range of web marketing and technology topics. As a social media consultant, this is an invaluable tool for building his credibility online.

6. Twitter makes it easy to follow and join in on the conversation. Millions of people on Twitter are having conversations about everything from brands to music to swag. All points of view are discussed - the good, bad and the ugly. As a marketer, it goes without saying that following this conversation about your brand is critically important. The bigger your company, the greater the liklihood that people are talking about you online. One of the things I have come to learn over the years is that a disgruntled customer can be turned into a fan relatively quickly if they are listened to by someone who cares.

Twitter allows marketers to quickly gauge what people are saying about them. If customers are crying bloody murder online, then smart marketers join the conversation and show the customer base they are listening and hopefully doing something about the problem. Twitter is a great tool for getting your finger on the pulse of this conversation.

Two great tools you can use to see what people are saying about you are Twitter Search and IceRocket (twitter tab).

JetBlue is a great example of how a company can use Twitter to listen to its customers. Check out this exchange with passenger Mark Hurst to give you a sense of how some companies are using the service.

7. Great way to discover new experts. As Twitter's news feed allows you to see people's replies as well as follow a conversation thread, it's easy to meet new people. If someone is referenced by one of the people I follow, I am likely to track that person down, check out their feed and add them to my follower list so I can get their updates. This is also a standard feature in blogging as well, but I find it to be quicker on Twitter.

8. Twitter gives your brand a personality. As Twitter is the antithesis of the polished marketing brochure, the comments tend to be more personal, off-the-cuff, and informal. Such a conversation style make consumers feel that the brand is talking with them, not at them. In my view, this can only be a good thing. Most consumers see through marketing speak and are wary of slick ads. While advertising is still an important part of the marketing mix, Twitter adds another dimension to the overall puzzle.

9. Speak your mind, but be mindful of who is reading your tweets. Yes, Twitter is a less formal environment, but it does not mean that "anything goes" especially when it relates to tweets that could be incriminating in the future. The Globe and Mail published an interesting article on Twittering (esp. at work) and highlighted an example of a tweet that resulted in the "twitter-er" losing their job offer.

Here was the incriminating tweet:

“Cisco just offered me a job! Now I have to weigh the utility of a fatty paycheck against the daily commute to San Jose and hating the work.”

As tweets are searchable via Google, Cisco tracked down the comment and ultimately had this person's job offer rescinded.

The lesson? Speak your mind, but exercise some common sense.

In sum, I think my comments will be most relevant to people newer to the whole Twitter phenomenon and, perhaps more specifically, to people who are trying to make sense of this whole web 2.0 thing and how it could possibly apply to their business.

I'd be happy to hear your thoughts (as well as your experiences in using Twitter to advance your marketing objectives) - just post your comments in the section below.

To see how we use Twitter at RIGHTSLEEVE, click here

Google vs Twitter

2009-03-22T17:09:00.004-04:00

I thought this was a very interesting post about the increasing relevance of Twitter as a search tool compared to Google. I don't think that Google has much to worry about in the short term, but the rise of Twitter and other social media properties like Facebook and Digg in the last 3 years must give the search giant pause considering their social media strategies have pretty much fallen flat.

Google is still amazingly clairvoyant and I can't imagine what life would be like without it, but I am also increasingly turning to the likes of Twitter to complement my search for relevant information. This social component gives me the added relevance I need (i.e., having immediate access to a friend's analysis on a topic is invaluable to me). That combined with what Google tells me makes me all the more informed.

It'll be interesting to see how the next 12-24 months unfold as it relates to the concept of social search.

Swag and "He's Just Not that Into You"

2009-03-14T08:48:00.005-04:00

I admit that I went to see "He's Just Not that Into You" last night.

It wasn't amazing (surprise!) and quite frankly I am not sure what I expected other than I think that Kevin Connolly (Entourage fame) is a great actor and I like how he dropped "douche bag" into one of his lines in the movie ... but I digress.

Swag is all over this movie. I suppose I have a keen eye/ear when it comes to this given what I do. So here goes:

- Connolly's character, Conor, is accused of cheesy real estate marketing tactics for using branded notepads and promo frisbees while on a date with Gigi (played by Ginnifer Goodwin). Shortly after the date, the camera pans to an open box of full color promo frisbees (I swear I know where they were made). For the record, I think frisbees are a cheesy way to market real estate services, well, unless they are Ultimate discs from Discraft. :)

- Gigi uses a promotional pen from a dentist's office as a lame excuse to see Conor again (claiming that he had "forgot" the pen on the date).

- Alex, Conor's buddy who falls for Gigi, uses the same promotional pen to express his love for her at the end of the movie (boy produces pen, boy kisses girl). I won't get into any more details fearing I have already spoiled the movie (deepest apologies) ....

Not sure the movie is a must-see, but it was amusing to see the use of promotional goods as a tool for landing a date.

Impact

2009-03-09T12:17:00.003-04:00

A good friend of mine, Tyler Gompf, forwarded me this amazing video on the meaning of customer service and the impact that any employee - regardless of rank or experience - can have on their organization.

http://www.stservicemovie.com/

Swag 2.0 is back

2009-03-03T07:03:00.008-05:00

On May 7, we will be hosting our 2nd annual Swag 2.0 product launch party. Like last year, we will be having the event at the Century Room on King St West in Toronto.

For some event pics from 2008, take a look here

Registration for 2009 is now live

King for a Day - My Zappos Visit

2009-02-26T23:21:00.007-05:00

I was in Las Vegas for Magic last week. On my last day, I paid a visit to Zappos, the wildly successful online shoe retailer.

I was drawn to Zappos after reading so much about them in the press. I had heard they offered tours of their offbeat company and I was keen to see it in person. So I emailed CEO Tony Hsieh about being in town and whether I could drop by to see his company. Within 10 minutes, I had a personal response from Tony saying I was more than welcome and that his tour leader would schedule a time for me ... and by the way what hotel was I staying at as the Zappos shuttle would come and pick me up. Wow!

I was picked up at 8:30am by a friendly Zappos staffer named Jo who told me about her previous job as a waitress at a local restaurant steps from the Zappos office. Looking for a new challenge she submited her resume to Zappos (after restaurant regular Hsieh urged her to apply). She told me she had been at the company for 13 months and had never felt such a close affinity to a job before.

Zappos front desk staff cheered (literally) when I arrived at reception. My name was advertised on a flat panel monitor and to set the stage for the tour, I was offered a bag of popcorn from their vintage popcorn machine (circa the vaudeville theatre era). I was then greeted by their Training Supervisor, Loren, who enthused about his 5 years at the company and how he left a job as a dive instructor in California to join Zappos in Vegas.

He spent the next 2.5 hrs showing me around his company.

He grabbed a Zappos flag and off we went around the office. We weaved through a series of departments (legal, finance, marketing, purchasing, merchandising and customer service). 90% of the office is open concept, including the executive corridor which is festooned with jungle vines.

As we passed from department to department, staff would jump out from their cubicles with pom-poms and party horns welcoming me to their section of the office. I was dumbstruck. This was the furthest thing from a typical office environment. This was camp, albeit one with $1 Billion in annual sales.

I ended my tour with a stop in the office of Zappos' in house coach, Dr Vik. A tall man with a beaming smile, Dr Vik explained that he was a resource to staff to help them plan and achieve their goals. I suppose if Zappos can be described as camp, Dr Vik would be its head counsellor. He directed me towards an upholstered throne in the corner and asked me to select my choice of headwear for a polaroid photo (between the tiara and the crown, I opted for the crown). I was given one copy and the other one was pinned to his office wall. There were hundreds of photos of past visitors covering the wall. (and yes, I know the pic is super nerdy)!

Upon my departure, I was given a 2008 Zappos Culture Book. This is the company's yearbook celebrating the past 12 months of company life. The focal point of the Culture Book are the employee comments about their experiences at Zappos. I browsed through the book on my flight home and the word "family" was mentioned in almost every sentence. It was a deeply personal tribute to the company.

The Culture Book is handed out to all visitors, business partners and employees. It is also an amazing marketing piece that speaks volumes about what Zappos is all about and why you would want to work with this company. The fact that I have told this story to about 50 people in person (and many more on facebook, twitter and my blog) is a testament to the power of viral marketing.

I would strongly encourage others to visit Zappos and see first-hand how they are re-writing the rules of how to run a 21st century business. Just drop them an email at tours@zappos.com

Thank you Zappos!

What Would Google Do?

2009-02-10T05:10:00.006-05:00

I just finished Jeff Jarvis's fascinating book, What Would Google Do?.

I loved this book on so many levels:

1. It's a quick and entertaining read.

2. Jeff takes us on a journey on how Google's model of transparency and collaboration could disrupt almost every industry we know (health care, real estate, education, banking, politics, insurance, etc). Not coincidentally, the sectors most in need of a fix today.

3. He pulls no punches, and is unsparing in his criticism towards old school business models.

Most importantly, it was refreshing to read a book that focused on how an innovative business model like Google's can be applied to a range of businesses. This book could very well be the prescription on how to get us out of the economic mess we find ourselves in today.

My key takeaway from this book? People should spend more time innovating, and less time complaining!

RIGHTSLEEVE.COM featured on ITBusiness.ca

2009-02-05T06:39:00.007-05:00

I donned my suit and tie on Monday for an interview with ITBusiness.ca.

We discussed how RIGHTSLEEVE has been able to use web technology to transform our business model - both for the user (on the front end of our site) as well as for our employees (through our web-based production management and CRM system).

The transition has not been an easy one, but it's been worth the time and effort. Three years ago, we moved from a traditional paper-based company to a paperless web company that runs the entire business off our web site. This has allowed us to expand into other markets across Canada and the US, as well as differentiate ourselves from more traditional competitors that have yet to wrap their heads around the web.

As we built the site using open source software (MySQL), our costs have been limited to development time. The advantage of building our own site (vs outsourcing to a white label promotional site) has resulted in a customized interface specific to our supply chain intensive business. Updates and modifications are done on the fly as we receive feedback from employees and customers about what can be improved.

Having a dynamic web model has allowed us to expand our supply chain and product selection exponentionally, without having to add a commensurate number of staff.

RIGHTSLEEVE wins!

2009-02-01T13:57:00.000-05:00

On Jan 25, RIGHTSLEEVE won a silver Image Award for our work with Softchoice Corporation. The Image Awards are the "Oscars" of our industry, so we were super excited. This is the fifth Image Award we have won.

A big shout out to Julia and Jackelyn for their efforts in putting together the award entry ... and, of course, for a stellar job in designing and executing the promotion!

More details on the specific promotion design can be seen here

Live Webcast - Technology for Competitive Edge

2009-01-30T06:49:00.010-05:00

On Feb 2, I will be participating in a live roundtable discussion on technology and its impact on small/mid-sized business. The session is called "Technology for Competitive Edge: How SME’s can use technology to their benefit."

The webcast is free. Please register here (scroll 1/2 way down to the "webcast" link)

Start time - Feb 2 @ 12:30pm EST

I was asked to join the roundtable given my experience in harnessing technology to differentiate RIGHTSLEEVE within a crowded industry.

I will also be discussing my experience as a member of the Entrepreneurs' Organization where I am exposed to a number of businesses that have used technology to revolutionize their business model.

