Hidden costs of a/b testing 

There's plenty of literature on the merits of A/B testing, but little information on its pitfalls. Most people in ecommerce, tech and startups would have you believe A/B testing is a must do activity when, in reality, it's often unnecessary and counterproductive. 

At Sticker Mule, we recently stopped actively A/B testing and I thought it'd be helpful to explain why. I should preface this by admitting we ran more than 70 conversion tests before making this decision and had only 3 significant winners. I don't know a normal ratio of tests to wins, but I suspect our situation is common. This isn't to say we don't believe in constantly working to improve conversion--we've found different ways, which I detail later. 

![The Hidden Costs of AB Testing](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/64feff7f772f6956dd6752f42069c17b12f845f0)

## The 6 hidden costs of A/B testing

### 1) Time
Resources are finite. Time spent on A/B testing cannot be spent elsewhere. How you use your time determines your growth trajectory. A/B testing is a growth tactic, but it's not always the best use of your resources. 

### 2) Lost conversions
Most conversion tests fail and underperforming variations cause you to lose conversions while they run. These lost conversions are an investment you make to improve your long term conversion rate, but don't forget they are a real cost. 

### 3) Performance
Related to lost conversions, A/B testing tools make your site slower and this also reduces your conversion rate--even for the control. The additional conversions you lose because of this performance hit are another, often ignored, cost of A/B testing. 

### 4) Confusion
A/B tests potentially confuse your team and customers. Customer service may struggle to properly service a customer if they don't know which variation the customer is viewing. You can educate customer service about the various tests you're running, but, regardless, you're making their job more difficult. 
 
### 5) Speed
A/B testing slows down your organization's decision making. Some ideas are obviously good and adhering to a strict A/B testing process reduces your time to go live. Time is finite and the number of improvements you implement per year has a major impact on your growth trajectory. 

### 6) Focus
Usually, organizations congratulate themselves for investing heavily into conversion. This is evidenced by a Head of CRO or paying consultants. The largest cost is not the salary of those persons, but changing the focus of other team members such as designers, customer support, and developers. The success of a Head of CRO is usually at the cost of making other colleagues less successful in their primary roles. 

## How we improve conversion without A/B testing
Stepping away from A/B testing does not mean we have abandoned efforts to improve conversion. Rather we are improving our conversion through other methods (yes, A/B testing isn't your only option).

You can monitor your long term conversion trend rather easily via Google Analytics to gauge if you're making good decisions. And you can add more precision to this method of conversion rate monitoring by looking at your conversion rate trend by channel. 

With that in mind, we're doubling down on the following to improve our conversion rate:

### Usability principles
Adhering to thoroughly researched [usability principles](https://www.nngroup.com/) generally yields good conversion optimization results. 

### Design principles
In addition to usability principles, there are basic [design principles](http://www.amazon.com/Universal-Principles-Design-Revised-Updated/dp/1592535879/) that tend to improve conversion when followed. 

### The golden rule
"Do unto others..." is a guiding principle for most of our decision making and it works great with regards to conversion optimization.

### Solving problems
Solving actual pain points our customers experience is the primary way we've been able to improve our conversion rate and strengthen our brand. 

## We haven't abandoned A/B testing entirely
I should admit that we still A/B test some ideas. Rather than adhering to a strict A/B testing process, we let our team to A/B test ideas they're curious about. 

To minimize the likelihood of testing too much, we turned off our 3rd party A/B testing tool and integrated split testing into our code base. That means, in order to run a test, we need help from development to set it up. This extra effort discourages running careless tests and has the added benefit of eliminating the performance hit that comes with using a 3rd party tool. 

Finally, we're now able to A/B test entirely different versions of our code which is much more interesting than merely testing basic design changes via a 3rd party tool.

If our approach of improving conversion rate by solving problems rather than using an A/B testing tool appeals to you, you share some of [the characteristics we look for in team members](https://www.stickermule.com/blog/characteristics-we-look-for-in-team-members). 

Feel like you'd fit in well with our team? [Apply to join us](https://www.stickermule.com/careers). We'd love to hear from you.

A/B testing has multiple hidden costs. We decided to mostly stop a/b testing for 6 reasons. 

Brewing interest in Radio Roasters' specialty roasts 

- __About Radio Roasters:__ [Radio Roasters](http://www.radioroasters.com/) is a small batch roastery in Georgia that provides single origin coffees through online sales, stores, and subscription delivery.  
- __How they use stickers:__  In shipments and in stores, Radio Roasters' "brew method" stickers do the job of educating future customers, marketing the business, and letting coffee lovers share their passion.
- __Results:__ The stickers have begun a small and effective word-of-mouth campaign about Radio Roasters.

> I wanted to involve the community and educate people how coffee is made, sourced, and brewed."

Every day, we receive hundreds of new sticker designs for printing. Most of them are artistic or clever. But there are a few that really catch our eye because they blend design with brand marketing.

A set of stickers from Radio Roasters is one of the few that really stand out. Designed by TNKR Design, Radio Roasters' stickers show various brew methods for coffee. Subtly printed on the stickers is the website address and after a quick look we had to learn more about the small batch roastery based in Atlanta.

