Quality, Safety, and the Peace-Of-Mind of QCA Certification

It is a proud time for me and the entire Bodek & Rhodes family. I can officially announce that our company has become the only family-owned national apparel wholesaler to achieve full certification from the Quality Certification Alliance (QCA).  This certification is given to companies that prove that they are consistently maintaining a superior level of safety, quality and security in all products and processes, along with environmental stewardship and social accountability.

I assure you that this process was neither quick nor easy… nor should it be.  All facets of our processes were examined and confirmed to meet or exceed QCA’s exceptional standards. This same set of criteria now applies to each and every Ultraclub product that we manufacture and ship.

As you can imagine, we are thrilled to offer our customers the confidence that comes with this status. Our top priority is to provide absolute consistency of our product quality and safety every single day.  We want to be sure that when you buy UltraClub products from Bodek and Rhodes, YOUR customers can rest assured that they are receiving quality, safe products that have been securely shipped and produced under environmentally and socially responsible guidelines.

I want to assure you that QCA certification is an ongoing process focused on excellence… not a fad or a trend. We realize that this accreditation, along with our reputation, is based around our commitment to “Do the Right Thing” — our company motto – every single day. 

I encourage you to log onto www.BodekandRhodes.com/QCA, where you can more detailed information about QCA, what it means for you, and our overall commitment to quality and safety.

7 Ways You Can Land New Clients

For most promotional product suppliers, and most businesses in general, there’s one question that comes up time and again:

How can I get more business?

Your business is based on the idea that people will buy your products and services, and to a large extent, how well your business does is correlated to how many clients you have. So how do you find more clients?

Make Your Office Mobile to Make More Sales

Bodek and Rhodes, optimized to fit right in your hand

40% of American mobile phone owners use smartphones. That’s according to a Nielsen study, and some people think it’s even higher.

I’m telling you this for a reason—it means that your clients are used to having the information they want, the entire internet, in the palm of their hand. And what that means for your business is this:

Your customers have learned to expect information immediately,
and if they don’t get it, their attention wanders
… and so might their business.

4 Ways Private Label Can Increase Your Profit and Make Your Life Easier

I was having a discussion with one of our reps at our recent annual sales meeting, and one of the hot topics was private-label apparel.

We got talking about how some of our customers are hesitant to start selling it because they’re unfamiliar with the brand, while others sell almost nothing BUT private label. Of course, our reps are happy to help sell any brands we carry, but a lot found that once they explained the benefits of private-label and put a sample in a customer’s hand, they saw the value in it.

What is private-label apparel and why should you be selling it?

First things first. Private-label apparel is a brand that’s manufactured solely for the wholesaler. Think of anytime you shop at a grocery store and they have their own house-brand of just about everything—that’s private-label that’s put together for just them. Often, it’s the same exact contents as a national brand, except with different packaging and price.

Our brand (one that I’m extremely proud of, by the way) is UltraClub. We work with our vendors to create a line of more than 200 UltraClub styles that you can only get through Bodek and Rhodes.

So private-label is apparel manufactured or packaged to be sold under another company’s brand.

Now the important part …

How private-label apparel can increase your profit and make your life easier.

No, I’m not entirely joking. By selling brands such as UltraClub, you can increase your profit margin, and take some of the hassle out of your day.

1. Private-label helps boost your sales.
When you buy a private-label brand, it’s cheaper than a comparable name brand. If your customers are brand-conscious, great—these are the customers for adidas and the like.

But, if like many people, they’re more concerned about a balance of price and quality, then they’re perfect for private-label.

I can’t speak for other private-label brands, but I know that our UltraClub styles are tailored to give you the same quality and style as name-brand apparel, but at a fraction of the cost. Because we work directly with the manufacturers, we can keep lower prices.

That means that you’re more likely to land more sales because you can offer better prices with UltraClub.

It also means another thing …

2. Private-label gives you increased profit margin.
Remember, because you can get premium quality apparel at significantly lower prices, it means not only can you make sales more often, but also that you can earn a higher profit margin.

Even with your set-up charges and everything else, I know sometimes it’s hard to make any money on a job. But remember that the lower your expenses are, the higher your profits will be.

3. Private-label is stocked more heavily.
Again, because we work directly with our manufacturers to get UltraClub, it’s easier for us to get the stock we need. And for you, that means we have the styles you’re looking for, in stock, and ready to ship.

So next time you’ve got a rush order, don’t worry—remember that private-label is usually stocked heavily so you won’t have any trouble getting the styles you need.

4. Private-label gives you quality without sacrificing on price.
Again, because of our arrangements, we can offer you amazing values with name-brand quality.

Think about any time your customers wanted to skimp on price, and ended up with inferior goods. Did you have polos that snagged or puckered when you tried to embroider them? Or bags that wouldn’t take an imprint?

That’s the beauty of private-label: you get the quality that you can rely on, at a price that makes you and your customer happy.

See? I told you it could make your life easier.

Like I said before, I can’t speak to other private-label brands because Bodek and Rhodes focuses on UltraClub as our house brand. But from my experience, and the stories from our sales reps, using UltraClub has really improved some of our customers’ businesses. I hope it does for yours, too.

The Customer is in Charge

Throughout the year, we continually monitor trade articles, news reports and other media outlets to stay updated on the latest trends in our industry. Input from key vendors also gives us a helpful perspective on which products are gaining in popularity. This information is great because it enables us to make successful decisions about adding new services, brands and products to our lineup… just like the ones we announced in my last blog.

As helpful as this data can be, absolutely nothing beats the personal feedback that we get from speaking with our sales team during our national sales meeting. Why? Because They are the direct link to YOU, the customer… the REAL experts in our industry.