The panel is made up of the following people:

Honourable Harinder Takhar, Minister of Small Business & Consumer Services
Mark Graham, CEO, RIGHTSLEEVE.COM & President, Entrepreneurs' Organization (Toronto)
Noel Hulsman, Editor, The Globe & Mail’s Small Business Magazine
Michael McAvoy, Director, Commercial Marketing, Hewlett-Packard Co.
Janeen Stodulski, CGA, Founder & Partner, Powerwatch.ca and former past Chair of Peel, CGA

A Web Marketing and Social Media Primer for Traditional Industries

2009-01-16T20:30:00.002-05:00

I just returned from the PPAI (Promotional Products Association International) convention in Las Vegas. I made a presentation to industry colleagues on how RIGHTSLEEVE has used a myriad of web and social media tools to help transform our business .

Please see my presentation here.

Jakers & Me

2009-01-03T08:45:00.018-05:00

Cath and I saw Marley & Me last night, the popular movie about Marley the lab and his doting master. I loved it. Just thinking about the last 1/4 of the movie still brings tears to my eyes. I admit that there are many striking parallels between the movie and my life as the doting owner of an equally gregarious lab, Jack (Jakerton, Jakers, etc).

I created my own version of Marley & Me (Jakers & Me?) in 2004 - produced on a shoestring budget, but heartwarming nonetheless.

The purpose of this post? Well, I never really thought that I could be so influenced by a relationship with a dog. Over the past 6.5 years, Jack has seen much evolution in our family as well as at RIGHTSLEEVE when he first bounded into our office as a 6 week old pup in the summer of 2002. I remember him bombing around the office, sniffing every garbage can, playing tug of war with a T-shirt before crashing in a heap on the reception floor. The pics from the old days (2002) are hilarious.

Today, he is our VP of Customer Experience. He keeps us grounded. He keeps things light, especially in the midst of the drama we deal with on a daily basis. He has left an indelible mark on our office culture. Friends, clients and suppliers alike are enthusiastically greeted by him when they visit our offices in Toronto.

As he's grown up, he's become my silent mentor. We have tackled many business challenges together as we have walked the pre-dawn streets of my neighbourhood.

As John Grogan states in the book Marley & Me , "A dog doesn't care if you are rich or poor, educated or illiterate, clever or dull. Give him your heart and he will give you his."

What more could you want in a VP?

2008 in review

2008-12-30T20:31:00.004-05:00

What a year!

There were a number of exciting developments at RIGHTSLEEVE in 2008. Here are the top 8 moments that defined our year.

1. Swag 2.0 - our inaugural product launch party held in May at the Century Room.

2. New office space in June. This involved a "back to the bricks" design project to create a fully customized space specific to our needs.

3. We welcomed a number of new staff (Lynn, Anna, Ashley, Jackelyn and Lyndsay) - each one an addition to our growing team.

4. Our reality TV debut. In August, Simon and I were filmed pitching the founders of BeautifulPeople.net on merchandise they could use to promote their Canadian site launch.

5. We made a splash at the Incentive Works trade show by driving our RIGHTSLEEVE Mini Cooper onto the show floor and into our booth.

6. Soft launch of the new RIGHTSLEEVE.COM in December. The new site focuses on our value added work for clients through our various case studies.

7. RIGHTSLEEVE Holiday Fest - our first holiday party hosted in our new office space. One guest was so smitten that he had trouble deciphering our office from a typical Virgin Atlantic Guest Lounge.

8. We were awarded an Image Award from the Promotional Products Professionals of Canada (PPPC) for our promotional work with Softchoice Corporation.

Thank you to our friends, clients and trusted partners for making 2008 such a spectacular year. We look forward to building upon this tremendous momentum to carry us to new heights in 2009.

The power of alternative media in uncertain times.

2008-11-14T07:57:00.015-05:00

The Globe and Mail published an article today on the marketing power of promotional products in uncertain times. The survey by the Advertising Specialty Institute (ASI) referenced in the article can be found here.

It's no surprise that marketers are taking a hard look at the ROI they get from expensive TV, radio and print ads (defined as traditional media). There is no question that there is a role for traditional media, but it is much easier to cut when it represents such a large part of a marketer's ad budget.

Compare this with an effective promotional campaign. The overall budget on a promotional campaign is typically a fraction compared to that of a traditional ad campaign (Superbowl ad prices, anyone?). Promo campaigns can be focused on the target client and, best of all, the recipient gets to keep the advertising message, something that is not possible with traditional media. Swag - when done well* - offers significant advantages over traditional media because the marketer is able to create an emotional connection with their target client. I will never forget the reaction one of our clients had after receiving a piece of underwear we gave away at a tech conference. Hardly forgettable. Cost per impression? About $10. ROI on the overall promotion was 900% in 12 months (though we still get value from this campaign, 2 years after it was launched).

*see my earlier post about the difference between a well planned out swag campaign vs a poorly planned campaign. I acknowledge that a bad promotional campaign, like a bad ad campaign, is akin to throwing money away.

Movember

2008-10-29T07:42:00.001-04:00

Why?

2008-10-24T07:19:00.010-04:00

Through my involvement with Entrepreneurs Organization, I had the good fortune to meet Simon Sinek, a marketing expert whose teachings are focused on the Why (vs the What and How) of your business.

He has developed a concept called The Golden Circle: a model based on "human decision-making that guides organizations on how to inspire people to buy or support, with cult-like loyalty, any product, company or idea."

Simply put, loyal customers don't buy "what" you do or "how" you do what you do, they buy "why" you do it.

To quote Sinek:

The Why is the single driving motivation to do things

The How is the specific action that is taken to realize the Why.

The What is the tangible manifestation of the Why

Let me use Apple as a recognizable example.

Apple's "what" is to sell computers.

Apple's "how" is to design computers that look nice and are easy to use.

Apple's "why" is to inspire people to think differently.

Companies that focus on the Why of their business are able to appeal to their clients' emotional side, as people love to buy based on what makes them feel great. When done successfully, client relationships are built on loyalty vs price.

Simple, isn't it? Yet as simple as this is, many companies (including us over the years) have stumbled their way through a pitch by telling a prospect What they do. Quite simply, do people really care?

I used to get a lot of glazed expressions when I told people that RIGHTSLEEVE sold promotional products to companies looking to enhance their image in the market place. The common reply was "Oh, I get it, you sell swag. Ya, we get lots of that stuff at our company. People call us everyday and send the same catalogs. Competitive business, no?"

We have spent a lot of time recently focusing on the Why of our business. Over the years, we have learned from client interactions that product is product is product. However, what is truly special is the way in which product is used to solve a specific marketing challenge.

The way a product is used to cement an emotional bond between the marketer and their client is the RIGHTSLEEVE Why. This is the philosophy that underpins our rallying cry Friends don't let friends buy bad promo.

One of my favourite examples of this Why can be summed up in this photo posted on flickr. These boxer shorts were all the rage at the mesh conference. The emotional bond was, ahem, clearly evident.

Selling the product is just the What. Offering great service is the How.

Inspiring clients is the Why.

Mark Cuban's view on swag is half right

2008-09-27T19:01:00.008-04:00

Mark Cuban writes about the dubious value of promotional products in his Rules for Startups.

Mark Cuban's Rule #10 for Startups

NEVER EVER EVER buy swag. A sure sign of failure for a startup is when someone sends me logo polo shirts. If your people are at shows and in public, its ok to buy for your own folks, but if you really think someone is going to wear your Yobaby.com polo you sent them in public, you are mistaken and have no idea how to spend your money

An endorsement for our industry if I ever heard it!

However, he is (half) right.

My experience in this industry has taught me that a number of promotional product vendors are simply in it for the sale. And the easier the better. The client picks what they want from a catalog. The vendor asks no questions other than the size breakdown, and 2 weeks later polo shirts arrive at the client's office.

I don't know the circumstances behind this promotion, but I can comment on the suspect marketing value of sending a branded polo shirt to someone like Mark Cuban. Do you really think Mark Cuban - or any customer of Yobaby's - is going to wear your branded polo shirt?

This really strikes at the core problem with the promotional products industry. This industry is generally populated by vendors unwilling/unable to go the distance when it comes to truly understanding how to identify the right products (media) to satisfy a client's marketing objective. When this happens, the client is left to fend for themselves, often flipping through a range of supplier catalogs before honing in on something they like. This usually results in a lacklustre promotion and ends up on blogs like Mark Cuban's, a jaded recipient of junk over the years.

Imagine if Cuban (or any Yobaby target customer for that matter) received a relevant piece of merchandise that promoted Yobaby's brand promise. Yobaby is an organic yogurt line made for babies and toddlers. A polo shirt? Maybe for a staff uniform at a trade show. But for a client facing promotion? I don't blame Mark Cuban for his views on the value of promotional products and their ability to create excitement.

Let's look at this closer. Would the results be different if the promotional gift was a light yellow and lavender receiving blanket, coupled with an organic cotton baby one-sie and baby toque, each tastefully decorated with a subtle screen print? (not embroidered as this requires a rough pellon on the other side of the garment to hold the stitches - too rough for a baby/toddler). Such a promotion focuses on the brand's color palette and, more importantly, the needs of its target customer - parents with messy babies! You can never have enough baby clothing. I imagine most parents would line up to receive such a gift of high perceived value.

The cost of such a bundle would be approx $25. Imagine if this promotion helped create a loyal customer for years (Yobaby graduates to Yokids which graduates to Stonyfield's adult line of yogurt). What is the value of a lifelong customer? Certainly more than $25.

A branded polo shirt being sent to someone like Mark Cuban seems just silly to me. However, Cuban is also a parent (he has a toddler). Despite his billions, I am sure he would have a use for a tastefully designed baby gift package from the yogurt brand he uses to feed his child. Now there's an emotional connection between the marketer and the customer.

If I was to re-write Cuban's rule to startups, it would go something like this:

DON'T WASTE your money on swag that is ill-suited to your ultimate marketing objective. Think of promotional items like you would any other advertising medium (TV, outdoor, print, etc). If you were developing a TV ad campaign for Yobaby.com, you would not air the ads on the NASCAR channel. Oprah would be your better property. If you are going to spend money on promotional goods, be sure that the goods speak to your audience and will resonate with them in such a way that you build loyalty. If you have no intention of being strategic with the medium, NEVER EVER EVER buy swag!

RIGHTSLEEVE-BeautifulPeople.net Reality TV Segment

2008-08-17T21:52:00.009-04:00

On Friday, Simon and I were filmed for a reality TV segment with Greg Hodge and Robert Hintze, the co-founders of the controversial online dating site Beautiful People. The site's controversy stems from how one joins the site. Members decide whether you are "beautiful" enough to join. Controversial .... yes. Successful ... yes.

The duo is preparing for their Canadian launch this Fall (they have successfully launched in 16 countries to date). As part of their launch, they are developing a reality TV show that showcases them getting the site off the ground in Canada. The show will air on the Slice network later this year.

We were asked by Slice to go on the show as they were looking for a promotional company to pitch them merchandise for the launch. They wanted to film the pitch with Greg and Robert at our offices.

We focused our pitch on skimpy lingerie and attention getting gift bags filled with brand relevant products (body butter, super soft bamboo apparel, photo frames, condoms, chocolate, etc).

This was our inaugural TV shoot. It was a pretty cool experience as it was shot 90% live with limited re-shoots. All in all, it was a lot of fun as we are naturally drawn to working with interesting brands, regardless of their market segment.

Simon's band opens for The Tragically Hip

2008-06-22T08:23:00.005-04:00

Simon's band just played the concert of a lifetime. On June 21, Five Star Trailer Park opened for the Tragically Hip at the Big Music Fesival in Belleville.