![Coffee Brew Method Stickers](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/fbeae8473f4b5d7f67ee96ab30241cd323401579)

The man behind Radio Roasters is Chip Grabow. An NPR producer for 15 years, Chip moved to Atlanta to work at CNN. Although he edits scripts at CNN by night, during the day he’s busy roasting specialty grade coffee and building a business.

In 2011, when Chip moved from the West Coast to Atlanta, he was surprised by the small number of specialty coffee shops and roasters. He decided to combine a passion (love for coffee) with a dream (running his own business) to launch Radio Roasters. He had a jump start with the help of some friends who roast in other parts of the country.

## Brewing involvement and education

All new businesses face the difficult decision of branding and marketing. Chip quickly found one answer, "We have a great designer who did our branding and created our brew method stickers."

But marketing wasn't as easy. 

> Great coffee is different.

The answer came from the mission to involve and educate. Carefully sourced beans and small batch roasts are just the start. His goal to educate consumers also includes showing people how to make and enjoy a single cup of coffee.

"From the beginning, I wanted to involve the community and educate people how coffee is grown, sourced, and brewed."

That started with a single page and a few images describing techniques to brew a great cup of coffee with different [brewing methods](http://radioroasters.com/brewing-tips). While making the page, his designer made unique circle designs featuring the method: Clever Drip, cone drip, Chemex, and Aeropress.

Each method features a short paragraph about the method's history and specific steps. The result is unique, "Great coffee is different."

Soon after, the brew method stickers were made.

> Stickers were an obvious way to help. People always love stickers.

![Radio Roasteries Georgia](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/e13b66f450931079ae412f121222f68005c78d3a)

## Broadcasting the goods

A consistent design and unique colors make the set stand out. At local stores like [Sq/Ft Decatur](http://www.sqftdecatur.com/), where Chip's roasts are sold, he places a few stickers next to the bags. The color and design draws attention and, he hopes, subtly begins the education process. Chip adds, "Good design is helpful."

But it also creates a sudden interest in making (and drinking) coffee in new ways.

Casual coffee drinkers often only know one or two methods of brewing coffee, such as a standard drip coffee maker. These stickers show four lesser-known methods that improve the richness and taste, which open the door for "the switch" to take place.

The Switch has been described as "when a particular mix of events and emotional energy exists, a customer will choose a different product to use." 

Although small and simple, the stickers are, in part, accomplishing that job — giving a casual, novice, or even "pro" coffee drinker an opportunity to choose Radio Roasters' coffee over their old favorite.

Add to that the fact that stickers are easy to hold and use just about anywhere.

Chip explains, "People love stickers as a kid. You love collecting them and holding on to them."

## Tuning in for more

The bulk of his business is built around a subscription service to encourage customers to buy and have on hand only the freshest beans and to consistently try new varieties. Customers can pick from different coffee origins and bag sizes.

Coffee changes by the season and so each quarter, Radio Roasters features a different origin or variety. When customers buy through his subscription service, they get stickers thrown into each shipment.

> Cool brands are always the ones who give you cool, free stickers."

As the subscription business has grown, the stickers have had a growing impact. A customer might place a sticker on a notebook they bring to work or they'll place it on a coffee mug they bring to a meeting.

"We’ve had people ask our customers, 'How do I get these stickers?' We always tell them to say, 'You have to order Radio Roasters Coffee'. Recently someone saw a Radio Roasters sticker on a colleague’s laptop and asked about it. So they gave them an extra shot because they knew he liked coffee."

As the subscription business grows online, Chip is looking to expand to other stores in and around Atlanta. Stickers have been a pragmatic, economical way to naturally pull people towards Radio Roasters.

"Although we’re just starting, the stickers have definitely increased interest. We’ve had a great response on Instagram. People comment and ask where they can get them. We tell them 'you have to order!'"

"They respond, 'I know where I'm ordering next time!'"

If *you* want to try ordering with Sticker Mule, get started with $10 off your first order. Just sign up by clicking the button below.

<ButtonCta text="Get $10 credit" href="https://www.stickermule.com/unlock?ref_id=7980330701" />

Radio Roaster's "brew method" stickers educate future customers, market the business, and let coffee lovers share their passion. 

Prerequisites for rapid growth 

![Illustration of growing plants](https://cl.ly/2V3z1C1Z2k0f/prereq_blog.jpg)

To date, we’ve been fortunate to grow by focusing on our passion for manufacturing, design, software development and customer experience. This attitude let us grow for 5 years without a single person in marketing. Last year we started building a marketing team and noticed our growth curve bend.

> Our team is still small and, while there are obvious benefits to staying that way, there’s also long term risk associating with ignoring opportunities to grow faster.

Our team is still small and, while there are obvious benefits to staying that way, there’s also long term risk associated with ignoring opportunities to grow faster. Without outside investors forcing growth on us, we’ve been able to create an environment where talented people seem to enjoy working (our [eNPS](http://community.netigate.net/employee-net-promoter-score-how-engaged-are-your-employees-11861.html) is [90](http://cl.ly/2U2q3f3Q1J23)!). If we accelerate growth, it’s important that we don’t diminish the environment & culture that enables us to do great work.

