Are you a small business using direct mail to expand your customer base and grow your business? If not, you should be as direct mail is not only effective at reaching new markets but is cost-effective too. If you need more convincing, take a look at the following statistics that show the power of direct mail to help small businesses like yours.

1/ More than 9 in 10 direct mails are opened and nearly half of all UK adults acted upon receiving direct mail. Direct mail is a great communication tool that goes straight to your target audience with an incredibly high response rate.

2/ According to statistics, a staggering 14.2 million UK adults purchased something as a result of receiving a direct mail. In addition, 2.8m tried a new product or service, 3m enquired by phone and 10.5m took advantage of a voucher or coupon offered in a direct mail.

3/ Direct mail provides a £3.22 return on investment for every £1 spent. This compares favourably with an average return of £3.12 for every pound spent on online advertising, and proves that direct mail is beating digital advertising these days.

4/ It’s also worth remembering that over half of the over-65s, as well as nearly half of those in socio-economic group E have not even used the internet in the previous year. That is a massive demographic you are failing to reach if you rely too heavily on email, banner advertising and other digital platforms.

5/ Direct mail is even more powerful when used as part of an integrated advertising campaign. Research by BrandScience found that when direct mail is included, an integrated campaign’s online component repaid 62% more while the TV component gained an extra 37%.

6/ Even with most accurate viewer targeting possible, a great TV or press campaign will still hit 30% of the wrong audience. Direct mail, in contrast, allows you to pinpoint exactly who should receive your message based on postcode, demographics, interest, purchase history or other behaviour. Asking the customers on your mailing list to provide further personal information – perhaps in return for a small gift or discount – is a good way to guarantee the most accurate customer profiling.

7/ Mail order catalogues or their associated websites were used by nearly 18m people in the past year. Nearly one third ordered by post, a quarter by telephone and 43% online. This demonstrates how effective direct mail is at increasing mail orders.

8/ Sending direct mail catalogues is still one of the best ways to prompt consumers to check out your business products or services. In fact, 9 out of 10 customers read mail order catalogues that are sent to them and a further 7 out of 10 check products online after receiving catalogues.

9/ Consumers buy more and more often as a result of direct mail. Direct mail increases the number of purchases by over 70% and adds an extra £110 to customers’ online spending.

10/ A single mail may lead not only to a purchase but to multiple purchases over time. Nearly 20% of direct mail is saved for further review, demonstrating that customers return to direct mail catalogues, magazines and other print media again and again.

The facts speak for themselves: direct mail provides great returns and unbeatable value for business. To get the most out of your direct mail marketing, plan your strategy carefully and take time to target the right audience. Also, be sure to diversify your direct mailing strategy to include informative newsletters and magazines as well as coupons and other discount offers. Finally, use direct mail as part of an integrated advertising campaign employing print, online and – if your budget allows – TV or radio coverage.You can save on your postage costs of direct mail by switching from stamping to franking.