There were several other great acts on the bill including Attack in Black, Sarah Harmer and Sam Roberts. Five Star played a fabulous set in front of fans who had gathered on this enormous lawn at Zwicks Park. A once in a lifetime experience, no doubt.

Take a peak at the pics from the event.

Our new home

2008-06-01T07:43:00.003-04:00

After 3 months of planning, designing, construction and project managing, our new office space is ready.

This has actually been about 1.5 years in the making when we started the search for a new space that would truly define who we were as a company. After countless tours of the downtown core, we decided to overhaul an empty space on the top floor of our existing building.

The space had a lot of potential - corner suite, flooded with natural light, and most importantly, a blank canvas to start with.

It was a pretty cool experience watching the suite morph from "bland grey fuzz" into a sleek new environment, completely custom built to our requirements as a promotion design firm.

Take a look at the pics (displayed in chronological order).

A special thanks to the entire team at RIGHTSLEEVE for making this happen (and particularly to Paul Gorrie, our architect, and Will Dempsey, our ever patient real estate agent).

We are moving ... and growing!

2008-04-06T14:18:00.009-04:00

On June 1, Right Sleeve is moving on up to the top floor of our building. We are adding another 1000 square feet so we can add a few new staffers to the team. We're also expanding our lounge and kitchen - it's not all work here, after all.

The space is flooded with natural light as it's the corner of the building. Currently, the space is a disaster (it's been empty for 2 years) and we are ripping everything out so we can design our own environment.

Check out the video of what it looks like now (pre-construction):

Some "before" pics:

.. And what it will look like on June 1: (click to enlarge the layout)

Stay tuned for the office warming party ....

Retail Therapy

2008-03-29T14:31:00.005-04:00

This fabulous article by Fransi Weinstein is about negative customer experiences at the retail level.

Her advice to retailers is sound and to the point. This is a powerful message that applies not only to retailers, but to any business looking to exceed its customers' expectations.

It seems that too many companies play follow the leader (even if they are blind). I know it is de rigueur to mention Apple in any marketing related piece these days, but they have perfected the art of doing things differently - and winning in the process.

Sidekicks

2008-02-29T05:30:00.006-05:00

(click to enlarge)

A hilarious spread in this month's WIRED magazine. While this company is full of leaders, this place would not be as entertaining if it were not for the leader/sidekick dynamic between Mark and Simon.

And our sidekick is? A cross between Samwise Gamgee + Chewbaca.

Kudos to Jen

2008-01-31T09:33:00.000-05:00

Kudos to Jen in our production department for her work with Tegan and Sara. Check out the latest interview in the Alternative Press devoted to her work.

By day, Jen is our production wunderkind.

By night, Jen has created an awesome community site devoted to Tegan and Sara.

Woohoo!

It's a Fish Eat Fish World

2008-01-21T06:36:00.000-05:00

posted by Jen Vaughn

One Monday last November, Mark bounced into the Right Sleeve office with his weekend project in hand. Mark had assembled an aquatic ecosystem in a 5-gallon water bottle, complete with plants and fish, to reside in the Right Sleeve reception area.

There was an air of excitement in the office all day as employees and visitors funneled into the office, noticing our new addition.

"How does it work?" Julia asked.

"It sustains itself," was Mark's answer.

"What about food?" Simon asked.

"You don't need to feed them," was Mark's reply.

"Everything they need is already in the tank." And, seemingly, it was. A light shone on the tank, helping the plants to grow. The fish ate the plants and the "sucker-fish," kept the tank clean.

Every day, we'd come into to the office and check out the tank, our five swimmers and one sucker. It was early December when I first grew concerned about our office pets and their environment. I noticed the light had scorched some of the plants, turning them yellow. I turned the tank, and figured that would straighten everything out.

We had our sample sale, and again lots of people admired our little ecosystem. December drew to a close and we bid the fish adieu, happily knowing we wouldn't need to come in over the holidays to feed them.

When we got back in the New Year, one fish was missing. No matter how long we looked, we were down by one swimmer.

The deaths unfolded quickly after that. When we returned from the following weekend, we had dropped to three swimmers. Soon, we were down to two.

I started adding fish food to the tank. The rest of the office also grew concerned. More and more, throughout the day, people stopped by the tank and did a fish count. We talked about what to do and decided a partial water swap might help.

Our rescue attempts were successful! The two remaining swimmers made it through the next weekend.

Unfortunately, our victory was short-lived. Things took a turn for the worse when another swimmer went missing. We added more food and more clean water. Then, the unthinkable happened; the bottom-feeder went missing. After a day, we spotted him, unmoving, at the bottom of the tank.

We made arrangements for a last ditch salvage mission. We emptied the water into a trash can, scooped up our sole surviving fish into an empty soup jar, and, on my lunch break, I whisked him down the road to the safety of a friend's fish tank. He looked so happy swimming in the fresh water, amongst the goldfish that I was sure would quickly become his best friends. Satisfied, I returned to Right Sleeve and we breathed a collective sigh of relief when I told the office that our sole survivor had been safely delivered.

The email came an hour later.

"Code Orange," read the subject line.

"He's missing."

Our little swimmer had been eaten by one of his new best friends.

We now have a temporary memorial erected where our tank once sat. We'll soon take it down, but looking at that spot this week reminded me of how the office pulled together and tried to help. It was team-work in action.

Unfortunately, things go wrong in business and in life. Sometimes what goes wrong is out of your control, like the weather holding up a delivery truck or, say, a bigger fish eating you.

Sometimes what goes wrong is within our control, like human error in calculating cost or leaving a light on your fish-tank for too long.

A great team is not defined by how well they work together when things are going well; a great team is defined by how well they work together when something goes wrong.

Social Media Marketing in a Traditional Industry

2007-12-28T14:38:00.001-05:00

I am often asked how we have made social media work in the traditional and commoditized promotional products industry. This segues into a larger question as to how to use technology to your advantage in any traditional industry.

There are several ways that companies in other traditional industries can use social media to their advantage. We have used the following tools to increase our profile amongst our target market:

1. Blog. While time consuming to maintain, our blog has been an important part of how current and prospective clients relate to the company. I have learned a few important rules along the way as to how to maintain a good corporate blog.

a. Do not use your blog as a product advertising tool. Think of your blog like a respected newspaper like the New York Times where editorial interests are separate from the business interests that underwrite the publication. No one would read the Times if the articles were shameless plugs for their advertisers. Readers expect analysis, commentary and a perspective, not a sales pitch.

The content of our blog is focused on positive customer experiences. This is central to how we do business, which is why we focus on this theme on our blog. Many of our entries are irreverant and humorous - and each offers a unique perspective.

b. Have fun. One of our company values is to "have fun". We have fun when we interact with our clients in person, over the phone and in our online setting. We present our thoughts and philosophies on the blog as we really want our clients to know more about what makes us tick.

2. Online video - we created a comedy sketch on youtube.com which makes fun of our industry. I think that the ability to have fun and have a joke at your expense is a key rapport building exercise between you and your audience.

3. Product Comments and Ratings. We encourage the good, bad and ugly. Not everything is a winner and we want our community to know what works and what doesn't. There is no point in hiding from something that doesn't work as a marketing tool - as this client felt in their review. Conversely, when products work, the community is drawn to the winners.

4. Aligning ourselves with web properties that our clients identify with. In our case, we have used:

i. Facebook to allow clients to share products via the web's hottest social networking site. We also have a rightsleeve.com fan page and group where "fans" can keep tabs on us via facebook.

ii. Flickr as a forum to post office pictures which gives clients an insight into who we are.

iii. You Tube as a forum to post videos on what makes our office tick.

5. Own your content by building your own web site. A number of companies take short cuts by using white label web sites developed by industry associations. Companies will market these sites as their own, but the end consumer is simply presented with the same product offering as everyone else who has tapped into the same standard web product. The only difference is a template change and a company logo on the header. This is a relatively standard practice in the promotional products business. The end result is that you simply don't stand out. How can you when an average client will receive the identical marketing message from multiple sources?

6. Open up. Visitors to our site can publicly see how many times products have been viewed/purchased. Visitors can also see what clients are actually buying so others can be privy to what's popular. This is determined all by visitor activity which is a much more democratic way of determining popularity. By opening up this information, we have created a powerful dialogue with our customer base that is next to impossible in a non web based environment.

If your industry is old fashioned, this is your chance to be truly unique. You will find your investment is less capital intensive but will draw significantly on your time and intellectual resources. In the end, you can create a winning model that takes on the bigger players who have a legacy infrastructure to support.

There is no better opportunity to use technology and social media to cement your position as the next generation leader within your industry.

American Apparel spoof - classic

2007-12-19T13:13:00.000-05:00

For anyone that has followed the rise of American Apparel in recent years, this cringe-worthy video spoof is a classic.

Hidden Charges

2007-11-26T10:35:00.001-05:00

I am not sure why consumers put up with companies like Ticketmaster that heap on additional charges at the checkout counter.

I truly believe that Ticketmaster adds a lot of value when purchasing tickets for an event. As a consumer, I like going to their site and viewing just about any event I want to attend. The site is user friendly and ticket purchases are very easy (assuming you are not looking to buy for Radiohead, U2, etc). Given this value add and their near stranglehold on the market, I am not sure why they hide the true cost of the ticket.

Here is a recent example from a Hawksley Workman ticket purchase.

The tickets were advertised as $32.50.

However the final bill comes to over $41.00 per ticket with all of the additional charges applied.

Here was the breakdown:

Advertised: Full Price Ticket CA $32.50 x 4

+

-Total Building Facility Charge(s) CA $2.50 x 4
-Total Convenience Charge(s) CA $5.50 x 4
-Order Processing Charge(s) CA $2.25 x 1
-Regular Mail = No Charge

TOTAL CHARGES CA $164.25

Final individual ticket cost = $41.06, a 26% surcharge over the original cost.

What gives?

As a consumer, I am more than happy to pay $41.06 to see Hawksley Workman. This is more than reasonable. Why not just be up front from the beginning?

Companies who employ this sneaky strategy typically do this for the following reasons:

1. They don't want to look expensive in the market place, so they lead with a cheap price and then add to the price once the customer is at the checkout counter when the chances of walking away are slim. This practice is also fairly common in the online promotional products space where some companies advertise products without decorating charges, thus making them look inexpensive compared to other companies.

2. They want to disclose to the consumer all of the individual components of the sale so as to elicit sympathy that Ticketmaster is really only making peanuts on the transaction.

As far as I can tell, I think most people don't really care where the money goes so long as they value what they are buying at a given price. An additional convenience charge or a building facility charge is just annoying. Be upfront about this from the start. Sure, tell me at the end if you must, but don't heap on the additional charges as I click through the checkout process. This only serves to irritate.

I relate the following example in our business.

Imagine the following scenario. A $10.00 T-shirt advertised on our web site as:

$1.00 T-shirt!

+ $2.00 printing cost
+ $2.00 transportation charge
+ $1.00 thread match charge
+ $1.00 employee lunch fund charge
+ $0.50 company profit
+ $2.00 computer server cost
+ $0.50 dye charge

= $10.00 total.

I understand that it costs money to produce a product, but you shouldn't be in the business of annoying your customers with hidden charges. Note that hidden charges are different than extra charges. To be fair, extra charges are legitimate when they advertised clearly as such so the consumer is aware of what they are getting into. (ie. the cost of buying a book on amazon.com excludes freight if under $39, or the cost to print this mouse pad excludes a $50 setup fee).