Given our hesitation to make changes that could negatively impact our culture, we identified a few areas where we need to improve to grow faster. As we start 2016, to grow faster, we need to:


### Prioritize effectively organization-wide
Our future is determined by the projects we pursue. Time spent doing less valuable activities is not spent doing more valuable ones. The better we get at prioritization the faster we will grow.

### Minimize average time to go live
We spend resources upon starting a project and don’t get a return until we go live. It’s wasteful for good ideas to sit idle and worse to invest time in a project that get’s shelved or stalled.

### Learn to scale job responsibilities
New responsibilities accumulate quickly in fast growing organizations. We need to be flexible when it’s necessary to adopt new responsibilities or adapt to a new role.

### Identify, recruit and fill key positions
We can’t do anything without the right people. So our potential is constrained unless we identify significant roles and fill them with the best people.

### Develop an effective hiring processes
To hire at scale we need exceptional recruiting, hiring and onboarding processes and a commitment to caring about the success of new people. Productivity and morale deteriorate when companies hire without a plan.

### Raise standards
We must be committed to mastering new skills while continuing to improve where we already excel. People learn from each other and a deterioration in standards can quickly spread as we grow.

## Concluding thoughts
While these principles are particularly relevant to our current situation I suspect they’ll continue to matter indefinitely. Prioritization and execution speed are easily the two biggest determinants of long run growth.

Beyond that, it comes down to filling the right positions with the best people, enabling them to succeed and encouraging everyone to stay flexible so that the organization can quickly adapt to change. Finally, a commitment to constantly raising standards is perhaps the best safeguard to the decay the most organizations experience as they age.

If you agree with these principles and are seeking an organization where talented people enjoy working, [we are hiring](https://www.stickermule.com/careers?ref=blog).

We've identified a few areas where Sticker Mule (and other companies) need to change or improve in order to grow faster. 

Growing beards and a brand with Texas Beard Co. 

- __About Texas Beard Co.:__ Started in February 2014, Texas Beard Company makes high quality, all natural, man-made beard products.
- __How they use stickers:__ With just two types of stickers, they have been able to label their entire product line including beard oil, balm, and wax products. Promotional logo stickers have also been a great tool to spread brand awareness. 
- __Results:__ What started as an experiment is now a busy company adding new products and fulfilling hundreds of orders a day for their happy and bearded customers. 

> I saw an opportunity, did my research, and started creating what became our first two products."

Great entrepreneurs look for opportunity and try to get ahead of the next big thing. And yet, at times, the best ideas are staring you right in the face...or, in this case, on your face. That's how Ryan Olson, a bearded software developer, started and founded Texas Beard Company.

![Texas Beard Co Stickers](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/82e4ca79ccb9972fbc38cb2f547dd744ab083809)

"I saw an opportunity, did my research, and started creating what became our first two products."

Together, owners Ryan, Aaron, Adam, and Shayne (all coworkers and friends) formed Texas Beard Company. Since then, handmade beard care products have become a full-fledged business with thousands of happy customers. As happy Sticker Mule users, we chatted with Ryan about the experience and the company. Here are the lessons he has to share:

Here are his three lessons:

1. Shape your business out of your own needs and expertise 
2. Launch fast and make it yourself
3. Delight & Surprise for Brand Awareness

## Shape your business out of your own needs and expertise 

Except Adam (the "token beardless guy" on the team), Ryan, Aaron and Shayne are their own best customers. They researched different ingredients and their benefits. Next, they tested the formulas on themselves and made changes to what became beard oil and beard balm.

They created the product and formula that Ryan had been looking for on Day 1. Next, they reached out to friends and other coworkers to get their feedback. They gathered comments and feedback on the products' scent and use, and then launched the product line officially.

> It was a bit of an experiment to see if we could move product.

As software developers, Ryan and the guys work by day at an e-commerce software company developing tools and resources that allow other small businesses to launch stores. That experience gave them a huge jumpstart out of the gate and helped them build the store overnight.

"It was a bit of an experiment to see if we could move product. We had the experience building online stores but not running one."

![NightCapBalm](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/db2806de2f55130f078553d94be99d4fe278bd92)

## Launch fast and make it yourself

It can be tempting for new, small businesses to get stuck on the "startup checklist" and delay building the actual business. It’s easy to spend too many hours building a website, creating a logo, branding, finding the best suppliers, and best prices. All are important, but they can drain a business of its momentum if done slowly. Texas Beard Company is a great example of why it’s important to work out of your expertise so that you can move fast and start selling.

Aaron, the artistic one of the bunch, designed a logo that perfectly captured the brand, its products, and its target customers. Next, the team ordered glass droppers and tins. To bring the branding and the product together, they used Sticker Mule to create custom [beard oil stickers](https://www.stickermule.com/uses/beard-oil-stickers "Custom beard oil stickers") to label their beard care products.

Ordering custom stickers and using them as labels gave them the ability to order as needed at the start. From the beginning, the logo and stickers have become a prominent part of the entire production process.
All of the products use the same sticker for labeling. This single use has made it easy to keep branding consistent. Best of all, it has allowed them to save thousands by placing bulk orders for a single design and making reorders quickly.

