The Real Way to Sell Suits Online: Not Just paid ads, Not Just PR

Let's have a quick chat about growing your suit sales through the internet. If you’re trying to force PPC (pay-per-click) ads or direct marketing to make your cash register ring more often, you’re in for a rough ride.

Most of you probably tried different marketing agencies, and freelancers, promising overnight success outpacing Savile Row fame and Suitsupply numbers at the same time, but at the end of the day leaving you only with invoices to pay.

Here's the thing… Suits aren't just a commodity, they're an emotional decision. Let’s break down why the traditional approaches just don’t cut it.

Why PPC Alone Doesn't Cut It

First off, suits are not impulse buys. You don't just throw a suit in your online cart like a pack of gum. Buying a suit (May it be an affordable R2W or bespoke peace of art) is an emotional investment, often tied to big life events like weddings, job interviews, or special occasions.

People need time to think, compare, and maybe even sleep on it before pulling the trigger.

And let’s not forget fear. People are scared of buying a suit that doesn’t fit right or look good on them. They need to trust they’re making the right choice, and that trust takes time to build. Direct marketing and PPC just don't create that trust.

After talking with over 120 suit business owners, on average they have tried 2-4 agencies/freelancers unsuccessfully and either gave up or are up for the next unsuccessfully ride.

Here’s where and why most marketing agencies and freelancers mess up.

They try to force paid marketing to work as direct sales, treating suits like a commodity. This approach always fails because it ignores the emotional and thoughtful process of buying a suit.

Sure, 1 out of 10,000 visitors who are in a rush, desperate or just don't care might make an instant purchase, but the math rarely works out this way…

Plus, with cookies dying out in our web browsers very shortly and the end of direct measurement as we know it, relying on PPC long-term is a shaky bet, as Return on investment will be even lower.

Why PR Isn’t the Answer Either

So, you might think PR is the way to go. Get some buzz, get some hype, and the suits will fly off the shelves, right? Wrong.

PR at the end of the day is expensive, hope-based marketing. You pay big bucks for expensive PR agencies and their fancy campaigns selling you the dream, but there’s no data to back up future improvements or guarantee results. Execute and hope it works out.

And when the hype dies out, if it even gets off the ground, you’re right back where you started with a few more clients and a massive bill to cover.

Let’s talk costs. PR activities are almost always multiple times more expensive in terms of cost per reach (CPR), meaning PPC gets you in front of more people at a lower cost.

To summarise: you end up spending a fortune without any assurance of a return on investment.

The Sweet Spot: A Hybrid Approach

From our experience with tailors across the world, we’ve discovered the sweet spot lies somewhere between PPC and PR. We tested this hybrid approach against both methods, and the ROI is ALWAYS better.

This isn’t something you’ll hear from “the best local“ marketing agency or freelancer, because this approach requires a nuanced understanding of your product.

Sadly they tend to use a one-size-fits-all strategy for everything ranging from makeup, electronics, and insurance, putting you in the same box of tools simply because it’s cost-effective for them to run their business that way—not you.

The Magic Pill

Using PPC and media buying tools strategically gets the targeted reach of PR but with better control and data. Here’s the play:

-Position yourself as the local expert in suits in your area.

-Use PR frameworks, KPI, and general approaches to craft that image

-Use Paid media to distribute this “inception” in your area in a cost-effective, repeatable, and scalable way.

Tailors who aren't massive multibillion-dollar companies have a unique advantage—you can use your face and story to build trust and authority.

Large players just can't afford the risk of putting the brand association on one face but you can!

Why PPC-Driven PR Strategy Works

1. Gets in Front of the Right Audience: By leveraging paid media, you ensure your content reaches people who are genuinely interested in buying a suit, instead of a traditional PR approach trying to get in front of everyone, making you waste most of your budget on people who just won't care. This targeted approach means your ads aren’t just seen by anyone but by those most likely to become buyers.

2. Data-Driven Improvements: Unlike traditional PR, a PPC-driven strategy gives you valuable data. You can see what’s working and what’s not, allowing you to continually improve your campaigns and get better results over time.

3. Builds Followers and Fans: When done right, this strategy doesn’t just bring in more sales. It helps you build a loyal following of fans who trust your expertise and turn to you whenever they need a suit without any extra effort from your side.

4. Generates Referrals: You’ll get referrals not just from clients, but from people who’ve learned about you through your content. Your name becomes synonymous with suits in the local market.

Long-Term Benefits

This hybrid approach doesn’t just help you sell suits. The authority and trust you build can be leveraged to sell other items to boost your upsells, crossels, and average purchase value. If you decide to open a new venture, this will already give you a head start.

One of our clients opened a premium dry cleaning service for luxury clothing with great success and no advertising budget, another one opened a cigar shop, and one more is planning to start his own whiskey brand this way.

Also, let's not forget that your follower base is an asset that increases your company value if for some reason someday you decide to sell it.

To summarise: this approach can help you scale your business over time and the sky is the limit here!

Conclusion

Selling suits online isn’t about giving up and hoping for referrals to magically explode overnight. It's not choosing between PPC and PR — it’s about blending the two. Use paid advertising to target and convert leads while building authority and trust through valuable content and personal branding along the way. Your content is the ad! This strategy is your best bet for long-term success, especially if you’re a suit business owner looking to stand out in your local market.

If you need some assistance with this endeavor from folks who have done it in their own suit business scaling it over 15 times in profits and helping many others suit businesses in the last 7 years, shoot us a message in my DM's on LinkedIn or schedule a free consultation if such is available at the time here: https://calendly.com/sartorialdigital/45min

To your success,

Andris