A famous quote in business says that "in the absence of value, companies can only compete on price." On the web, companies should not be afraid to post the fair value of their products without resorting to shady practices like tricking the customer at the end of the process with random charges. If your product/service is worth it, people will always line up to buy it.

Green Swag

2007-11-11T13:49:00.000-05:00

Every industry has their 15 minutes of fame, and I believe that the promotional products industry is about to have its Andy Warhol moment.

Promotional products are everywhere. Last year, North American businesses purchased 18 Billion dollars worth of advertising specialties. Everything from branded toasters that sit on kitchen counters to wacky magnets that cling to office filing cabinets. The street terms for these types of promotional products include swag, trinkets and trash, thingamabobs, and doodads. While most have a love affair with swag (it's typically given out free), I don't think that companies would believe they are doing the environment a favor when they buy promotional products.

Until now.

Over the past few months, our industry has joined the environmental crusade and once tired products are now enjoying a resurgence in popularity. Here are a few examples:

Yesterday's stainless steel tumbler is today's disposable coffee cup killer.

Yesterday's convention tote bag is today's must have fashion accessory at the grocery store checkout counter.

Yesterday's nylon lunch bag is today's styrofoam container killer.

Yesterday's ceramic mug is today's hottest desktop promotion.

Yesterday's notebook is today's 100% recycled cardboard journal.

Yesterday's plastic pen is today's biodegradable conference writing instrument.

Who ever said that swag could not save the earth?

We are asked all the time about the latest and greatest products in the swag business. People are typically expecting us to tell them about the toaster that can brand your logo into toast or the latest lava lamp. These are the trinkets and trash - the suspect items that simply end up in the land fill without serving any useful purpose.

Historically, there was no quicker way to bring a cocktail party conversation to a standstill if you mentioned the stainless steel mug or recycled journal as being the next best product based advertising medium. But this has changed in the last 9 months - companies today are demanding that their promotional marketing purchases now serve 2 purposes:

1. The product serves a useful purpose and will not be thrown out immediately.

2. By using the product, the consumer is reducing their environmental footprint.

As little as one year ago, a promotional product purchase was typically deemed a success if it met the first objective. Now marketers can now double their investment return if their promotional spend achieves the second, and arguably more important, objective.

Get rid of the washroom jockeys!

2007-09-22T13:26:00.000-04:00

This is a blog about positive customer experiences. It's in this vein that I write about the puzzling phenomenon of washroom attendants.

For those not in the know, a washroom attendant is the chatty guy/woman in the men's or women's washroom at higher end establishments. I have never met anyone who feels these people add anything to their experience in the washroom - aside from guilting them to part with money for helping wash their hands.

I tend to avoid establishments like this now as I can't stand going into the washroom only to be confronted with some slick washroom jockey chatting me up about the latest sports scores. I'm there to do my business, wash up and get out. Instead, I'm being watched by some stranger who's sizing me up on the size of tip I'll be tossing into the basket on the counter. Instead of focusing on ... ahem, well, you know ... I'm thinking "man, I only have a $20 bill in my wallet and this guy isn't getting it. How do I get out of here fast?"

This is a terrible customer experience!

I am all for tipping in any environment where it's appropriate. When I receive good service (or even mediocre service) in a restaurant/bar/hotel/cab/etc I always step up with a good tip.

Perhaps it's because I am North American and not accustomed to paying for the washroom like many people in Europe are, but the bottom line is why make your customers feel uncomfortable when it's not necessary!

I have spoken to many club going friends who understand that a night out often costs well into the hundreds of dollars (bottle service, booths, rounds for friends, etc). However, even these friends can't stand setting aside $25 for the evening washroom budget.

Here's my message: people tip servers because they are providing a service that people value. The guy in the washroom? I'm not sure I see the same value and I hate the fact that I'm expected to toss $5 into the tip jar to have someone help me wash my hands. Even my 3 year old knows how to do this himself.

Zen and the Art of the Morning Dog Walk

2007-07-16T07:28:00.000-04:00

I just read a wonderful article in the Rotman Magazine (Fall 2006) called "Our Ongoing Love Affair with Dogs" by Dr Patricia McConnell.

The article was sandwiched between essays on Loyalty, Business Strategy, HR and Finance. At first glance, I was a little surprised to see an article on dogs in a business magazine from one of the top business schools in North America. But after giving it some thought, I was able to draw a very close connection about how my dog (Jack/Jakers/Jakerton - see above) has had enormous influence on the development of Right Sleeve's model over the last few years.

Bear with me here ....

To quote McConnell,

"Some of my happiest moments are when [my dog] Luke and I sit silently together, overlooking the green, rolling hills of Southern Wisconsin. Our lack of language doesn’t get in the way, but creates an opening for something else, something deep and pure and good. We dog lovers share a kind of Zen-like communion with our dogs, uncluttered by nouns and adverbs and dangling participles. This connection speaks to a part of us that needs to be nurtured and listened to, but that is so often drowned out in the cacophony of speech. Dogs remind us that we are being heard, without the additional weight of words.”

In life, I struggle with distractions. My mind is often racing 1000 miles a minute as I dream up grand visions of the future. Everything is an opportunity for me and I waste little time in diving into a wide range of projects. Call it the entrepreneurial curse.

Enter Jack. On weekdays, I get up at the crack of dawn to walk him. Naturally, he loves it. I also love it for many reasons (exercise, peace and quiet, etc) but the most profound effect it has had on me is the opportunity to contemplate the day ahead. Whatever I am struggling with, I know I can sort it out on my morning walk with Jack.

Jim Collins has said that the most important pages of his classic "Good to Great" are pp. 114-117. These pages discuss the importance of developing a "Council" for one's business.

To paraphrase Collins:

"The Council consists of a group of the right people who participate in dialogue and debate .... about vital issues and decisions facing the organization".

While I lean on many smart and talented people to drive Right Sleeve, there is a special spot on my "Council" for Jack - he who chooses to just be there, he who communicates through his expressive eyes, he who expresses his agreement with me through a long and lingering sniff (or his disagreement with me through an immediate jerk on his leash as he insists on stopping for no reason), and he who trots along in sync beside me.

Many of the boldest initiatives at Right Sleeve have come from my morning Council discussions with Jack (note to readers - I refer to discussions in the wordless sense. I am not that "guy" ranting to myself while my dog hides his head in shame!). This is where I have the opportunity to churn through the pros and cons of my ideas so I can be clear about my direction come the beginning of the work day.

I am sure if Jim Collins were a dog owner, that he/she would definitely be a part of his famed Council.

Inspiration from Alec Baldwin

2007-06-28T17:19:00.000-04:00

No doubt, Alec Baldwin's rant in Glengarry Glenross has to be one of the best scenes in cinematic history. It's also the most amusing sales manager pep talk ever.

I don't advise sales managers to follow Alec's lead, but there's no question that his tactics command attention. I believe there is a middle ground.

This YouTube clip is an rightsleeve.com office favourite. Enjoy.

How to avoid mushy Kraft Dinner!

2007-06-24T14:33:00.000-04:00

I am a devotee of this fine product. Life would only be 1/2 as good without KD.

However, here's a caution to all - don't rely on the box for cooking time instructions . 7-8 minutes? This is guaranteed to yield mush if the KD is left boiling for a second over 5 minutes. This has been tested many, many times.

You heard it here first.

Trunkslammers!

2007-05-26T22:59:00.000-04:00

We just returned from the hilarious production shoot of our upcoming video short on a parody of our industry. Kudos to the guys at Studio M for making it all happen. The video will be launched next week, as part one in a series on the art - or lack thereof - of trunkslamming.

All pics from the shoot can be seen here.

Micromanagement - Breakfast Club Style

2007-04-08T13:09:00.000-04:00

I watched The Breakfast Club this past weekend for the first time in 20 years. I first saw it when I was 12 or so, right in the heart of the 80's when all it meant to me was teenage rebellion. While this theme is still predominant in the movie, I couldn't help looking this time at Mr Vernon - the lame duck vice principal - through the lens of managing a business.

Here is my analogy:

An arrogant and micromanaging boss is charged with an underperforming division comprised of uniquely talented, but uninspired employees who dislike each other. (it actually sounds like something out of Pat Lencioni's Five Dysfunctions of a Team)

The boss views the staff with disdain and believes they should automatically respect him because he is, well, the boss ("Bender, I make $31,000 a year and I have a home and I'm not about to throw it all away on some punk like you.").

The boss comes in intermittently (monthly performance review?) and berates the team for goofing off and continually letting the company down. The boss becomes enemy #1 and the staff bond over their dislike of him, along with other people's unreasonable expectations of them (parents, teachers), and how no one seems to care about what they really think. In search of therapy and a solution, they smoke pot, dance in the library, run around the school's halls, cry and laugh together. The end result is that this motley crew comes to trust and respect one another. They bond and collectively solve the problem that their boss forced them to address at the beginning - how were they going to become better people?

To use an analogy - if the deliquent teenagers can be seen as employees, then there is no question that Mr Vernon can be seen as the ineffective manager, the kind of person who has nothing better to do than micromanage his team to generate results. (my other favourite micromanager is Bill Lumbergh from Office Space).

Yes, I have had my Lumberghian-Vernonian moments of micromanaging in my business. It's not easy to let go and let your team thrive without your constant input. Employees are human beings and they will inevitably make mistakes, much to the chagrin of a demanding boss. But, as a few smart people have told me before, managing is all about letting go and giving the people around you the freedom to do amazing things. Figuratively, this is what happened in that library when the students were left to their own devices.

Vernon did not trust his students. Lumbergh did not trust his staff. Both meddled. Both were overpaid and rather useless. The Breakfast Club struck a nerve for disaffacted teens in the 80's just like Office Space struck that same nerve in office workers in the 90's. Both movies were addressing the same issue from the standpoint of how not to lead a team of people.

I love how the Breakfast Club ends - with the students' collective note to Mr. Vernon. It's pretty interesting to see how the group is able to come to terms with their demons and collectively work out the best solution, without the guidance of their leader.

Dear Mr. Vernon, we accept the fact that we had to sacrifice a whole Saturday in detention for whatever it is we did wrong, but we think you're crazy for making us write an essay telling you who we think we are. You see us as you want to see us, in the simplest terms, in the most convenient definitions. But what we found out, is that each one of us is a brain, and an athlete, and a basketcase, a princess, and a criminal. Does that answer your question? Sincerely yours, The Breakfast Club.

Learnings from this? Train your team well, give them the power to make decisions for themselves, get them to believe in what they are doing, and give them the freedom to make mistakes so they can learn for themselves. I believe the best managers celebrate their teams for being the brain, the athlete, the basketcase, the princess, and the criminal.

Oh, the Places You'll Go!

2007-04-01T13:07:00.000-04:00

Since becoming a Dad almost 3 years ago, I am always amazed at the commonalities between parenting and starting/growing a business (or a career, for that matter). This could be the subject of a book (maybe it will be one day), but in the interest of brevity, I'll stick to one main example.

I know Dr Seuss is primarily considered a children's author, but I draw some very powerful adult themes from his works. This is similar to another favourite author, Roald Dahl, who spent just as much time writing for children as he did for adults. I think they were onto something.

Dr Seuss was a childhood favourite of mine. However, I had not read him in almost 30 years when I started reading him to my son Matty (b. 2004) just a short while ago.

The path to success/failure/recovery in business is not dissimilar to the path to success/failure/recovery in life. One my favourite books Oh, the Places You'll Go! explores these ups and downs in characteristic Seussian style.

