Public Relations in the Bespoke Tailoring Industry

Jamie Henfrey Founder of Marc Oliver

n a world as competitive, and sometimes cut-throat, as the fashion and luxury tailoring industry, the public’s perception of your business is of enormous importance. Indeed, for just about any business, reputation is paramount. But in tailoring, where so many clients come via word of mouth and personal recommendation, it can sometimes only take one bad word to bring the house down. I’ve seen it many times (though thankfully it’s never happened to me), where a tailoring business gets off to a flying start, dresses the influencers, and reels in the clients, before letting standards slip and petering out. Just like that, their day in the sun is over. In my decades working in this industry, I’m fortunate to have learnt a huge amount about managing a company’s public relations -- some lessons are obvious, while some are all too often overlooked:

1. Consistent quality over everything else

This is where so many go awry. PR is, in short, a business of persuasion. And your most persuasive argument for convincing someone to pay for your services is quite simple: the quality of your work. It’s all well and good having the media connections and the influential clientele, but if your product dips in quality, your business will be unsustainable. This, I feel, is where a lot of new tailoring businesses go astray. Brand image, voice, and marketing are seriously important, but never take your focus away from making a great product, time and time again. It’s this, after all, which makes you trustworthy. And when there are thousands of pounds of someone’s hard-earned income at stake, trust is everything.

2. Have a strong brand image

Every point of contact your business has with the public -- your website, slogans and captions, social media feed, blog content and imagery, should create a simple and memorable impression. Think of some of the strongest brands in the world: Apple draws connotations of clean, simply packaged technology. When we think of Aston Martin, we

think of luxury, smoothness, and speed. Ray-Ban is classic and cool. I What does your brand image say about you? You should be able to sum up your own brand in a sentence, and then portray this brand identity in everything you do.

3. Build media relations

I recently read about a start-up company in another industry (e-bikes, no less), who without having even launched their product, had done over four hundred thousand pounds in pre-sales. Their trick? Hiring freelance PR consultants and putting the word out in industry magazines. It was a risk, since they then were under immense pressure to deliver on time, but this does show the power of the media. Forging relationships with journalists and editors quite simply gets more eyes on your company, therefore more leads, therefore more clients. Imagine the boost your tailoring business could get if you were featured in the likes of GQ, Monocle, or Harper’s Bazaar. But how should we go about building relationships with these publications? Many of them ask for payment to feature your brand. If you have the bankroll, why not go for it? But another method is to check out social media feeds on the likes of Twitter, and approach the journalists themselves. We live in a content crazy world after all, and there’s always a demand for more.

4. Weigh up whether “freebies” are worth it.

In the tailoring business, you’re regularly getting asked to dress celebrities and social media influencers for free, or for a heavy discount. This economy of “exposure” is something that grates on all creators, be they writers, artists, musicians, or tailors. After all, working for free literally costs you money. You have to ask yourself, quite simply, if it’s worth it. A simple way of doing this is to ask where it’s going to get you -- what’s the return? If the social media guy with 50,000 followers, most of whom are earning graduate salaries, asks for a free suit, it’s probably not worth your while. But if George Clooney comes calling to get dressed for the Academy Awards, perhaps you should consider.

5. Maintain a high level of customer service

Your most important branch of PR is your customer service. PR is much more than just magazine features and social media feeds, after all. It’s literally the relationship you have with the public.

It’s all well and good creating a buzz and getting the clients through the door, but their treatment while dealing with you is what makes them: a) become a return customer, and b) spread the word about your business.

Treat your client with respect, integrity, and honesty right the way through their experience with you. Starting with the initial phone call or email, to meeting the customer for a fitting, through your correspondence while their garments are being made, right the way to final delivery. Do this, and you’ll create a lasting positive impression of your business. That’s some of the best PR you can do.