rightsleeve news/views

Swag 2.0: How we leverage technology at RIGHTSLEEVE

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Graham) — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 01:31:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Graham) — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 17:55:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Graham) — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 05:45:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Graham) — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 04:52:00 +0000

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!

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Graham) — Wed, 27 May 2009 14:00:00 +0000

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!

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Graham) — Mon, 25 May 2009 23:21:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Graham) — Wed, 20 May 2009 09:53:00 +0000

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)

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Graham) — Mon, 18 May 2009 17:55:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Graham) — Fri, 08 May 2009 18:05:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Graham) — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 11:12:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Graham) — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 18:44:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Graham) — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 01:09:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Graham) — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 11:18:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Graham) — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 14:00:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Graham) — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 21:09:00 +0000

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"

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Graham) — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 12:48:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Graham) — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 16:17:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Graham) — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 12:03:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Graham) — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 04:21:00 +0000

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?

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Graham) — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 10:10:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Graham) — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 11:39:00 +0000

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!

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Graham) — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 18:57:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Graham) — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 11:49:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Graham) — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 01:30:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Graham) — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 13:45:00 +0000

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?