Why Direct Mail Fails Without Digital Support and How Vedda Boost Fixes It with Phil Vedda

In this special episode of Struggles presented by NCBI, Chris Inman sits down with Phil Vedda of Vedda Printing to break down why traditional direct mail often underperforms and how pairing it with digital advertising changes the outcome.

Phil explains the real problem with one impression marketing and why most direct mail campaigns fail to convert on their own. He introduces Vedda Boost, a strategy designed to extend a single mailed piece into multiple digital impressions across platforms while keeping the audience and call to action consistent.

The conversation covers what types of businesses benefit most from direct mail plus digital, why business to consumer campaigns tend to outperform business to business efforts, and how smart retargeting turns website visits into second chances to convert. Phil also shares how Vedda Printing supports graphic designers through wholesale partnerships and how on demand apparel stores are helping growing companies maintain brand consistency across multiple locations.

This episode is ideal for business owners, marketers, and designers who want print campaigns that actually perform instead of relying on hope and one shot exposure.

Transcript

0:00

(Transcribed by TurboScribe.ai. Go Unlimited to remove this message.) At the end of the day, it's just one impression. And research shows 8 to 10 impressions to convert somebody into a customer. So we do a boost, which is going to take that single impression up to, you know, 8 to 32 additional impressions. Welcome to another episode of Struggles presented by NCBI, the podcast where we navigate challenges together. Hey everyone, welcome to an episode of Connection presented by NCBI. I'm Chris Inman, on the executive team of NCBI, and joining me today is... Phil Vetter with Vetter Printing. Awesome. So Phil, you're on the executive team as well. So why don't you tell us a little about Vetter Printing? Yeah, so family company, third generation right now. We got started in 1956. We're, you know, full service commercial print shop where we get our hands dirty, everything from, you know, printing to the bindery and the finishing and mailing and you name it. Cool. And so printing, there's tons of printers out there. What really separates you guys from the rest? I mean, what separates us is our wide range of capabilities. You know, I don't just have one way of printing something. I have five ways of printing something. And, you know, so where that sets us apart is, you know, maybe any printer can print that job, but I can print it, you know, the best way, the most cost effective way, you know, to help with pricing and to help with quality. And we're talking about large printing. Sure. I mean, yeah, we do small stuff too, but, you know, 5,000, 10,000, 20,000, you know, of anything really, you know, fits us. Yeah. And then you guys, you've kind of got into that digital world too with Vetter Boost. Yeah. Yeah. With the digital advertising. Yeah. Yeah. Vetter Boost, you know, what I say is a lot of people try to make it something that's not, you know, we're not an advertising agency. We're not trying to be. What Vetter Boost really is, is we want to make direct mail work better. So people that are already spending the money on direct mail, we want to see it work even better by boosting it through, you know, digital ads and things like that. What do you mean by that? So we, you know, we love direct mail. It's kind of our bread and butter. We do a lot of it. But at the end of the day, it's just one impression. And research shows eight to 10 impressions to convert somebody into a customer. So if someone's sending out their postcard thinking that it's going to convert, unfortunately it's not. So we do a boost, which is going to take that single impression up to eight to 32 additional impressions. Same audience, same call to action, but multiple platforms, multiple impressions. Cool. And who's some ideal people? Like what's a great case study or something you've worked on that Boost has really helped their business, you know, expand that reach from just the mailbox, but also on that digital side as well. Yeah. So I hate to say everybody, but anybody who's already doing direct mail, when the call to action is to either, I mean, ideally visit a website. When the call to action is visit this website, that's when the platform works really well, because all of our touch points are getting somebody to go onto a landing page. So whether it's scanning a QR code, clicking a digital ad, clicking the informed delivery, all of those things are going to the website. And then from there, we're able to deploy retargeting so that, okay, great. They're on the website. They left. Now we want to re-engage with them. So businesses where, you know, there is a strong call to action where it is getting them on the website, you know, those are ideal. And I always say B to C, you know, business to business, direct mail can be very challenging, you know, because it's tough to find that business owner and, you know, find them on Facebook, you know, because it's not necessarily tied to their business address versus finding somebody at home is very easy. Makes sense. Bomb Image appreciates the opportunity to sponsor this podcast. Bomb Image provides brand firepower, precision targeted brand messaging and visual identities, empowering small teams in the professional services space to attract their most rewarding and profitable customers. We work hand in hand with our client partners, implementing our unique set of processes, focusing on listening, raw objectivity, and accountability to help them present a more impactful brand story. Our passion is inspiring clients to create their Bomb Image. Who are some awesome strategic partners that you were able to like work with and really help get clients together? I mean, graphic designers, you know, I can't print anything without a design and it's not going to be impactful if the design is poor, you know, so great graphic designers. I always say, you know, my ideal, my dream referral, right, if we're talking B&I is a graphic designer who's employed full-time by a company, because that's a clear tell sign that that company, you know, does a good bit of print if they have someone full-time on staff who's just designing stuff. And then beyond that, you know, graphic designers that freelance because they work with a lot of the smaller companies where maybe they don't do a whole lot of print, but by them having that relationship, you know, they can either run it right through us or they can make that introduction. So that's why, I mean, graphic designers are always key for us. So that's cool. So on the graphic designer side, if they don't have a print shop that they work with, you can help them create their, you know, print them their products. Is there a partnership there in some way that they can like create value there and, you know, revenue by working with you? 100%. 50% of our business is wholesale, right? So a lot of times we're not going direct, you know, for example, the Cleveland Browns, a lot of people don't know we do a lot of printing for the Cleveland Browns. We don't do a direct for them. They have no idea who we are. But yeah, so with graphic designers, if it's something that they want to make a small margin on the print, you know, definitely we'll give them a wholesale price where they can add some margin to it. And then they can be that one-stop shop for their customer, you know, so instead of passing it off, okay, hey, here's your design. Now you're on your own. They get to say, hey, here's your design. Okay, let me go and take care of this for you. That's awesome. What else do you want our listeners to know about that are printing? I mean, apparel, you know, we're pretty new to apparel and by new, I mean, you know, we're probably five years into it, but it's something that's definitely growing. You know, we're definitely investing in the equipment to bring that in-house. And I think our niche there is really the, it's the on-demand, you know, but it's creating these stores, you know, so ideal fit for that is companies that have, you know, 50 plus employees, especially if it's across multiple locations, giving them one channel where they can direct those people to go and order their, their merch. And, you know, by streamlining it with our company, we're, they're able to maintain, you know, the brand, make sure that everyone's wearing the appropriate, you know, stuff that corporate picked out. And then they can have fun with it too, you know, whether it's, you know, employee of the month, hey, here's a gift card to go shop the store or celebrating anniversaries or, you know, even creating, you know, hey, we just had our 10th anniversary. We're going to put a special 10th anniversary sweatshirt on there that you can go and buy, doing fun things like that. Cool. All right. Well, look forward to seeing you at the next NCBI events. And if you have any print needs or anything, questions, find Phil. Absolutely. Thanks Chris. Thanks for tuning in to this episode of Struggles presented by NCBI, where we navigate challenges together. Don't forget to subscribe, listen, and share this podcast with others who might benefit. We'd love to hear about the struggles you're facing or have overcome, and we'd be thrilled to have you as a guest on a future episode. Let's continue this journey together.