Bespoke Tailor Hockerty’s Marketing Manager Salva Jovells talks Customer Journey (episode 227)
Salva Jovells is the marketing manager at Hockerty, looking after both acquisition and conversion rate optimisation. Hockerty is a made to measure clothing retailer – not the easiest thing to sell online! After 10 years in business, they’ve racked up over 250,000 customers around the world.
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About the Business
- Offices in Spain, Zurich and Shanghai
- Custom site with 3D configurator
- Launched separate brand for women
- Streamlined to keep prices accessible
Growing Together
Five years ago, Salva was working for a start-up when Hockerty leadership reached out to him and asked him to join them. It was at a point when they were growing quickly and had a lot of young talent.
Salva took the leap and joined the team in Barcelona. He now works from their office in Zurich and coordinates with team members there, in Barcelona and in their office in Shanghai.
Salva has been part of the leadership movement to grow the business into the industry leader they are today. Streamlining systems has been key for Hockerty’s success and the complex nature of the business has meant that keeping things smart has been essential.
The Team
The Hockerty team is fairly robust in order to handle the complexity necessary to produce custom tailoring via an online platform. The team has 20 people in Barcelona, 6 in Zurich and 20 in Shanghai. Those numbers don’t include the tailoring facilities that the company contracts with to manufacture the clothes.
The Barcelona office is the HQ for the design team, IT, customer service and product. The board and marketing team works from the Zurich office while Shanghai handles logistics and manufacturing.
Going Custom Everywhere
The company’s 3D configurator is a major piece of their success and Salva says that it—and a custom website were essential for handling their unique service and product model. The necessity of a 3D configurator especially made it impossible to use a standard eCommerce platform like Shopify.
Product Customization
Hockerty differentiates itself in its customisation options, but they also stand out in their ability to keep prices low. The company has made a point of making custom, tailored dress clothing accessible and affordable. Salva says a men’s custom dress shirt starts at £39, which is very affordable for the quality and customization of the product.
Salva says that the structure is crucial for keeping prices low. Product customisation is a major part of the brand and product. Salva says that they have different types of customers broadly defined as Fashionistas vs. Ready-Made buyers.
While everything at Hockerty is tailored to fit, some customers don’t want to get into details about specification and would prefer to easily and quickly purchase a basic, well-made suit. Other customers—the so called fashionistas like to dig into the details of every last button.
Salva says that the way the company speaks to and converts fashionistas vs. the type of customers who just want a basic suit. They are constantly testing ways to make the process simpler for people who don’t want to get into the nuances of design.
While converting such different customers necessitates different tactics, it remains true for everyone that the conversion journey is a long one. Salva says that targeting, retargeting and email are all essential tools in keeping customers on track through the entire process.
Handling Brand Expansion
The popularity of Hockerty has allowed the team to expand product offerings and even launch a women’s wear line. While Hockerty’s roots remain firmly planted in dress wear for men, they are expanding into casual clothing too, recently launching a customisable polo shirt for men.
The women’s brand, Samissura is run separately and offers similar bespoke professional wear for ladies. The company’s decision to split the brand into men and women’s lines has helped create distinct identities, but Salva says the companies are two sides of the same coin and share valuable lessons with each other regularly.
Listen to learn how Hockerty expanded offerings and launched a brand for women.
eCommerce Book Top Tip
- Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products by Nir Eyal
- Customer Persuasion by Chloë Thomas
eCommerce Traffic Top Tip
- Diversify, test and create multiple sources of traffic—from Salva’s experience, relying too much on one channel can create problems.
- Keep evolving the message until you find the right profitability
Tool Top Tip
- Slack for communicating across time zones
Growth Top Tip
- Scale up by doubling down on what is already working until it hits the limit and then switch it up completely.
Interview Links
Related episodes
- A Suit That Fits’ David Hathiramani
- Nineteenth Amendment’s Amanda Curtis
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