1. Initial optimism

2. Oooh, look at all these choices/distractions!

3. All right, I am setting off on my own course!

4. Hey, look at all of my fans!

5. Oops, that may have been the wrong turn!

6. It's scary and dark here.

7. Hey, where did all of my fans go?

8. I'm alone and nervous (and that scary monster is eyeing me).

9. Look at them! They're succeeding and I'm not!

10. And look at those other people - they're just playing by the rules (and waiting ...)

11. Hey, who cares about them! Look at what I'm doing!

12. I can see much clearer now. I'm going to be just fine.

13. The road ahead looks pretty bright.

This supports an earlier post I wrote about passion as being the key ingredient for overcoming adversity.

Right Sleeve could have been the template for "Oh, the Places You'll Go!". (we'd be at #12 right about now, with some #8 moments thrown in for good measure).

I always find myself lost in these "ah-ha moments" while reading these Dr Seuss books. I wish I'd understood what they were really about when they were being read to me 30 years ago. But then again, perhaps Dr Seuss had intended for us to make the inevitable mistakes so we could truly learn for ourselves.

How Not to Write a Job Ad for Advertising Specialties Sales People

2007-03-25T14:36:00.000-04:00

I continually scratch my head at the the type of people who write job ads like the one I just came across on Craig's List. I understand this employer wants a keen sales rep to bring in sales. Yes, sales people need to bring in business at the end of the day .... how they achieve this goal is the subject of another discussion.

Customers - run for cover!!! Mr. Alligator Grizzly Bear Ball Buster is out to sell you some pens, flashing baubles and white coffee mugs!! Reject him at your peril!!

------------------------------------------------------------

Ad Specialty Sales $1,000 + wk

Looking to train experienced salespeople to sell Ad-Specialties.

This position is about building your own business within a business.

Successful applicants will learn how to sell all types of Ad Specialty products.
Once you have achieved an income of at least $1,000 per week for six months you will start building your own crew of salespeople. Your income will be limited only by your work ethic and imagination.

-Qualified applicants will be hard working, self-disciplined and goal oriented.
-Be responsible and punctual.
-Want to make as much money as humanly possible.
-Have the hide of an alligator
-Be prepared to rip the hair off the balls of a grizzly bear

WARNING:
Slackers, Liars, Deadbeats and Wimps need not apply.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Growth Dilemma

2007-03-17T13:20:00.000-04:00

I observe most of my important business lessons when I go to market.

I love farmer's markets as they are filled with such interesting vendors. Most of them are pretty quirky and have strong personalities. It is pretty evident when you are speaking with the owner at one of these places. They are the ones who know what you ordered last week, that your toddler likes poppy seed bagels, who enthusiastically recommend the basil-lemon mustard to go with the sausage you just bought, point out the best head of broccoli, and always cut the ham just the right way. They just get it.

Then you come the next week and the owner is busy serving another client. No problem, except for the fact that the owner's nephew is helping out this week. The nephew does not get it. He reaches for the limp broccoli, fumbles with the credit card machine (or even worse, informs you that you cannot charge $13.11 worth of goods on the card because it contravenes the "no visa under $20 policy"), he slices instead of shaves the ham, and he fails to connect with you about anything. The exchange is a transaction vs an experience.

I return the following week. Again, the owner is swamped with other clients. "Uh oh", the nephew is eyeing me, looking to help. I pretend to continue shopping, all the while hoping that the owner will look up and take my order. No luck, I keep delaying ... keep avoiding the nephew. Eventually, I succeed and I place my order with the owner, the only one who gets it.

This situation is not uncommon in business. A passionate owner, recognizing they can't do it all, hires others to help grow the business. Suddenly, a new person starts answering the phone. Their voice is different, their disposition is different, their product knowledge is different, and they are pretty good at enforcing company policies that you were previously unaware of ... all told, you feel something is missing.

Of course, this is the ultimate challenge. How does a business owner empower the people around them to act like themselves - stamping their DNA onto the people who work with them, so to speak. I know of many amazing businesses that have done this very well, though I know of many others that fail miserably. Unless you are dealing with "Bob the owner", you walk. This is unfair to Bob as he is just too busy ... why won't my clients just deal with the "nephew"?

The companies that nail this concept end up winning. In my experience, training the people around you to "get it" is the most important thing you can do in growing your business. Yes, it is essential that you hire people that have a range of experiences, but if you can't bottle up what is special about your business (and you) and give it to these new hires, you will end up with an uphill battle on your hands.

I speak from experience. Right Sleeve is a very demanding place to work. We are fanatical about delivering a "wow" customer experience and those that do not get this, end up leaving very quickly. Unfortunately, more people end up NOT working out than the ones that do. Why is this? While growth is very important to us, we are not prepared to sacrifice a quality customer experience for anything. All of our staff have to connect with our clients.

If people think and act like this is a product business, their chances for success are limited. This is a people business first and a product business second. Come on - we sell branded promotional products!!! However, what is special about this place is the effect that these products have on the people who order them (making them look good in front of their boss or clients). This is powerful stuff ... and a hard concept to teach.

I feel like we have made some tremendous sacrifices in our quest for the perfect team. While I know deep down inside that we could quadruple overnight if we hired a small army of salespeople, I am not prepared to become the kind of company staffed by too many "nephews" and too few "Bobs". Why? While in the short/medium term, it would be brilliant strategy for growth, I'd pay the price in the long term. (do you think Howard Schultz may have been thinking this when he wrote his "Starbucks is becoming soulless" companywide email in Feb 2007)?

Growth is still very important to us. But it just takes time to find the right people. It takes time to hire them, train them, develop them. Our management team has been around for years and we have highly dedicated, passionate people who take ownership over what they do. These are the kind of people who genuinely say they have fun at work. I know they represent this company as well - if not better - than me.

The ones who don't work out have difficulty understanding the path to success involves patience, training, learning from setbacks, dealing with criticism, listening, and truly caring about their work and the impact it has on others (vendors, colleagues and clients). This is hardly an overnight process.

When done right, everyone acts like "Bob the owner" and the passion permeates the business meaning the experience is never diluted for the customer.

The Machine is Us/ing Us

2007-03-13T19:20:00.000-04:00

My buddy Scott Annan sent this video my way. While it has already been watched a billion times, I wanted to spread the word even more. This is a fabulous look at the evolution of the web from a unidimensional resource to its current status as a dynamic and collaborative medium.

This is worth the 4 minutes ...

Fabulous quotes

2007-03-10T18:17:00.000-05:00

You know when you come across quotes that make you say "Yes! That's really smart" ... well here goes. They nail the point in such a cool "less is more" kind of way.
-----------

When people are least sure, they are often the most dogmatic (JK Galbraith)

Imagination is more important than knowledge (Albert Einstein)

Coffee is for closers (Alec Baldwin in Glengarry Glenross)

Where there is no vision, people perish (Proverbs 29:18)

Things do not change; we change (Henry David Thoreau)

Until you try, you don't know what you can do (Henry James)

Man cannot discover new oceans until he has courage to lose sight of the shore (Anon)

A crank is a man with a new idea - until it catches on (Mark Twain)

If you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always gotten (Anon)

Leadership

2007-03-09T00:07:00.000-05:00

In my experience, the meaning of leadership is giving your people a voice to express themselves.

The staff we attract enjoy selling our fun/hip/trend setting products to image conscious companies. Working with headstrong, creative, opinionated people can be a challenge. However, giving a group of people like this a voice to express themselves can have extraordinary results.

I have found that giving people a voice is achieved in three ways (i) participation (ii) ownership of ideas and (iii) setting an example

Participation

We have weekly meetings to discuss creative initiatives. These sessions are pretty liberal and open ended. I have found that the more freedom I give people to express themselves, the more creative they are with their ideas.

For example, in a recent session about how we were going to communicate our top sellers to clients, we honed in on the idea of a Staff Top Ten list. In order to give this promotion a little more personality, the team decided it would be fun to showcase ourselves as the style makers behind the products. Fast forward to the creative ... we now have people striking poses in the Number 10 to represent the Top Ten theme so we could capture the meaning of the promotion on our web site.

These exercises are often very random and the energy in the room is unbelievable as it allows members of the team to express themselves as well as feel connected to the overall mission of the company - to deliver a WOW experience to our clients. You can read more about the exercise here.

Ownership

In addition to these creative sessions, I ask each staff member to be a weekly "Learnings Chair" where they moderate a discussion based on a case study of their choosing in their assigned week. This case study may be a chapter from a book, blog post, magazine/newspaper article or podcast. This topic is distributed to all staff a few days in advance.

Each Monday, the appointed staff member will lead a discussion on the top 3 learnings from the case study and how we can apply them to Right Sleeve. The results have been fantastic. Not only does the company learn 3 new things each week, but each staff member is empowered every time they are asked to present in front of their peers. This is much more powerful coming from an employee than it is coming from the boss (people just expect me to say these things)!

Setting an Example

As a leader, I find that the written word gives my ideas more legitimacy. As such, I publish my ideas on our company blog for the world to see. Our company blog is successful because it gives Right Sleeve a human face. I avoid writing about selling our products, rather I use it as a medium to communicate my philosophies on marketing and business in general. I have found the impact of the blog on my staff to be profound as it gives them a forum to discuss and debate the things I publish online (and believe me, they debate them passionately)! They also get the opportunity to look "beneath the hood" and see what makes the owner tick - unfiltered and uncensored. This is powerful as it makes me more accessible as a leader.

While I have made many mistakes in running this business, one of my biggest successes has been giving my staff a say in the process so their sense of ownership increases ... making my job a little easier every day.

Herd mentality

2007-03-05T22:40:00.000-05:00

Herd mentality is fascinating.

Have you ever noticed that whenever a plane lands, taxis to the gate, and turns off the seat belt sign that 95% of the passengers instantly jump up, rush to get their bags from the overhead bins ... and then proceed to wait for several minutes (still standing) before the plane's doors open?

Where are they going in such a rush? Is the guy in the seat behind me going to get off the plane faster than me when the doors open? It seems so unfair - he has been standing with bag in hand for 5 minutes while I sit there relaxing (and I still get off before him .... after all, I am still seated ahead of him). It only takes a few seconds to get your bag in the overhead bin. (and yes, I have traveled with my family as well as by myself).

To be clear, I am not a slow poke. I am usually in a hurry, but I just don't get why people rush just to stand there? Why not sit back, relax and wait until the doors open? Then grab your bag and be on your way. Standing in the aisle will not speed anything up, other than just congest the aisle and cause back pain.

Ever since I can remember, people have always rushed to stand after a flight arrives at the gate. It seems somehow ingrained in the traveler's DNA, but it does not seem to affect one's ability to get off the flight any faster. This is just what people do, as though they are following some sort of rule book.

Here's the point. Why do what everyone else does, especially when "what everyone else" does is kind of silly when you step back and really look at the situation?

It's pretty liberating to do things differently - in life, business, etc. Sometimes doing it the way everyone always does it only satisfies our need to be like others, but it is not necessarily the best way.

(author's note - while I may be onto something with this deplaning business, I still engage in many other silly and herd like activities, so I am not playing high and mighty. I still have plenty to learn!)

The Power of Core Values

2007-02-20T15:56:00.000-05:00

In the past, I was never a believer in committing core values to paper. I always knew they were important, and while we certainly abided by a set of core values in our heads and hearts before, I chalked up the actual "writing of them down" as corporate schlock and rhetoric. Did anyone really care? If any of you have seen Office Space, you know what I mean (i.e., big, grey company asking its people "Is this Good for the Company"?)