> It was a creative solution for packaging. We used one sticker for all four uses."

Texas Beard Company has taken "do it yourself" to the extreme. All of the products are handmade by family members out of a home garage and has completely overtaken two rooms of the house. Although it started as a weekend project, making the oils and balms is now a full time job for two people.

At the start, Ryan recalls visiting Farmer's Markets to generate sales and awareness before online sales took over. "It was time consuming, but it was important. Customers were able to smell the scents and try it out. It's a lot easier online though to make sales."

## Delight & surprise for brand awareness

With nearly all sales coming through the online store, Texas Beard Company has found a way to still engage with customers and spread the brand without the in-person connection at a Farmer's Market. "We put promotional logo stickers in with every order. It's a nice surprise for customers when they open up the box."

> Stickers are a nice surprise for customers when they open up the box."

The stickers have helped with brand awareness too. While many customers will naturally tell their friends, some will need your help through stickers, referral credits, or other creative ways. If your product meets a need and creates happy customers — like Texas Beard Company — it's important to make it as easy as possible for them to share their experience. "People put the logo on their [cars](https://www.stickermule.com/uses/car-stickers), [coffee mugs](https://www.stickermule.com/uses/waterproof-stickers), [hard hats](https://www.stickermule.com/uses/hard-hat-stickers), or [laptops](https://www.stickermule.com/uses/laptop-stickers)." The business has expanded beyond Texas and sells in every state and more than 26 countries.

![Beard Oil Stickers](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/e31f92a0425326592137ccedb0b3f72eb5d1d701)

## What's next 

In the past year, the team has created new scents (including a seasonal scent), added mustache wax and other grooming products. As Texas Beard Company grows, so does its customer’s love for the brand. The team is now making t-shirts, trucker hats, and more. While the business continues to grow naturally, Ryan, Adam, Aaron, and Shayne plan to delight customers in new ways and with new products.

There are countless ways to delight _your_ customers and grow your brand using stickers and other custom printed products. Check out more ways Sticker Mule can help your business grow.

<ButtonCta text="100+ ways to use Sticker Mule" href="https://www.stickermule.com/uses?ref=blog" />

Texas Beard Company uses custom stickers to label their entire product line including beard oil, balm, and wax products. 

Announcing custom sticker ideas 

Since the early days of Sticker Mule, we have always been surprised by the creative designs, uses and applications from our customers. Today, we're announcing an effort to capture and display those ideas: [custom sticker ideas](https://www.stickermule.com/uses).

## Why we're excited
From handmade goods to school fundraisers to weddings to building a great company culture, there are endless ways to use custom stickers, magnets, buttons and more.

[![Custom die cut sticker business cards](https://cl.ly/2V2D0p2G0s2V/chop-shop-barber-business-card-stickers-main.jpg "Not so standard business cards")](https://www.stickermule.com/uses)

Over the years we've posted and reposted many customer ideas and photos on [Twitter](http://www.twitter.com/stickermule/) and [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/stickermule/). However, these images and ideas are lost to the noise on social channels.

So we've collected 100+ of the most popular ways to use custom stickers, magnets, buttons and more to inspire you to make your own custom printed products.

[Check out the ideas here](https://www.stickermule.com/uses).

## Share your idea
We also want to provide an opportunity for the best ideas to come forward and inspire others.

We've published stories on our blog that explore how customers in different industries are using their [stickers to market a business](https://www.stickermule.com/uses), [label products](https://www.stickermule.com/uses), [drive traffic to a site](https://www.stickermule.com/uses), or [raise money for a Kickstarter project](https://www.stickermule.com/uses). In the coming months, we'll be featuring more stories from customers.

[![Texas Beard Co Story](https://cl.ly/0F2S0g3s0K1n/BeardOil4x.jpg "Growing beards and a brand with Texas Beard Co.")](https://www.stickermule.com/uses)

So if you've used your Sticker Mule products in a unique way, let us know and we'll share them with the community. 

Take a look at [the 100+ ideas featured here](https://www.stickermule.com/uses) and then [share your own idea](https://stickermule.canny.io/products) with us.

[![](https://cl.ly/3I06350X0z31/ideas-blog-gallery.png)](https://www.stickermule.com/uses)

<ButtonCta text="Share your idea with us" href="https://www.stickermule.com/support/contact?ref=blog" />


See 100+ ways to use custom stickers, magnets, buttons and more.

Introducing automatic discounts 

Sticker Mule aims to be the fastest and easiest way to buy custom stickers. That's why we're announcing a new feature that we quietly released six months ago: [automatic discounts](https://www.stickermule.com/automatic-discounts).

It's common to not know your exact sticker size when ordering. Automatic discounts saves you time and money by automatically determining your correct size during proofing.

Now you can quickly choose an approximate size, upload artwork and always get the right price based on your exact size.

<WistiaVideo videoKey="automatic_discounts" />


### Save money
Since launching automatic discounts, more than 80% of [die cut sticker](https://www.stickermule.com/products/die-cut-stickers) customers have saved on their orders. Often the difference is minor, but sometimes it's substantial.

