SMEs "know their customers" better than larger companies and should take advantage of this, one industry body says.
David Thorp, director of research and information at the Chartered Institute of Marketing, said: "The strongest benefit small companies can take from direct marketing is to target your existing customers, rather than using it solely to try to find new ones."
He added that as SMEs would already be aware of what their customers would and would not be interested in and, because of this, they could focus their marketing more efficiently.
Mr Thorp also said that SMEs should use direct marketing to emphasise the benefits they could offer - such as local sourcing or a more personal service.
Research carried out by the marketing information group, DMIS, in 2005 found that the amount of direct mail sent out had increased by 87 per cent over the preceding decade.