I have since parked my skepticism as I found the process of committing tried and true values to paper to be liberating. Someone once told me that you know you have nailed a core value when writing it down gives you goose bumps. I mean, it actually has to mean something in order for it to be that powerful. That changed my perspective immediately. What was it that was so exciting about this place when it was just an idea, 1 phone/desk and no clients? Why did the founder wake up one day and declare "I want to start a company". This is the magic that needs to be encapsulated in your value system (the magic elixir, as it were).

For a look at what guides us at Right Sleeve, click here.

I also found that as a business grows, the founder does not have the time they had before to manage individual staff and guide them through every process, customer issue, sales call etc. It is so much easier if everyone is on the same page from day one. The values of a company end up replacing the boss in many ways. If you ever have a question about how something should be done, don't ask the boss ... consult the values. This is so much more empowering for everyone. No one wants to hear the boss drone on more than he/she already does (I speak from experience)!

This also makes your recruiting process much easier. Not everyone is going to agree with your value structure. Fair enough - pass on these candidates, regardless of their skill set. We ask everyone of our job applicants to study our core values so they can draw upon experiences that show they will be the right fit. We have made many interview mistakes in the past ("can you tell me your greatest weakness?"), but we have found that the whole conversation shifts into reality when you hold up your value system to a candidate and ask them to respond. If they lied in the job interview, you will know within 1 week of them starting on the job (at which point they should be shown the door - for everyone's sake).

The same can be said when you pitch clients. While we always want new business, we make a conscious effort to evaluate our clients and measure them against our set of values. No one wants to work with a client that does not value what you stand for. The same goes for partnering with vendors as well.

All great teams have one thing in common - alignment around a common cause. Committing values to paper is a great process to go through (and I sheepishly apologize to anyone with whom I debated this subject in the past).

Winterlicious - a squandered marketing opportunity

2007-02-10T15:04:00.000-05:00

Winterlicious is a great idea gone wrong.

For the uninitiated, Winterlicious is a restaurant promotion organized by the City of Toronto to encourage people to try new restaurants. Participating establishments will prepare a special prix fixe menu at a substantially reduced price from their regular menu cost.

This is a cool concept as it encourages people to try restaurants they normally would not try, principally due to cost. High end restaurants like Biff's, Canoe, Monsoon open their doors to Winterlicious fans for a select period of time. People come in throngs to enjoy the savings as well as the (supposedly) great food.

Here is the problem. The restaurant often offers a substandard menu so as not to lose money on the Winterlicious promotion. They also reduce the service levels and some will even seat you in a "special" section when you announce that you have a Winterlicious reservation. In one outing, the host looked down his nose at us and said curtly "right this way, we have a wonderful table for you" (it was right by the kitchen door).

The menu is typically the light version of what you would normally get at the restaurant. Cheaper ingredients, smaller portions, slower service, sitting in the kitchen, etc all contribute to the underwhelming experience.

Why do some of the restaurants take these short cuts? I am still a paying customer ... but most importantly, I am a new customer (and like most Winterlicious types, an enthusiastic restaurant goer). I also have 1000 choices in Toronto and I have now selected your restaurant. And now you cheapen the experience for me? My expectations were so high, especially after reading the reviews from the pundits. I was excited!

Here is what I think when I leave:

1. I received poor value for my money, even at the reduced rate (I still dropped $100 incl tax/tip/booze on my meal for two .... not exactly a screaming bargain).

2. I was made to feel like a pauper as a Winterlicious customer (maybe they should hand out dunce hats and special T-shirts - NOT made by rightsleeve.com! - at the door).

3. Service was poor, and even worse if I did not order alcohol with my meal

4. A higher end restaurant like Biff's is not so high end anymore in my mind.

5. I have 1000 choices. The next time I will certainly not go to a place where I received mediocre value for my money, even if I paid a little less. A bad experience is still a bad experience, regardless of what it cost.

If I was a restaurant owner, here is how I would work the math.

1. Recognize that the cost to be an official Winterlicious restaurant is a marketing investment, not a cost.

2. Recognize that the reduced meal cost offered to patrons is also a marketing investment (I mean how much am I really losing? I doubt I am selling the food for less than cost, even at Winterlicious rates).

3. Ratchet up the service levels for my Winterlicious patrons. Give them the best seats, make the food extra special, do something to wow my new clients ... roll out the red carpet in a big way. This is my ONE chance to impress them and keep them interested.

After they leave, are my new clients raving about the experience? When people have an superb experience, especially when they get a deal, people TALK about it to EVERYONE. Conversely, when people have a poor experience, they also TALK about it to EVERYONE - often more so and certainly with more venom. Some people will even go so far as to blog about the poor experience - imagine that! :)

btw - the only restaurant that has impressed me with their great food and service at Winterlicious is the Rosedale Diner (just so you don't think I am excessively crusty)!

Conclusion - businesses that offer coupons, discounts, special promotions to bring new clients in the door have one chance to impress. Why put the B team on when you can really do something amazing to earn a client for the long term? A client who saves 20% off their meal on their first visit will more than make up for this loss in subsequent visits. It all comes down to the lifetime value of a client.

A client who saves 20% and has a bad experience will just spread the word about how underwhelming you are. What a squandered opportunity.

May Oswald be a mentor to us all

2007-01-27T13:27:00.001-05:00

I was reminded of one of my favourite quotes in life when reading through an old travel journal from the mid 90's (before starting Right Sleeve). While on this backpacking trip in Asia, I read voraciously as I was in the right mindset to absorb new ideas. One of the best books I read was Roald Dahl's My Uncle Oswald.

I am a big believer in passion. I know that there are many pragmatic things that get in the way of leading a passionate life ("I have to work at this boring job so I can pay the mortgage", "I would really love to do xyz, but it would be too risky", etc). This is what makes us human - a natural aversion to risk and change.

Any successful person in business, politics, education, and life in general possesses many special attributes. However, without passion for what they do, nothing else really matters. I am not defining success in monetary terms (i.e., a stressed out worker bee who makes $10 million and hates what he/she does is not a successful person). I define it in the joie de vivre sense. If you have passion, everything else comes easily. If you lack passion, the rest is a slog.

Back to Oswald ... the following passage is written from the perspective of Oswald's risk averse nephew:

"I began to realize how important it was to be an enthusiast in life. He taught me that if you are interested in something, no matter what it is, go at it at full speed ahead. Embrace it with both arms, hug it, love it and above all become passionate about it. Lukewarm is no good. Hot is no good either. White hot and passionate is the only thing to be".

From a business sense, look at the most memorable companies in the world (or your neighbourhood) today. Take Starbucks or Google on the world stage or how about the kookie, irreverent local coffee shop in your neighbourhood. A friend of mine, Cam Heaps, started the Steam Whistle brewing company in Toronto because he was (white hot) passionate about beer. The rest is history. He has built a solid business while competing against the monster breweries and the multitude of craft labels in Canada. His passion drives the business day in and day out, against all sorts of odds. Without passion, I shudder to think where Cam would be today.

May Oswald be a mentor to us all.

The Peameal Incident.

2007-01-20T14:05:00.003-05:00

I am a regular shopper at a local farmers market in Toronto called the St Lawrence Market. Every Saturday, the market turns into a bustling exchange similar to what one might encounter in Europe or Asia. People yell, sell, cajole, promote, swear, etc etc. It's great. It is a place where people celebrate the concept of "small is big." The shops are small, but they are big on experience. As Tara Hunt aptly says, the St Lawrence Market is a place where the boutique generation would congregate.

One of the main draws at the market is the famous Peameal Bacon sandwich (see at top). Picture slabs of peameal, some mustard, onions, black pepper, and tomatoes sandwiched between 2 pieces of kaiser bun. The Peameal. Pretty simple.

Almost everyone in the market sells this famous sandwich. Not too much to it, you think ... so why not buy from the cheapest vendor? Well, this is exactly what I did as a market newbie many years ago. I bought from a place called the Sausage King - for about 25% less than the crowded place across the aisle - Paddington's Pump. On account of price, I gravitated to Sausage King (why would I buy the same thing across the aisle for 25% more ... who do they think they are?)

For about 2 years, I put up with surly service, an inconsistent product (sometimes too fatty, sometimes a little cheap on the # of pieces of bacon, sometimes served with a day old bun, sometimes drowning in mustard), the same server who always forgot my order week to week, the same server who could never understand "grapefruit juice" despite it being front and center in their cooler (week after week after week). Despite this, I persisted ... always justifying the mediocre experience by the cost savings.

About 6 months ago, Sausage King raised their prices! Now they were only 10% cheaper than Paddington's, but it pushed me over the edge. How could they? They're not worth it! I bailed. I joined the line at Paddington's. I gave my order to the pot bellied and unshaven proprietor - who was even surlier and scarier than the Sausage King woman. However, he has a charm - much like the Soup Nazi in the Seinfeld episode has charm. He got the order right, gave the right change, and moved us along quickly ... and I loved the way he shouted "PEEAAMEAL" to the kitchen. The Sausage King woman was just plain dreary, and none too swift.

I forked out the extra cash and then gave the condiment order to an efficient assistant who got it right ... without having to ask for clarification 5 times. They also serve grapefruit juice and reach for it as soon as I request it.

The new sandwich is glorious! Worth at least twice the Sausage King offering! It has more meat, the bacon is grilled vs steamed. The kaiser bun is always fresh. The amount of mustard applied is just right. The experience is perfect. What was I thinking before? My 2.5 year son Matty also approves - I can hardly get it to my mouth before he pounces on it.

The lessons?

- When you are good, you can charge a premium, and you should.
- When you are good, you will attract the right customers - the ones who value experience and quality first, not price.
- When you are good, you continue to have line-ups when the inferior cheaper guy across the aisle will be twiddling his/her thumbs (or dealing with the price hagglers).
- When you are good, you don't fake it. If you are surly and efficient, then revel in it. Don't pretend to be something you aren't. Customers will eventually find out and punish you for deceiving them.
- Know what you are good at, focus on it, perfect it and customers will come in throngs.
- When you are NOT SO good, you have nothing else to compete on other than price.

Top Ten Learnings from 2006

2007-01-06T00:40:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year!!

2006 has been a quite a year for learning. I am a big fan of reading, attending conferences and speaking to people much smarter than me. Over the course of 12 months, I have spent some time jotting down the 10 most profound business ideas I have gleaned from others.

1. Embrace simplicity. Make it really easy for your customers. (Google)

2. Focus on the remarkable ("Purple Cow", Seth Godin)

" It is a plea for originality, for passion, guts, and daring. Not just because going through life with passion and guts beats the alternative (which it does), but also because it's the only way to be successful. Today, the one sure way to fail is to be boring. Your one chance for success is to be remarkable."

3. You are only as good as your team (Howard Schultz, Starbucks)

4. Two guiding principles I teach my 2 young sons can also be applied in a business setting:

(i) Respect others
(ii) Be interesting and interested.
[in that order]

I maintain that there is a lot in common between running a business and raising a family. Entrepreneurs, in particular, look at their businesses much in the same way that non-entrepreneurs look at their children. As such, there are similar guiding values that work for both.

(i) In business, we have a responsibility to others, be it to clients, vendors, employees (even the competition!). Without a deep respect for others, the foundation on which you are building your business is shaky at best.

(ii) To stand out, your business must be interesting and unique. You need to challenge the status quo in order to differentiate yourself. Otherwise, you just blend in with the crowd. But there are too many people that are interesting, but lack an interest in others. A business in the 21st century must maintain an interest in the world around them. Too much time looking in the mirror is never a good thing.