For example, you might order a 3" x 3" sticker that is really 3" x 2.3". We automatically identify the difference and lower your price. Since we don't charge you until proof approval, the price you pay is based on the final size identified during proofing.

### Save time
Don't waste time determining your exact size. Order the closest size you can guess and we'll figure it out. This is especially helpful when ordering large stickers like [floor](https://www.stickermule.com/products/floor-graphics) and [wall graphics](https://www.stickermule.com/products/wall-graphics) where you might have a desired width but not the height of your design.

You can simply order the largest square your design fits within and we'll determine both dimensions. For example, if you want a 48" wide wall graphic, you can order 48" x 48" and we'll determine the correct height and update your price. This works well to help you order smaller stickers faster too.

### Try automatic discounts
Don't waste time figuring out your exact size ever again. [Automatic discounts](https://www.stickermule.com/automatic-discounts) is a Sticker Mule exclusive that we're incredibly excited about. 

Try it by [ordering an approximate size](https://www.stickermule.com/custom-stickers) and let us know what you think.

Automatic discounts saves you time and money by automatically determining your correct size during proofing. 

Dribbble global meetup sponsor 

With hundreds of meetups happening around the world in 2016, Dribbble's online community of designers is fast becoming one of the best offline communities for designers too. [Dribbble](https://dribbble.com/) is a place to show and tell, promote, discover, and explore design. It's a community that [Sticker Mule](https://www.stickermule.com) has been a part of for years.

Sticker Mule and Dribbble both started in 2010. We've had a great relationship with the team, located in Salem, MA, from the start. Dribbble has become more than just a social network to us—it's become our favorite community to engage with and be a part of. Here's what Dave, our lead designer, said,

> Dribbble is the single most important social network for anyone that cares about design. It’s done more to help us build our team and brand than Facebook, Twitter and Instagram combined.

## 2016 Global meetup sponsor

This year we decided to make our "relationship" with Dribbble official by sponsoring [hundreds of meetups](https://dribbble.com/meetups) in cities like Toronto, New Delhi, Los Angeles, London, Mexico City and more.

As an official partner along with [InVision](https://www.invisionapp.com), we're sending meetup kits to cities around the world. The kits include branded Sticker Mule and Dribbble stickers (including our newest product [transfer stickers](https://www.stickermule.com/products/transfer-stickers)), sample stickers, and [Sticker Mule gift cards](https://www.stickermule.com/products/gift-cards).

## Kicking it off

Last month, [we kicked off the partnership](https://dribbble.com/stories/2016/01/26/global-meetup-sponsor-sticker-mule) with what became a Legendary Playoff shot ["Free Custom Stickers for Everyone"](https://dribbble.com/shots/2483034-Free-Custom-Stickers-For-Everyone). The shot was viewed more than 14,000 times, rebounded over 600 and received a record breaking 1,553 likes. Although the deal has ended, we have much more in store for the design and Dribbble community.

## What's next

In addition to sponsoring global meetups, we plan to continue the monthly playoffs we began mid-2015. With a theme and unique prizes for winners, each playoff presents a unique opportunity for Dribbblers to see their design in real life as a sticker or a [button](https://www.stickermule.com/custom-buttons).

[Visit us on Dribbble](https://dribbble.com/stickermule) to see past playoffs, upcoming deals, and new shots!


We're sponsoring Dribbble meetups all over the world with meetup kits, stickers, and more. 

The Sticker Mule guide to Asana 

![The Sticker Mule Guide to Asana](https://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.stickermule.com/blog/2016-02-12-the-remote-team-guide-to-asana/sticker-mule-guide-to-asana.png "The Sticker Mule Guide to Asana")

[Asana](https://asana.com/) is Sticker Mule's task management platform. We use it to create, track, assign, discuss and complete every task that isn't managed by a specialized system. Asana is flexible and feature rich which makes it intimidating at first. There's no definite way to use Asana correctly. To get full value requires upfront effort and a willingness to agree on conventions to standardize use.

We wrote this guide to explain how we use Asana at Sticker Mule. We designed it as a reference for our team and have published it for other teams that may find it useful.

##How we organize tasks in Asana
Asana encourages you to create teams of people that manage projects comprised of tasks and subtasks. We generally do not use it in this manner because most of our projects are small. It doesn't make sense for us to create hundreds of projects so we redefined Asana's conventions to categorize our work.

> It doesn't make sense for us to create hundreds of projects so we redefined Asana's conventions to categorize our work.

We use teams to create top level categories and projects to create subcategories. A task within a project (i.e. subcategory) can be a discrete task or a project that's organized using subtasks. Occasionally, we use Asana projects to track actual projects too. Our top level categories, which are setup as teams, are:

### Product design
The product design team categorizes improvements to our product (i.e. web site & related apps) by placing them in categories (via projects) for each functional area (i.e. cart, checkout, reorders, reviews, etc.). 

Periodically, we prioritize tasks within each functional area (i.e. project) using section headings to sort tasks by priority. When we start work on a particular area, we can quickly scan a list of related improvements sorted by priority. For example, if a developer is working on the cart, they may look at the cart project to quickly grab a few extra tasks to complete.

