In a survey of 1,000 consumers commissioned by the company, two-thirds said the timing of direct mail pieces is most likely to result in a response.

The results are backed up by a Royal Mail study showing that those in the financial sector are most likely to respond on a Saturday, while overall response levels were highest for mail pieces received on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

GI Direct also suggested that event triggers can be crucial in improving responses, particularly within the 35 to 44 age bracket, where many "life events" occur such as buying a house, getting married and having children.

Other timing triggers may be through transactions, when a customer breaks through a particular spend barrier or buys a particular item.

GI Solutions managing director Robin Welch said: "You need transactional information – what have they bought – and then you can start promoting associated products."

However, he warned that "the number of clients that are able to use that data are still few and far between".

He also recommended high levels of personalisation and colour.

"We’ve seen an up to four-fold uplift in response for colour personalised marketing," he said.

Also see:
In-depth: Mailings with no margin for error