Where to Start
These 12 pages hold the numbers a small business owner needs to set a marketing budget, keep customers and win referrals, each with the study behind it. Good first reads: Brand Loyalty Statistics Every Marketer Should Know in 2026, Content Marketing Statistics for 2026 and Customer Retention Statistics That Shape 2026 Strategy.
Small Business Figures and Their Sources
| Figure | Source | Print it points to |
|---|---|---|
| 7 to 8% of gross revenue on marketing for firms under $5M | SBA guideline | Postcards and flyers for the print share |
| 92% trust referrals from people they know | Nielsen | Business cards to hand to referrers |
| 20 to 50% of purchase decisions driven by word of mouth | McKinsey | Referral cards and thank you mail |
| 5 to 25 times costlier to win a customer than keep one | Harvard Business Review | Greeting cards for existing customers |
| 5% more retention can raise profit 25 to 95% | Bain | Direct mail postcards to past buyers |
Use the SBA range to size the budget first, then spend it where the retention figures point: on the customers you already have. A run of 100 standard business cards starts at $17.57 and 50 postcards at $16.48, so you can test a referral card or a thank you mailer on a small run before you commit the budget.
From Reading to Printing
Most readers here end up at all printing categories next. The statistics hub covers the rest of the map, and the printing guides handle the technical side whenever a spec needs decoding.