Based on what our sales team learned from you this year, here are some exciting things that we are doing to meet your needs in 2012:

a)       Expansion of all of our warehouses — more SKU’s and racking for expanded styles and more inventory

b)       Carrying the entire Next Level Line – the only national wholesaler to have it!

c)       Carrying every one of the 98 colors that Gildan is making in 2012

d)       Adding sizes, talls and Ladies’ coordinating colors to the UltraClub line

e)       Offering more brands than ever before. We’ll have 39 next year, with larger sizes added to most  of them

f)         Carrying more performance and young contemporary fashion styles throughout our catalog, many at more competitive prices than ever before

Many of our sales associates serve and support you from our Corporate Offices in Philadelphia, while others work and live all over the United States. However, they all have one thing in common. Each one of them understands that they don’t really work for me… they don’t even really work forBodek and Rhodes at all.  Their job, above all else, is to work for YOU and ensure your success. That’s our mission as a company, so if there is anything we can help you with, let our team know.

Meanwhile, we will continue to work hard to offer more big sellers and more tools to help your business grow above your expectations.

Big Product Additions Announced to Increase Your Sales

Each November, our entire national sales team travels to our corporate headquarters in Philadelphia for a four-day sales meeting, structured to help everyone involved gain a greater understanding and appreciation of our customers’ businesses.  So, the week before Thanksgiving, all of our reps met here at our corporate national headquarters in Philadelphia. Throughout the meeting, we were all were engaged in interactive sessions with one focus in mind… to help our reps provide solutions to help you, our customers, grow.   

We always start by sharing what we’ve learned over the last year, as well as which trends are emerging in the market.  Then, the new product is officially revealed.

So what did we announce?  Well, we based our new arrivals on those trends

1. Young contemporary apparel continues to sweep the market.  Therefore, we’ve added the entire Next Level line, and also added a fashion fitted line of tie-dyes called Colortones, and the Hyp line of caps and fashion-forward bags.
2. Value performancewear.  With athletic performancewear continuing to grow in leaps and bounds, we’re refining our prices on UltraClub performance basics, and adding C2, a line of basic performance imprintables from the Badger line of proven winners. 
3. Soft shell and fashion jackets.  Move over, hard shell jackets… soft shells are the wave of the future, and we’ve added a whole new fashion line called Storm Creek that has them in men’s and ladies’ companion styles.  Plus, you’ll find soft shell additions to the UltraClub jacket line, as well as DriDuck.
4. Durable uniform solutions.  To help our customers compete in the uniform arena even more, we’ve added the Dickies line of quality workwear, which carries a lifetime guarantee.

Of course, our feedback to our sales team is only half of the story of our National Sales Meeting. Just as important is the feedback that they bring to us from all of their day-to-day dealings with customers. Next time, I’ll delve further into these insights and share some additional key points that can help you better address your clientele’s needs in the New Year.

How to Make Online Marketing Work for You

Do you know how to use free online tools to boost your sales? Do you know why you should use online tools?

There’s a lot of talk about e-marketing and how important it is. But very few people will tell you how to use social media and other online tools. I’ll get to that in a minute, but it’s easier to answer the why question:

Why should you be using e-marketing?

Because it’s easy and can be very effective. Businesses often look at their return on investment (ROI) for most of their efforts. Basically, they consider whether what they’re doing gives them back more than they’re putting in.

And getting your name out to potential clients online requires very little investment. If you’re reading this blog, you have an internet connection already. Other than that, it just takes a little bit of time (how much is up to you).

That’s the investment. But the return? That’s up to you. If you know how to use the tools (it’s not hard) and you put a little bit of time in it, you can see a definite spike in your business.

OK. Now … a few tips on how to make the most of online marketing:

1. Twitter and Facebook
   Remember one thing about using these: they’re social media. They’re not traditional media where you can plaster an advertisement in a magazine or send out flyers. Your clients on Twitter and Facebook don’t want to read ads, and they don’t want you to batter them with self-promotion.So be social. Offer interesting or funny links or observations. Give them helpful resources and information that they’ll find useful. Think of social media as a cocktail party—no one hangs around the guy who yammers on about himself the whole time. Instead, they build relationships with people who are interesting or funny or helpful.Remember: social media.

2. Blogs
   Blogs help in a number of ways: they establish you as an expert in your field, help build an online presence for your company, and give you some added interaction with your customers.Set up your own blog on your website, or use one of the many free services that walk you through the process. Two of the most popular are blogger.com and wordpress.com.Once you’ve got your blog set up, remember to use this one again NOT like an advertising page. This is where you can put your thoughts, news, and information out there. Think of your blog like a magazine or newspaper. Offer information, tips, helpful things.Much like Twitter and Facebook, you don’t want to bombard your audience with your self-promotions. Instead, offer more in-depth helpful, funny, or interesting information.

3. LinkedIn
   I separated LinkedIn from Twitter and Facebook because it has a slightly different slant. Twitter and Facebook are more informal chatting (remember the cocktail party?) where LinkedIn is a tad more business-like. Here, think of it like a networking event.Some of the same ideas hold true: you don’t want to scream about yourself the whole time. Aim to establish relationships that could be mutually beneficial. But it’s ok to talk more business here and try to connect with like-minded professionals or find potential clients and suppliers.

These are just a few ways you can use online marketing (here are a few other suggestions about emails and other free services Bodek and Rhodes offers its customers). The key here is that you’re aiming to establish relationships and some recognition by your clients of who you are and what you do.

Go ahead and try them out. If you spend even just 10 minutes a day with one of these tools, you’ll start to develop relationships that just might lead you to your best customer.

(And of course, we hope you’ll connect with us on OUR social media sites! Feel free to leave comments here on the blog or find us on Twitter as @bodekandrhodes and at facebook.com/bodekandrhodes.)