Early Warning For The Suit Industry: Inevitable Downfall Of "Competition For Demand"

There are two fundamentally different ways to acquire customers in any business, and understanding the distinction specifically in our sartorial industry could be the difference between thriving and barely surviving in today's market.

Most suit business owners have never heard these terms, but they're operating in one camp or the other every single day – often without realizing which strategy they're actually using, or why it's working (or not working) for them.

Demand Creation vs. Demand Extraction: The Foundation Every Business Owner Must Understand

Demand Extraction is exactly what it sounds like – you're extracting existing demand from the marketplace. When someone searches "custom suits near me" or "bespoke tailor in [city]," they already know they want a suit. They have intent. Your job is to capture that existing demand through search ads, SEO, or other methods that put you in front of people who are actively looking.

Demand Creation, on the other hand, is about building relationships and positioning yourself in people's minds long before they're ready to buy. Through social media content, PR, Collaborations, educational posts, podcasts, behind-the-scenes videos, and valuable insights, you're creating awareness and preference. You're not hunting for people who need suits today – you're nurturing people who might need suits in three, six, or twelve months.

Think of it this way: Demand extraction is fishing where the fish are biting right now. Demand creation is feeding the fish so they come to your pond when they're hungry.

The Massive Market Shift That's Changing Everything

Here's what most business owners don't realize: we're witnessing the largest migration of marketing dollars in decades (primarily caused by shareholder pressure), and it's creating a perfect storm that's devastating small businesses who don't adapt.

Large corporations across the US and Canada are dramatically pivoting their marketing strategies. They're pulling millions of dollars away from brand building, PR campaigns, partnerships, and long-term demand creation activities. They're dumping it all into one place: demand extraction channels like Google Ads.

Why this sudden shift? Economics and shareholder pressure.

When the economy tightens, the cost of goods rises, and stress levels increase across all industries, shareholders get nervous. They stop wanting to hear about "brand awareness" and "long-term positioning." They want to see direct, measurable returns on their marketing investments today. They want control. They want predictability on their spreadsheets.

So instead of investing in building relationships and creating future demand, these companies are essentially trying to buy customers directly through search advertising. Even Amazon – a company that built its empire on long-term thinking – is now spending massive budgets on Google Ads to generate immediate revenue and keep shareholders satisfied.

Why This Spells Disaster for Suit Businesses

This corporate migration creates a domino effect that's crushing small and medium-sized businesses in our industry.

When Fortune 500 companies flood Google Ads with unlimited budgets, they drive up costs for everyone. What used to cost you $15 per click now costs $30, $50, or more. The auction-based system doesn't care that you're a small bespoke tailor competing against multinational retailers – it simply goes to the highest bidder.

But the cost rise is just the beginning. We're seeing suit businesses around the globe facing a perfect storm of challenges that's making demand extraction nearly impossible:

1. Relentless Ad Inflation

Advertising costs will never get cheaper – they only go up. If you built your business model around generating leads at $25 each, and now those same leads cost $60, your entire profit structure collapses. Many suit businesses that were profitable just two years ago are now barely breaking even or losing money on every new customer acquisition.

2. Privacy Policies Are Killing Tracking

GDPR, iOS updates, and increasing privacy restrictions mean your ads are essentially flying half blind. You're getting less data, less accurate targeting, and less effective campaigns. For the same budget you spent last year, you're getting fewer leads, and they're lower quality.

3. AI Algorithms Favor Big Spenders

Google's AI-driven advertising platform is designed for companies with massive data sets and high conversion volumes. If you're not generating hundreds of conversions per month, the algorithm can't optimize effectively. Small suit businesses simply don't have the volume these systems need to perform well.

4. You're Paying for Unqualified Leads (And There's Nothing You Can Do About It)

Here's the most frustrating part: even with perfect targeting and crystal-clear ad copy, you'll still get leads that waste your money. The client who needs a $5,000 bespoke suit in one week with a $700 budget...

The person who doesn't understand the difference between off-the-rack and custom tailoring....

The tire-kickers who are "just browsing."

You can write "BESPOKE SUITS STARTING AT $3,000 - MINIMUM 6 WEEK TIMELINE" in massive capital letters, and these unqualified prospects will still click your ad and fill out your form. And you'll still pay tens or hundreds for each of these worthless leads.