### Development
The development team categorizes development work by creating projects to track: defects, rough edges, high priority tasks and our roadmap. The roadmap provides a high level overview of the main improvements we intend to make. 

We also stay focused by using a "rough edges" project to categorize non-critical improvements that won't be noticeable by most users. Most "rough edges" are rather easy fixes and our team will tackle a few in between pursuing more substantial projects. 

Finally, we will sometimes create projects to track actual projects our dev team is pursuing if they are substantial in size.

### Operations
The operations team organizes work that's related to operational improvements. Since most operations projects are substantial, we use Asana projects within this team to track actual projects. The projects are roughly sorted by priority from top to bottom so anyone can monitor them. 

Additionally, we have a catch all project called "Ops ideas" that tracks ideas that may lead to operational improvements. Anyone is free to post an idea to the "Ops ideas" project. If a task within that project is green-lit, and seems substantial, we may convert it to an actual project.

### Marketing
The marketing team includes projects that categorize work by functional area (i.e. email, advertising, content, conversion, launches, etc.). Within each project we use section headings to sort tasks by priority. Additionally, we have a "Marketing ideas" that tracks tasks which don't fit into an existing category. 

Ideally, one person would own each area, but our team is still small so most people oversee a few areas.

### Customer Service
The customer service team includes a "CS ideas" project that tracks tasks that lead to customer service improvements, a "FAQs" project that tracks FAQs we need to create or revise and a "Rush" project that tracks orders which must ship early. 

Anything posted to the "CS ideas" project is intended to have 2 specific results: improve customer service efficiency or reduce the need for customers to request help.

### Human Resources
The human resources team includes a "Positions" project that tracks all open & potential positions. We use subtasks within each position to track additional tasks that need to be performed to fill the position (i.e. post ads, create job description, etc). 

We also have an "Onboarding & Training" project where we create tasks to represent each new hire and subtasks that reflect the onboarding and training tasks for that person.

## Asana tips & tricks

### Task naming conventions
1. Start task names with verbs (i.e. Consider, Send, Fix, Add, Design, Implement, Order)
2. Use sentence case. It's Easier To Read.
3. Be concise.

#### Example task names:
1. Consider using Google Tag Manager
2. Redesign invoice PDF
3. Design custom labels early access landing page
4. Implement custom labels early access landing page
5. Fix issue with address validator presenting identical addresses
6. Send email announcing custom labels
7. Order new chairs for the office.

### How to write a good task description
1. Use headings to give structure to a task description (CMD + B to bold)
2. Include screenshots & screencasts whenever possible using [Cloudapp](https://www.getcloudapp.com/)
3. Be concise and comprehensive. Needless words waste an assignee's time but so does making them ask for clarification.

### Turn off email
To speed up Asana adoption we encourage everyone to turn off email notifications to get used to relying on the Asana inbox.

### Assign tasks during onboarding
We give everyone Asana tasks as part of their onboarding so they start using the platform immediately. Example onboarding tasks we'll assign include "Place a free order using store credit", "Review and sign company handbook", and "Turn off email notifications in Asana".

> We give everyone Asana tasks as part of their onboarding so they start using the platform immediately.

### Use today, upcoming and later
Asana lets you organize your personal task list by putting tasks in either today (Tab+Y), upcoming (Tab+U) or later (Tab+L). Generally, we put current tasks in "today" even if they're not to be done today and use "upcoming" to track pending tasks. "Later" tracks tasks we might do.

### Projects aren't required
It's helpful to categorize work using projects but don't agonize trying to find the correct project for every task. The important thing is to create tasks, assign them to the proper person and notify the relevant people using the followers feature.

### Tasks can belong to multiple projects
We often put tasks in multiple projects. Most team members only care about a limited set of projects (i.e. task categories). To better coordinate, we sometimes categorize task in multiple projects so that relevant people can quickly view them. For example, a task could be in the "CS ideas" and "Checkout" project if it's both a benefit to our CS team and related to our checkout.

### Use Tab+Q
We encourage everyone to create tasks using the "Tab + Q" keyboard shortcut. It speeds up the task creation and helps you quickly put all of your tasks in Asana.

### Encourage task creation via other channels
We encourage each other to create tasks Asana when they're identified via another channel (i.e. in person or Slack). Usually, this is as simple as saying "Can you make a task in Asana and assign it to (me, yourself, another person)". This is especially important with new team members so that using Asana becomes habit forming quickly.

### Copy & paste templates
Asana's [templates feature](https://asana.com/guide/team/advanced/save-time-in-asana) is imperfect so we maintain our templates in a Google Doc. Often we'll post templates to a project description for quick access. For example, our "Onboarding and training" project includes a template of common onboarding tasks. A team members can copy & paste this list of tasks to create subtasks that need to be completed to onboard a new hire.

Hopefully Asana builds a real templating engine to make it easy to manage lists of re-usable tasks that can be added as subtasks to existing tasks or as tasks to projects.

> It's common for new team members to embrace Asana reluctantly only to become emphatic proponents within a few weeks.

