They Spent $18,000 on a Mailer and Got $39,000 Back (with Mark Ryan from Plush in a Rush) | Ep. 37

Most distributors spend a lot of time talking about retention. This episode goes the other direction. Kyler Nixon and Mark Ryan break down a direct mail acquisition campaign that Plush in a Rush ran to find new florist customers before Valentine's Day. The numbers are specific: 22,000 mailers, $18,000 all in, 130 new sales, $39,000 in revenue, and a gross profit of nearly $21,000 on the campaign alone. Not a loss-leader. Not a bet on future LTV. Profitable on the first swing. The conversation also gets into how Plush in a Rush blends D2C-style tactics into a strict B2B wholesale model, why keeping your minimum order quantity up is a feature not a bug, and where AI fits into a 30-year-old stuffed animal distributor's roadmap.ㅤ👤 Guest BioMark Ryan is Founder and CEO of William Ryan Group, a Dallas-based B2B brand strategy and research consultancy. His career includes over 30 years working with companies like Exxon, Texas Instruments, American Airlines, and McDonald's. He serves as fractional CMO for Plush in a Rush, a wholesale distributor of stuffed animals founded in 1992, and led the development of their "America's Plush Headquarters" brand positioning.ㅤ📌 What We CoverHow Plush in a Rush built a direct mail campaign targeting florists for their biggest season (Valentine's Day), with a full cost and revenue breakdown: $18,000 spent, $39,000 returnedWhy they buy a list of contacts that haven't heard of the company yet, and how they scrub for overlap with their existing email listWhat's in the mailer itself: an eight-page, 8.5" x 11" product catalog focused on 50 to 60 Valentine's products, not the full catalogThe first-time buyer offer ($30 off) that doubles as an email opt-in, feeding new customers directly into a Klaviyo welcome seriesWhy B2B wholesale companies can apply D2C tactics like discount opt-ins and monthly giveaways without losing their B2B identityThe discipline of holding the $150 minimum order quantity and why Plush in a Rush has never broken it to chase retail volumeTodd Steinberg's roadmap for online logo uploading and visual approval for custom-printed t-shirt ordersKyler's take on building a custom B2B popup tool using Claude Code and Lovable, and why Klaviyo's popup limitations frustrate B2B marketersㅤ🔗 Resources MentionedPlush in a Rush — wholesale distributor of stuffed animals and plush toysKlaviyo — email marketing platform used for Plush in a Rush's welcome series, seasonal campaigns, and popupsShopify — e-commerce platform powering the Plush in a Rush websiteLovable — AI-powered app builder Kyler used to build a custom B2B popup toolClaude Code — Anthropic's coding tool, also used in building the popup toolWilliam Ryan Group — Mark Ryan's B2B brand strategy and research consultancy