Merge fields in salesforce surveys are an incredibly powerful tool! These are fantastic to add personalization to your surveys when gathering feedback.
This feedback is incredibly important and using merge fields can help get pertinent information about your participant from existing records.
One thing to note before we get too far into the tutorial, you do need to have the feedback management license.
You also need to have surveys enabled and the salesforce surveys advanced features permission assigned to the user who will be using this function.
In the post we will show you how to enable that license and then how to use and setup merge fields.
Enable Surveys Advanced Features
The first thing you’ll need to do is head to setup.
To get there click on the gear icon in the top right corner.
When in setup search for surveys and select ‘Survey settings’.
Then you will need to toggle on surveys in order to enable it.
Once you’ve enabled surveys search again in the quick find for permission sets.
Once in the permission set create a new permission set.
This permission set will be used to assign advanced features to a user.
Once you’ve saved the initial label and description for the permission set, search for “Salesforce Surveys Advanced Features”.
Click edit and click the check box next to the “Salesforce Surveys Advanced Features” box.
Click save and confirm the changes to the permission set.
Next you will need to add assignments to this permission set, or add your users to this setting.
Click Add Assignments.
Then choose which users you would like to assign this permission set to.
Click Assign and choose if this permission set will have an expiration or not.
Once assigned, go ahead and verify that you have these
Using Merge Fields in Salesforce Surveys
The first thing you’ll need to do is head over to surveys.
In the app launcher search and click on surveys.
Then either open an existing survey or create a new one.
Here I chose to create a new survey.
Then it brought up the new survey options to name the survey and choose the survey type.
Once complete, click continue.
Then in surveys click on advanced settings then merge field variables.
This will help us to set up the merge fields before using them.
The first thing you’ll need to choose is the access level of the information.
This is from a context view, meaning you can enforce record permissions based on the user or system.
Then you’ll need to choose the object variables for the associate object and the participant object.
The associate object is an object that you will be using to gather information from for your scenario. In this scenario, I am creating a new opportunity so the associated object is opportunity.
The participant object is the object you will be gathering the survey taker’s information. So things like leads or contacts would work here. I chose contact.
Click save and head back to the survey.
Next set up your first merge field.
Here is one merge field on the welcome page to grab the participant’s name.
I’ve greeted them and want to add their name. When ready click insert content.
Then choose the merge field from the participant record and click next.
Then find the field you want to insert.
For our scenario that would be contact.Name.
Click insert.
Then you should see the merge field in your welcome page.
Next move on to the associated object.
With another question box we are grabbing the opportunity name.
Click insert content.
Then choose merge field from an associated record and click next.
Next, choose the appropriate field name.
Here it is Opportunity.Name.
Then click insert.
You should see that merge field on the question now!
Now to test this click preview that is next to advanced settings.
Then choose some preview values.
This is just to grab test information to put in your merge fields. This will not carry over to the survey when it is live and sent.
Click preview.
You can see that the participant merge field is working!
Also, the associated object merge field is working!
Once ready you can save, activate and send the survey to your participants!
Conclusion
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