5. The Scale vs. Efficiency Death Trap

This creates an impossible situation: You can either optimize for efficiency (lower cost per lead but much lower volume) or scale up (higher volume but unsustainable costs). Neither option works. Optimize for efficiency, and you don't get enough leads to cover your fixed costs. Scale up, and the cost per acquisition destroys your profit margins.

A Public Announcement to the Suit Industry

Here's my public announcement to everyone in the suit business: It's only going to get worse.

I've been managing Google Ads for suit businesses for almost 10 years, and I've been one of the best in the world at it within our industry. But I can no longer, in good faith, recommend that suit businesses put their primary marketing focus on demand extraction through Google Ads. (Especially in US market)

The odds of succeeding there are becoming incredibly slim, and the businesses that do manage to make it work are sacrificing either profitability or volume – often both.

The approach that might have worked brilliantly 10 years ago, been okay 5 years ago, and shown some promise even 1 year ago, is now a losing game for most suit businesses. The math simply doesn't work anymore.

In most of the places in the world, good results still can be gained through Demand extraction, aka Google Ads.

Thing is... almost always, marketing economy and trends globally catch up to the US market with a 1-3 year delay. So for those who are already active on this platform and it's still profitable in your area: double down on it and squeeze maximum value while the economy is in your favour. Spend more than you are comfortable with if you know that your lifetime value of the customer is good, so you reach a healthy position till time when the math eventually breaks down and you have enough in your warchest to safely pivot later on to platforms that will yield better ROI.

For those who are just starting: We would highly recommend starting with socials first and growing from there, as starting to build a foundation for your customer acquisition on a platform that generates diminishing returns runs a high volatility risk to your cash flow.

The Alternative: Why Smart Suit Businesses Are Embracing Demand Creation

While most of the industry is struggling with expensive, ineffective demand extraction, the fastest-growing suit businesses are quietly using a completely different approach: demand creation through social media.

Here's why this shift is working so well:

-You're Not Competing on Cost Per Lead

On social platforms, you're not in a bidding war with deep-pocketed corporations. You're competing on creativity, authenticity, and value – areas where small, passionate suit businesses actually have advantages over large retailers.

-You're Less Exposed to Seasonality

Instead of paying premium rates during wedding season or scrambling when demand drops, you're building consistent relationships that generate business year-round.

-You Attract Better Clients

When someone finds you through your educational content about suit construction or your behind-the-scenes craftsmanship videos, they already understand and appreciate what you do. They're not price shopping – they're looking for expertise.

-You Build Real Business Assets

Every piece of content, every follower, every relationship you build becomes a permanent asset for your business. Unlike paid ads that stop working the moment you stop paying, your social media presence continues generating value indefinitely.

The "Unsexy" Truth About Demand Creation

Here's the downside that keeps many business owners from making this shift: you can't put the results on a sexy spreadsheet in the first month.

Demand creation doesn't give you the immediate gratification of "spent $1,000, got 20 leads, booked 5 appointments." The results are not instant and require at the very best two months, but on average, around four to five months to see noticeable results in your business.

The Early Warning

This is an early warning for everyone in the suit industry from someone who has been offering Google Ads management for many years.

Even we are telling our clients that Google Ads might not be the best place to put their advertising dollars anymore. We are only taking on Google Ads clients who already have campaigns running, and instead of promising them pots of gold, we're primarily buying them more time by squeezing out most of Google Ads to make the pivot towards demand creation.

But here's the positive message: we're seeing that the pivot from demand extraction toward demand creation through social media is showing even better results than Google Ads ever did for our clients who master it.

Of course, there are caveats. You need to know how to do it correctly. You need the right content strategy, the proper posting schedule, and an understanding of what actually converts viewers into sold suits.

Everyone can get to the point where they're doing social media marketing correctly – it just takes time, experimentation, and probably some money to figure out what works for your specific market and clientele.

If you want to save both time and money and start seeing ROI as early as possible, we're here to help.

We've developed proven systems for suit businesses to transition from expensive, ineffective demand extraction to profitable demand creation. We can show you exactly how to create content that builds relationships, establishes expertise, and converts followers into high-value clients.

Ready to stop competing in the Google Ads auction and start building a sustainable marketing system that actually works? Let's schedule a discovery call to discuss your specific situation and see if our approach is right for your business:

https://calendly.com/sartorialdigital/45min

To your success,

Andris