5. Give your clients a voice. Consumers are in charge now in way that has not been seen in the past. Web 2.0 has dramatically changed how we do business and interact with companies of all sizes. Feedback and criticism is instantaneous on the web. No one can hide now.

6. Be focused. What do you want to be remembered for?

7. Distribution is the ultimate determinant of a firm's value. He/she who can develop a platform that will engage their audience and attract traffic off/online will win. Just look at how much Google, Yahoo, and News Corp valued distribution when they bought YouTube, flickr and MySpace, respectively.

8. Stand out. Don't be scared to step out of line. Seth Godin drove this home in the Purple Cow.

"So it seems that we face two choices: Either be invisible, uncriticized, anonymous, and safe or take a chance at true greatness, uniqueness, and the Purple Cow"

9. The rewards go to those who can think in the future, not the present. Everything you do should be evaluated by how your decision today will affect the future.

10. Customer experience is everything (Mark Hurst)

American Apparel sells out?

2006-12-19T09:58:00.000-05:00

Dov Charney's American Apparel is selling out for $382.5 MM (US)! The horror!

This is a watershed moment in the apparel business and one filled with so many ironies and contradictions.

I knew AA from the very beginning (when Dov would produce home made catalogs with even more suggestive photos back in the late 90's). AA's whole business model was based on socially responsible T-shirt manufacturing. Sure, the sex and style thing was important, but no message was more prevalent than the fact that this company cared for its workers in its downtown Los Angeles factory.

Dov railed against the machine from day one. I remember him calling retailers like Guess, Gap etc "assholes" for offshoring their production and paying minimal wages to downtrodden factory workers in Malaysia, etc. He waved his banner proudly and vigorously stuck his middle finger at the Man. In the early days, I did not think his business would fly given the commodity driven nature of the T-shirt industry. His prices were high, stock levels were awful and product quality was a mess.

But eventually, he figured it out and was able to mine a very profitable vein - the socially aware teen market. Sex sold, socially conscious manufacturing sold, Playboy/girl magazine covers on the walls of his stores sold, his sexual harassment suits attracted all sorts of attention ... and ultimately sold. Genius! As Seth Godin would say, American Apparel's Purple Cow was not clothing at all, but the idea of socially responsible clothing manufacturing.

While this was happening, skinny teens/tweens bought boatloads of expensive AA gear from the retail stores. Eventually (and shockingly) conservative corporate groups jumped on the bandwagon as they bought AA gear for their events (disclosure - yes, we partly are responsible for spreading this gospel to the corporate/cool crowd).

Does all of this change with the sale of his company to Endeavor Acquisition Corp? Endeavor has plans to take the company public and also plans to blanket the world with more stores so they can take on the likes of ubiquitous retailer Abercrombie and Fitch. A&F is not known for its socially responsible manufacturing (at least in AA's view). Is this the future of AA? Coming to you soon in America's suburban malls?

This raises an interesting question that all public companies face. Can the original spirit and joie de vivre be maintained when a company is now subject to the pressures of Wall Street and a shareholder base? Shareholders are typically different than customers in that they really only care about returns, profits, dividends etc (socially responsible manufacturing is nice and all, but only when it delivers a profit).

I am sure that Dov and his partners have thought long and hard about this. It would be a shame for them to compromise their core values just for the sake of extra dollars (they are doing pretty well right now at $250MM in sales annually). I am hoping that the craziness of AA continues to thrive and prosper with its new parents.

Introducing James Graham ...

2006-12-14T22:35:00.000-05:00

At 3:30 Tuesday morning (Dec 13), we welcomed James Douglas Graham into the world.

Weighing in at 7lbs/1 oz, he is a beautiful and healthy little guy. Brother Matty has already been to the hospital for an inspection and he gives James the 2 thumbs up. His other brother Jack is at home and can't wait to plant a big lick on James's face when they first meet.

ma.gnolia

2006-12-02T14:27:00.000-05:00

I am certainly not the first one to discover this site ... but ma.gnolia is a fabulous social bookmarking tool that allows users to share bookmarks and tags with one another. What I find interesting and different can now be shared with like minded types across the online community.

Holiday Heroics! Booo White Mugs!

2006-11-22T11:42:00.000-05:00

Ok - so this is a blatant plug for rightsleeve.com, but this is just so cool .... and we think you will enjoy it.

Our creative team's latest holiday email blast is hilarious and really drives home what we stand for in this business - creative ideas and fun stuff that works for creative and fun clients! Calling all creative and fun clients!!

(oops - sorry, if we have offended the white mug crowd, but lighten up will ya?!!)

U3 smart drives - very cool

2006-11-17T05:21:00.000-05:00

U3 smart drive technology is starting to gather traction in the market place. This technology (for now) has only been embraced by the early adopter tech crowd.

The concept is simple. U3 drives look like a regular USB flash memory stick BUT they have 1 differentiating feature - they feature software apps (word processing, email, etc software) that can be launched from almost any computer. The idea is that people in the future will only carry around their U3 smart drive and plug it into any computer. Their software apps and files will run from the smart drive. Data on the drive is encrypted so, if lost, security is not an issue. If this takes off, I am sure we will see much fewer laptops being lugged around on business trips.

This is a pretty profound technology and one that will push us further into the mobile computing space.

Flickr Moo .... Boo!

2006-11-02T10:37:00.000-05:00

Here's my beef with buzzy web 2.0 sites. Despite rave reviews from in-the-know web evangelists, they still shaft the customer (on occasion).

Everyone loves these sites as they are community oriented and pro-consumer, but it does not do the consumer much good when transactions don't go through thus souring the overall customer experience. We have a big disconnect here.

So, to my point ... Flickr's buzzy printing site Moo can't seem to get its act together.

Here is what's wrong:

1. I crop every one of my 82 Flickr photos for printing on moo.com (a process that takes about 25 minutes ... but I will chalk this up to a creative 25 minutes so I am not griping). btw - the printable area drag and drop process is counterintuitive, but I figured it out in the end.

2. Proceed to the checkout screen - create an account, input credit card info, click proceed and it tells me my transaction has gone through (i.e., a bill is available for printing), BUT at the same time an error message appears.

3. I fire an email off to client service asking if my order actually went through (hey, this is web 2.0 - where is the IM option, or perhaps the ability to check my online account history). Anyways, client service responds in 2 days and says the order is no where to be found - it must not have gone through. Argh

4. So I try again. I repeat the cropping process (25 minutes of aggravation now - it's no longer fun and creative when doing it the 2nd time).

5. I proceed to the checkout and input my login and password at which point the screen freezes and I am out of luck. All that work for nothing. I quit.

6. Two attempts, 50 wasted minutes of cropping (why is my work not saved?) and no Moo cards.

The conclusion is that while I am all for web 2.0, community interaction, digital commerce and positive consumer experiences ... what's with all the hype when the site just does not work properly? This is fundamental and basic.

Moo - I know you are the current darling of the internet photo printing business, but wake up and make it a little easier for us wee consumers! I just want my cards!

Even the Enterprise can be fun!

2006-10-29T14:08:00.000-05:00

Much has been written about the Enterprise and its inability to embrace the fun and quirkiness of the web 2.0 world. In a nutshell (according to some), the Enterprise = business, boring, grey, soulless cubicles, the "Man", "doesn't get it" etc.

One of the most tireless tiraders (is that a word? Well, you know what I mean) against the enterprise is Tara Hunt - an outspoken marketing rogue (self described) and evangelist for web 2.0 and the power of communities. Tara has some cool things to say and I agree with most of her marketing philosophies (and admire her passion to boot).

Anyways, the enterprise is not all that evil, especially when the office knows how to have a good time making money, returning value to shareholders and other "enterprise-y" things like that. We think we have set an example in this regard.

The quirky people at rightsleeve.com have recently joined the flickr community and hope that other offices across the land will do so as well (a few pioneering companies have already done so before us). Hey "Enterprise", let's lighten up!

Jakers goes viral!

2006-10-29T13:59:00.000-05:00

Yehaw - Jakers (the famous rightsleeve.com office mascot) has gone viral.

Click here for a day in the life of Jakers!

Crank those speakers and shake your booty :)

Office 2.0 Conference, San Francisco

2006-10-14T13:15:00.000-04:00

I just spent the last two days (Oct 11-12) at the Office 2.0 conference in San Francisco. I learned about the event from a friend of mine, Mike McDerment, who was speaking at the event about his new web based invoicing application, Freshbooks. This was the enterprise follow-up to the consumer driven Web 2.0 mesh conference held in May 2006 in Toronto. As a web/office 2.0 enthusiast, I was excited to spend time with some of the leading minds of this movement.

This is new territory. There is no consensus on what the future of Office 2.0 will look like, or whether we will ever get there. In many ways, it feels like we are on the brink of something very profound, yet many question marks remain.

The core principle of Office 2.0 revolves around how users collaborate with one another in an enterprise. Sending documents via email is considered "Office 1.0", while working collaboratively with colleagues on the same documents across multiple offices is what the Office 2.0 movement is all about.

Office 2.0 principles are guiding the productivity gains at rightsleeve.com. We have developed a powerful web based solution to power all of our work flow, CRM and supply chain management. It was not an easy process, but we pushed our development team hard to create something that would eliminate the paper flows, increase transparency and ultimately allow our staff to collaborate easily with one another.

Web 2.0 apps will also power the front end of our web business, ultimately benefiting clients. We have always seen our clients as partners in our success. We are looking to the web to connect clients with each other and the products they order – more on this as we roll out the features over the next few months.

Some of the memorable moments of the conference included:

- Attending the conference during the week of two major Google announcements: (i) the You Tube purchase for $1.65BN and (ii) the launch of Google Docs and Spreadsheets

- Being reminded of one of the principal obstacles to widespread Office 2.0 adoption – broadband and connectivity issues. (network issues repeatedly slowed down demo presentations and Gmail even failed once for a stressed out presenter demonstrating a mashup).
- Innovative office 2.0 applications: Joyent, Zoho, Wufoo, SugarCRM, Koral, Genius

- Andrew McAfee’s keynote address on Enterprise 2.0 (he has written what has become the academic standard on this new phenomenon)

- Esther Dyson’s somewhat luke warm endorsement of Office 2.0. I thought it was an interesting way to start a forward thinking web conference with a leading tech advocate who admitted she was more Office 0.9 than Office 2.0 (well, at least she was honest).

I was very impressed with the conference organizer, Ishmael Galimi, who whipped together this conference after evangelizing the concept in his blog earlier in the year. His philosophy (expounded on his blog IT Redux) about the move from desktop installed software to hosted web applications spurred much debate before and during the conference. It was pretty impressive that he and his team were able to assemble such a strong line of speakers and vendors in such a short period of time.

Cool things to do ...

2006-10-12T12:49:00.000-04:00

-Take the day off work to read a new book.

-iPod>Music>Songs>All>Shuffle

-Walking your dog before sunrise

-Take photographs – lots of them

-Blow a party horn at work

-Laugh really, really hard

-Do something outside of your regular routine

-Be the first one your son sees in the morning … DAAAADDDDEEEEEEEY!

-Attend a conference
outside of your specific industry

Starbucks – why art thou inconsistent?

2006-10-12T11:55:00.000-04:00

I have praised Starbucks in the past (and will likely continue to again), but they appear to have some creaks in its armour as it marches towards global domination. Starbucks’ brand was built on high quality coffee served in a comfortable environment. I suppose one’s expectations of a company like Starbucks are so high after consistently positive experiences at their stores.

