THE GARMENT DISTRICT ALLIANCE
GDA’s BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT COLLABORATIVE PROGRAM (BDC) PROGRAM
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH E-COM FASHION
NYC’s non-profit corporation Garment District Alliance (GDA) designed a multi-year program, Business Development Collaborative (BDC), to provide training and consulting services to the district’s businesses and entrepreneurs.
In BDC’s second year, E-Com Fashion partnered with the GDA and selected 24 businesses as beneficiaries of free funded services within the program period. Almost half of them belonged to the retail industry, with the highest percentage being in the apparel sector. Further, the businesses belonging to the small-to-medium category outnumbered those in the medium-to-large group.
With the Covid-19 pandemic almost taking control of the world’s economy, the selected businesses shared a common sentiment: a need of a strong online presence in a world that abruptly drove almost all activities virtual.
A leader in branding and development in the online realm of New York fashion, E-Com Fashion was more than thrilled to share their expertise.
3 CORE SERVICES
The following services were created to ensure the businesses had the right ecommerce tools and processes:
One-on-one ecommerce consultation (the highlight of E-Com Fashion’s program)
Webinars
Online education library (OEL)
The consultation covered the following topics: lead generation, digital marketing calendar, scaling the team, other free services; and incorporated these areas as well: branding, omnichannel marketing, influence/affiliate marketing, social media, training/workshops, website development. Referrals including a sales specialist, freelancers/contractors, business grants, funded/paid internships were also recommended.
E-Com Fashion prepared three webinars covering the following topics: Get Ready for Black Friday / Cyber Monday + Holidays, GDA’s Business Development Collaborative Program & Partners, and Marketing Strategy Calendar.
Made available for the GDA’s selected businesses and the public, the OEL contained nine publications and three downloadable tools:
Publications
Welcome to the BDC
Get Ready for BFCM + 4Q Holidays
GDA’s Business Development
Marketing Calendar
Online Marketplaces
Shopify Store Optimizations
Influencer Affiliate Marketing
Newsletter Compilation Depository
Growing Your Team
Downloadable tools
List of Important Calendar Dates
BFCM + 4Q Ecommerce Checklist
Website Optimization Checklist
RESULTS & TESTIMONIALS
E-Com Fashion provided a total of 65 consulting meetings to the beneficiaries; while the OEL, being made accessible to the public as well, gained a total of 12 applications outside of the Garment District, aside from the 24 selected GD businesses.
Creative programs including Collaborative Social Media Marketing and Facebook Paid Ads with Intern Support were also infused into the program with high likelihoods of making it to the next year’s program with slight revisions.
"Allen in partnership with the GDA was so helpful to me and my business during these incredibly difficult times. He was a beacon of light and provided essential information to help my business recover and renew during Covid. He has a wealth of knowledge, a great teacher and was always there if I had questions and his cheerful demeanor really helped when I was frustrated about some technical issue that I could not figure out. I learned a lot more about e-commerce from his sessions, thank you for providing him and his knowledge."
- With heartfelt gratitude, Dana Cooper
Dana Cooper Bermuda
“During our time with the GDA program, New York Embroidery Studio benefited from learning the ins and outs of SEO and website design. Allen was so great to work with and helped us through a lot when it came to our company. We had issues with logging into our Facebook account for almost a year and Allen was the one who walked me through the process of being able to regain access to our company’s page. We are grateful to work with such a great company and would suggest their consulting practices to other companies who need these services. We would work with the GDA program again and would recommend it to other companies!”
- Marketing & Events Coordinator
Natalie Merkert
New York Embroidery Studio
“Allen Ray went above and beyond when it came to assisting my company through the Ecom Fashion Program. He responded extraordinarily quickly, provided countless resources, and was knowledgeable on every subject matter. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that after consulting with Allen and using the resources he provided, that my company is better off now than it was prior. My company is a small business and I highly recommend not only this program but Allen as he was outstanding on every level. Thanks again for all your hard work and diligence.
- Ecommerce Manager
Justin Foreman
Berek Fashions