## Concluding remarks
Since Asana is more complex than other task management platforms, it's common for new team members to embrace it reluctantly only to become emphatic proponents within a few weeks. Without Asana, and our conventions for using it, we wouldn't be able to gracefully coordinate and grow a remote team. 

While Asana is a big help, it can just as easily become a big mess without care to keep it well organized. As we continue to grow and launch new products (like [custom magnets](https://www.stickermule.com/products/custom-magnets)), our documentation and conventions will continue evolving. 

Our team works extraordinarily well together not just because we share the same tools, but because we share a similar perspective on work. We all tend to be [humble, independent, logical, thoughtful and autodidactic](https://www.stickermule.com/blog/characteristics-we-look-for-in-team-members). 

If you have these characteristics too, [we're hiring](https://www.stickermule.com/careers?ref=blog).


Although there's no definite way to use Asana correctly, Sticker Mule shows how it organizes and grows its remote team with the platform. 

Pour your own beer with iPourIt 

- __About iPourIt:__ iPourIt is a unique patented technology that allows customers to pour their own beer. The system consists of a management workstation, meter, valve, iPourIt board, RFID wristbands and RFID readers. Pubs and their customers can sell and order their beer by the ounce.
- __How they use stickers:__ They use stickers to create custom branded RFID wristbands for their clients. It's been a fast and easy way to make clients happy with extra service and a unique look.
- __Results:__ As the company grows, it has been able to offer its growing client list the ability to make the iPourIt system their own.

iPourIt is a self-serve beer and wine company. They use RFID (radio frequency identification) wristbands and cards to activate beer taps to let the patrons pour their own beer (and then add it to their tab automatically). Today, more than one million ounces of beer go through the system per month at pubs, bars and breweries around the U.S.

Despite the explosive growth of microbreweries and beer gardens across the U.S., beer drinking is still very much a simple activity—and it’s gone unchanged for centuries. 

It’s quite fitting, actually, that the unchanging, monotonous way we drink beer is what inspired Brett Jones to question the very way we all pour and drink beer. In 2011, Brett was at a restaurant for a playoff game that gave him an idea. 

"It took 15 minutes to find out the beer I wanted wasn’t available… then 15 more minutes to get a terrible beer... and finally another 15 more minutes to get the right one."

Out of frustration Brett told his friend, "It’d be nice to be able to pour my own. Why can’t I pour my own?"

The answer to that question was the start of iPourIt — a patented technology that allows customers to pour their own beer.

> It’d be nice to be able to pour my own. Why can’t I pour my own?"

![Pouring beer with custom stickers on RFID wristbands](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/243cabd2bad254a970c7b0388b940fa93e88b536)

And it’s not surprising that his background in technology is providing the solution.That terrible experience at the pub disrupted his twenty year career in I.T. as a software developer on network and system integrations, and sent him headlong. 

Brett spent six months developing the system and took another six months to sign his first client. The technology took another year to develop fully before it became a full fledged company, with a sales staff, etc, etc.

In the early days, each RFID wristband had a screen printed iPourIt logo. Brett and his team soon kept getting feedback from their clients who wanted to have their own logo on the wristbands. 

> Clients really wanted their own branding.”

It was difficult to make a two-color screen printed logo for most clients and the result was low-resolution at best. iPourIt found that it was better (and saved money) to order blank wristbands and then order custom stickers with each client's logo. More importantly, the quality of each sticker was high-resolution and full color, allowing the team to make the wristbands for any client. Clients then apply a sticker to each wristband once.

"It's a wet environment. And the custom stickers from Sticker Mule hold up great. We have clients that have been using them for almost two years and they still look great."

![Man using RFID bracelet to pour his beer](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/ecc7eb4680d1fba6643f8cc10202d755ba6c6a77)

Sticker Mule’s die cut stickers are made with a thick, durable vinyl with a UV laminate that protects from scratching, water and sunlight.

> Before we made clients use a template, but now we let the client do the work and send it to Sticker Mule."

Five years on, iPourIt Inc. has raised more than $2,000,000, pours over a million ounces every month through its system and has more than 50 clients at pubs, breweries and yard houses around the country.

## 3 reasons iPourIt chooses Sticker Mule

Ordering [custom samples](https://www.stickermule.com/samples) in small numbers of stickers has been helpful to smaller clients or to show a client how their wristbands would appear before installing a system. 

And for larger clients with many taps and customers, [buying in bulk](https://www.stickermule.com/support/can-you-provide-a-discount-for-a-bulk-order) has made it cost-effective to brand their wristbands. 

Sticker Mule's [reorder feature](https://www.stickermule.com/reorder) has also helped larger franchise clients as well. With reorder sharing and a faster turnaround, reordering has made the process of adding more wristbands fast and easy.

Beer drinkers love iPourIt because it describes each brew on a display, makes it easy to pour just a few ounces from each tap, and the ability to later rate and track what was poured. 

![Smart bar tending with an ipourit display system](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/29d1533b68befa97501469db24332b6ffaca944a)

But the clients love it too. Besides being able to brand it themselves, bars, breweries, and restaurants have benefited from the data that iPourIt generates. They can easily see which brews are most popular and use definite metrics to prove what is in or out of season. 

