For businesses and tech entrepreneurs who are struggling to evaluate the evolving face of advertising media, it should be easy to “like” old school direct mail after reviewing the latest industry statistics.

The recently released 2015 Essential Guide to Direct Mail Marketing has a simple message: Direct mail delivers.

Let me add that direct mail has always delivered and, because it is proven to support new media channels, it will deliver for some time to come.

Ginger Conlon, Editor-in-Chief at Direct Marketing News, makes the case by noting that the response rate to direct mail catalogs to a house list is 4.26%, while the email response rate is just .12%. While your results are clearly going to vary by the type of mailing (product offer, newsletter, event invitation, catalog, etc.) and the demographics of your target audience, this statistic is a powerful one.

Conlon points to a study by Cohber which shows that 70% of U.S. consumers believe that direct mail is more personal than email. This is a key reason for the superior response rate, but clearly there is more.

Here are some observations you might confirm by looking in your own mailbox:

1. Thanks to big data and experienced marketers who understand how to use the medium, chances are the mail delivered to your box is relevant to you. The current cost of postage has also helped to improved the aim of marketers by making the “buck shot approach” to direct mail marketing difficult to sustain.

2. Less mail volume equals less competition. The well documented decline of mail volume is a good thing for direct mail marketers. There is now less competition for a share of your mailbox.

3. Tech companies are using direct mail. Some of the most forward thinking companies are using old school direct mail to market. Square, the company that turns your mobile device into a payment processing tool, recently sent a nicely designed self-mailing piece that clearly presented the company’s benefits and provided a phone number and website for sign ups.

4. Direct mail gets seen and opened. According to the Direct Marketing Association’s 2014 Statistical Fact Book, 70% to 80% of consumers open most of their mail. This is a statistic worth comparing to your other media options.

To learn more about this powerful old school medium visit dmnews.com. You might like what you find and end up improving your marketing plan.