Survey parameters are there to associate additional values, which will be associated with a record when created without any question asked to the person who completed the survey (a parameter generates a question invisible to the respondent and the answer is filled automatically with the parameter value). The stored values are useful for statistical purposes and data exports.
Case 1: Parameter linked to field from the contact's profile
You have no question to ask the city of the respondent. You use a parameter whose value is the City field from the contact's profile. Thus, when a contact submits the survey, the data for the contact's city will be sent in the survey report as an answer to a question.
Case 2: Parameter with a fixed value
You want to associate the same value to surveys which have been responded to using a link shared in a specific email. This email targets contacts who attended a particular event. You add a parameter "name of the event". Thus, you will know that the respondents using the link shared in this email have attended this event. This helps you categorize the respondents. This type of parameter can be useful if you use the same survey with different recipient groups.
Access path: Audience → Surveys → Edit |
Requirements
- Use the Invitation, accessible from a personalized link option in the section Accessibility
Step 1: Add the Parameter
In the Parameters section, click Add a parameter and fill-in the required info:
| Code | Name of the parameter used to track the value. It can contain only alphanumeric characters or underlines but has to start with a letter. |
| Require | To indicate if a value is required or not to access the survey. |
| Ignore on error | Even if there is an error while processing, the user will still have access to the survey, but a null value will be associated. |
| Allow parameter | If you check this box, it means that the value can be taken in the hyperlink used to access the survey. (The only time that you won't want to check this box is in the case of a Contact invitation survey, where you want to associate the survey to a value of the client record or if you want to add values by default to the list.) |
| Datatype | To choose the value format (Text, Int, Decimal or Date or Time). |
| Length | to define the length of the box where the value will appear. |
| Default | to provide a value by default. In this case, it is almost never necessary to check the "Allow parameter" box because the value is known by default. |
Step 2: Link the Parameter to an Email
When the survey is ready to be shared. You can add the parameters to an email. You must first publish the survey. When the survey is online, insert it in a link or a button:
Select the Survey tool and indicate the parameter value. If it is a value from the respondant's profile (as in Case 1), select Contact's profile and indicate the source field in the contact's profile:
If the value to associate is the same for the surveys that are answered using the link from this email (see Case 2), select Value and indicate the parameter value:
This way, the parameters will be added to the survey link shared with this email.