Recently, Brett and the team have developed the ability to allow restaurants and breweries to allow customers to reserve a pint of beer in advance. 

For example, if a restaurant brings in a very rare brew once a year. iPourIt’s client can email their customers that describes the brew and a link to reserve their ounces or pints.

"It’s a big improvement over waiting in line hoping that you’ll get a pint before the keg runs dry. With our system, no one can take their reservation."

At the heart of iPourIt is the answer to Brett’s original question, "Why can’t I do it myself?"

## Do it your way

Want to make your own custom stickers, labels, magnets or buttons? Get started with $10 credit when you create your account. 

With custom samples, multiple design discounts and fast, free shipping, you'll have your own custom products before you know it.

<ButtonCta text="100+ ways to use Sticker Mule" href="https://www.stickermule.com/uses?ref=blog" />

iPourIt is a unique patented technology that allows customers to pour their own beer. They use stickers to create custom branded RFID wristbands. 

Planting the future with GDCC 

- __About Green Dream Clothing Co.:__ A lifestyle brand that plants a tree for every article of clothing sold, Green Dream is "bridging the gap between inner city and country club lifestyles."
- __How they use stickers:__ Stickers are used to promote the brand, be sold online, and for student ambassadors to get the word out on college campuses. Stickers are also used in  packaging and on boxes.
- __Results:__ Stickers have been an easy, cost effective way to do marketing and promote the vision. The stickers have been effective on college campuses (like CU Boulder) and allow millennials to engage with the brand in a meaningful way. 

College graduates often grapple with the seemingly binary decision to either "do good or make cash." A 2014 graduate from Indiana University at Bloomington, Adam Swartz has chosen his own path: doing good by launching a lifestyle brand that is as cool as it is eco-centered.

With a slick logo, cool tees and strapback hats, the style of Green Dream speaks for itself. Beneath the look, the upstart brand and vision is far bigger: a greener future.

![Green Dream clothing company uses custom stickers to promote their brand](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/573bb2a740d99914e37f34d36b061585a07bda27)

When I chat with Adam on the phone for the first time to talk about how he uses stickers in his business, it's clear that he's passionate about that vision — and he's rooted it in thoughtful intentionality.

"My generation is interested in causes that matter — we're into a better environment. It's not an afterthought or an added bonus— we all care about the environment deeply from the start."

For every article of clothing (or pack of stickers) sold a tree is planted. Green Dream partnered with Plant-it 2020, a nonprofit foundation that performs worldwide tree-planting and more, to make it happen. "It's easy to latch onto the GDCC brand ‘cause there is a genuine interest in a sustainable future."

![How to use stickers to promote your brand in public](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/88d002e8570b9945ac7c156cecd9d11b9f8a7c60)

On the business side, Adam is getting the word out about Green Dream using branded custom stickers.

> It's a cheaper way to do marketing and promote the message.

After graduating, he moved from Indiana to the eco-friendly and all around great city of Boulder home of CU Boulder -- Colorado's largest college campus.  He's found college students to be great ambassadors for the brand and spreading the message. 

> Students know the stickers — they've seen them around.

Adam's student ambassadors or his "The Street Team" carry stickers with them around campus at all times. "It's a cheaper way to do marketing and promote the message." They'll give away free stickers to students who proudly stick them on their [laptop](https://www.stickermule.com/uses/laptop-stickers), [phone](https://www.stickermule.com/uses/phone-stickers), or [cars](https://www.stickermule.com/uses/car-stickers) — anywhere that is seen every day by others. 

"The street team always gets great feedback. Students know the stickers — they've seen them around. When someone says, ‘Ah, I love that sticker' an ambassador can give them one right then and there."

The stickers vary from pure marketing to promoting green messages ("Plant Trees") to inspirational words ("Good Vibes Only" and "Dream Louder").

Every sticker features Green Dream's memorable logo, an upside down umbrella — which is full of its own meaning, "Unlike an umbrella that blocks out rain, wind, or hail, our umbrella is flipped upside down allowing for these experiences and thoughts to fall in and help shape who we are, what we dream of, and where we dream of going."

Beyond the street team and word of mouth marketing, Adam's logo stickers are an important part of the customer experience. In keeping with his eco-centric and sustainable mission, old boxes are reused and given a new look with die cut stickers fixed on the outside. And after they've opened their box, inside they'll find a Plant Trees sticker Adam used to secure the tissue wrapping paper. 

![Use stickers to to close wrapping paper](https://storage.googleapis.com/sm-content/blog/b1fcc7e0be73894542e439c183173069ca24ffd5)

After that package is received, the stickers frequently are spotted on social media, on street signs around the country. 

"Friends are always sending me pictures whether it be from London or my old college campus. The support is real."

Stickers have also been a [product in and of themselves](http://www.greendreamcloco.com/shop-1/stickers). Every sticker pack sold also plants a tree — and seeds for the brand to continue to grow.

There are countless ways to promote your own clothing company, product, or brand using stickers. Check out more ways Sticker Mule can help your business grow.

<ButtonCta text="100+ ways to use Sticker Mule" href="https://www.stickermule.com/uses" />

How to use custom stickers to do good, promote a greener future, and grow a clothing business. 

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