However … what’s with Starbucks stores in the United States? I generally find them dirtier, ruder, factory-like and generally unimpressive (compared with Canada). Starbucks in the US feels more like a Burger King outlet.

-Employees are sloppily dressed (why wear the baseball cap when it’s 4 sizes too small for your head?)
- rude (“yeah, what you want?”)
- have limited selection (Chicago airport, I believe is operated by a company called HMS Host, only offers 1 brew (mild) + 1 decaf …. where is my bold? – customers have been trained to ask!!)
-ill trained (why does it take 3 staff members to process a credit card transaction?) and is more expensive ($1.75 US vs $1.75 CDN for a Tall).

You want your favourite brands to succeed, not falter. This is why I am writing about this. Howard Schultz – get over to Chicago and fix those HMS operated stores. (oh, and go to Las Vegas afterwards – the airport operated stores are not much better there either).

Creativity and chaos

2006-09-28T22:44:00.000-04:00

The best and craziest ideas at rightsleeve.com often result from those long and tiring days when someone snaps the silence and creativity block with a comment like "hey, wouldn't it be cool to showcase our staff top ten product picks online?"

Followed up with a "ya, and let's take pictures of us in silly positions with the number 10".

Followed by ... "oh yeah, let's sharpie marker that long sleeve shirt with the number 10 and get the boss to wear it for his photo ..."

Followed by ... "I'll up that and lie on the floor in 3 positions (and 9 photo takes) to make up the number 10" (bring it on, Photoshop!)

"This is wacked ... okay - how about making 10 out of sushi and what' this? ... a dozen eggs less two = 10?"

etc etc

The bulk of our office and web creativity comes from these random 30 minute sessions of frenzied discussion, photo taking, marker wielding chaos, heated debate and creative gymnastics. Check out the results here. It may not be polished, but it's passionate!

We hope to bring you more of this in the coming weeks as this is the stuff that really makes rightsleeve.com tick.

Loot bags at TIFF 2006 ...

2006-09-18T20:18:00.000-04:00

As an industry insider, I always find it amusing to read about the outsider's view of this business. Most people express (rightly so, in some cases) snide and snarky comments that this business is all about cheap plastic, swag, chachkas, crap, doo-das, etc etc. This business is unfortunately populated by many uneducated "professionals" who service uneducated buyers. [I won't get into what these people are called in our industry] The result is a bad product that people just don't need, let alone want.

I find it interesting that TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival) distributes promotional giveaways to celebs who yawn at yet another pair Fendi sunglasses, iPod or the latest swanky cell phone. Read more in the Globe about this. Ratchet it down a notch or two for the regular folk and this is the same as a corporate buyer ordering cheap plastic pens for a high end corporate executive conference (and it happens ALL THE TIME). Cheap plastic pens for a high end corporate executive conference? You have to be kidding!

This is where this business gets its ugly reputation from. Poor purchasing decisions and poor market research - why spend the money at all?

Many promo companies squander the opportunity to make their clients look like heroes when it can be so easy! Why? People LOVE free stuff, however people REALLY LOVE free stuff that appeals to them. See more in my previous post on Starbucks where I say that people REALLY LOVE free stuff (even if it's cheap) when they perceive the value to be high to them. This is why this is an $18 Billion industry in North America alone.

So back to TIFF - why give a celeb something they have 10 of already (that they'll now get taxed for)? Why not think outside the box and get them something they really want (which may be nothing at all) ...

rightsleeve.com video premieres on You Tube

2006-09-11T12:24:00.000-04:00

rightsleeve.com premieres it first major video release :) - "Day in the Life" video on You Tube.

Wired Mag - truly gets it!

2006-09-04T23:50:00.000-04:00

Kudos to Wired Magazine - quick and easy to subscribe!! 2 clicks and I was done - even for a Canadian! Poor Fast Company still can't figure this out (to follow the saga, check out the previous post on how to make subscribing to your modern/new age magazine convoluted and positively antiquated).

rightsleeve.com - what's in a name

2006-08-29T08:26:00.000-04:00

I get asked a few times a week about where the name Right Sleeve came from. Like most cool names (well, we think it's cool at least), it came from random inspiration. It also follows some basic common sense rules about how peoples' minds work.

1. Come up with something that people can spell (but I am constantly amazed by the few people who spell it "wright sleeve" - okay make sure 95% of the population can spell it).

2. Come up with something kind of quirky that people will remember. ABC Promotions is lame (not sure if ABC exists, though I am sure it does). I believe they have a much harder job ahead of them - even if they are great people that provide a great product.

3. Come up with something that has its own unique url. Web sites with hyphens or descriptors like "marketing" or "world" or "inc" are just lame. Sorry. Old brands usually suffer this fate when they venture online.

4. If you can loosely relate your name to what you do, all the better. We sell a lot of apparel. Logos are embroidered or screen printed on different parts of our apparel (left chest, right sleeve, lower left hem, right cuff, etc). There's our loose connection.

5. I believe the best and most memorable brand names in today's new economy are quirky and offbeat. Google, Boing Boing, Amazon, Flickr (though this hard to spell), Yahoo, Expedia, etc etc. These are hard names to forget.

6. Don't take yourself too seriously. Pick a name. Make sure people can spell it and remember it and then get on with your business.

Fast Company ... not so Fast

2006-08-27T14:28:00.000-04:00

It's ironic that one of the champions of all things digital and "fast", Fast Company magazine cannot even make signing up for a subscription easy for anyone outside of the US.

Check it out for yourself here (top right - click SUBSCRIBE)

If you enter a non US address (say Canada) and click "APO/FPO-Canada" for the state, you will be continually rejected. (the error message reads "Please enter your name.Your city, state and zip did not match with postal records." even though this is not true) btw, the site keeps defaulting to the Middle East.

In today's digital world where ease of use on the web is king/queen (think iPod, Google, 37 Signals, etc), Fast Company fails big time. This is annoying that I now have to email their customer service department specifically to receive a subscription (and it has taken 3 business days and still no response from them - how antiquated is that)! Imagine walking into a store with $100 ready to buy a gadget and no one is standing at the counter to take your money.

Fast Company: please join the ranks of other progressive organizations that practice what they preach - make it a little easier for your customers to pay you money for your product.

Time to subscribe to Fast Company = 3 days and counting. How "fast" is that?

Vitamin D

2006-08-25T16:44:00.000-04:00

For those of you in the business world who have been residing with a remote Amazon tribe for at least the last year, Seth Godin is a 7 time best selling business author.

"The Purple Cow" is just one of the 7 titles that has been floating around the Right Sleeve office since its release.

This morning, I sat down at my desk feeling a little frustrated from the week of busy work. I needed some type of inspiration. Thanks to the wondrous powers of the World Wide Web, I found it quite quickly.

I came across a post on Seth Godin's blog.

"The thing about the wind" is a post that should be read by absolutely anyone who is feeling frustrated by slow progress with clients, suppliers, and even coworkers.

Go ahead and read it. I guarantee it will shed a little vitamin D on your day!

Seth Godin has also been mentioned in "10 People You'd Invite to Dinner and Why"

Growing Again ...

2006-08-25T05:13:00.000-04:00

rightsleeve.com is looking for a few account managers and one production coordinator (to join our Toronto office).

Impressing The Pants Off Your Clients 101

2006-08-24T17:39:00.000-04:00

I was at my local Starbucks this morning in mid town Toronto. I asked for a Grande Bold drip coffee and the barista told me apologetically that I would need wait 2 minutes for a new pot to be brewed.

It did not seem to be a big deal, but nonetheless the barista was rather fussed about the wait time. I paid $1.96 for the coffee and with my change, he handed me a free coupon for "Any Starbucks Beverage" that I could use at my convenience in the future.

Here I am thinking: "wow - these people are smart. They asked me to wait 2 minutes for my coffee and for the inconvenience they are compensating me with a coupon worth over $5 - and I was not even upset to begin with!"

The cost for Starbucks (on even their most expensive drink) is about $0.25. The value to me is over $5.00, but more importantly, I will remember this for weeks to come. In fact, I have already told 3 people about it today and now I am broadcasting this on our company blog for the world to see.

Not a bad investment - for about $0.25, Starbucks is getting all of this free word of mouth advertising. By cultivating this special relationship with their customers - by far their most important asset - they have guaranteed an ongoing revenue stream until the time they really screw up!!

American Apparel pushes the envelope (again) ...

2006-08-22T12:08:00.000-04:00

We have been in business for about the same amount of time as American Apparel - the funky/sexy/stylish line of women's/men's apparel we now sell by the boatload to the trendy set.

Their controversial ads have always had a gritty and honest feel about them - very "auteur" and "home movie". While they have been attacked in the past for the age of their models and the provocative nature of their product shots, they certainly have hit a nerve in youth culture.

AA is also about pushing the envelope. Their retail stores around the world showcase the covers of old Playboy and Playgirl magazines - all framed along the walls. It is a nod, they say, to the company's retro chic roots and the celebration of old school pornography is a part of that.

Most recently, they started using porn actresses (most infamously, Lauren Phoenix) to showcase their gear. There is a much ballyhooed ad featuring this actress modelling AA's retro socks (below).

AA Press release on this Lauren Phoenix business is here

Check it out - what do you think? Is AA exploiting women, or are they marketing geniuses that know their market and does not care what others think of them? Would you stop buying their products knowing this is how they market themselves?

World Toilet Day

2006-08-21T22:43:00.000-04:00

Funny but true - after reading this weekend's Globe and Mail (Aug 19), one learns that Nov 19 is World Toilet Day (according to the World Toilet Organization - the lesser known WTO). The Globe article is only available to those who subscribe to the online edition.

Funny but true - we even make gear for toilet enthusiasts.

Stuart MacDonald - Exit Interview

2006-06-26T17:48:00.000-04:00

Right Sleeve in the press! Stuart MacDonald, founder of Expedia Canada, was featured in the Globe and Mail's Small Business Magazine in the "Exit Interview" section.

Mugging for the camera, Stuart is wearing our cap produced for the mesh web 2.0 conference in Toronto.

10 People You'd Invite to Dinner and Why

2006-06-07T21:54:00.000-04:00

Seth Godin, marketing guru and author of the Purple Cow. I love this book for its small size and refreshing view on what is wrong with traditional marketing. He has a very cool perspective on what makes a product/company great.

Michael Nichols, National Geographic photographer (above). Well known for his wildlife photography in Africa. The Last Place on Earth is a retrospective on his journey through the Megatransect in Africa.

Jim Nachtwey, VII Agency photographer (above). While he taken some pretty depressing photographs of war torn nations, poverty and environmental degradation, he is one of the few artists who can make something beautiful out of something so tragic.

Larry Page/Sergey Brin. Creators of Google. I read a good book about these two and I loved the description about their "healthy disregard for the impossible" when setting up Google. (in reference to their desire to catalogue the entire world wide web in the late 90's).

To be continued ...

Red Bull/Matty G

2006-06-05T22:16:00.000-04:00

Even Matty G (23 months) likes it. Red Bull gear is all over the place at Right Sleeve.

Innovators Dilemma

2006-06-05T12:13:00.000-04:00

All innovators are hated in their first term - Mark Graham

NYC/103rd St

2006-05-29T01:47:00.000-04:00

This was a cool shot taken in the NYC subway last week. Love the repetition of the pillars. (photo Mark Graham).

Jobs!

2006-05-25T19:16:00.000-04:00

We are currently looking for an office manager and an account manager to join our growing company.