As a SurveyGizmo support hero, I use merge codes just about every day, but the mere mention of these mystical features can strike fear in the eyes of those not quite comfortable using these magical super tools.
But, just what is a merge code? Merge codes are small instructions that are sent to the SurveyGizmo servers, telling them to grab a specific piece of information and then send this information back to the respondent whom is taking your survey. Merge codes are, short, custom bits of computer language that are able to replace multiple lines of code with simplicity.
Now that you know a bit of the technical side of a merge code, and hopefully harbor less fear towards them, how would you use a merge code? SurveyGizmo has an entire list of useful merge codes that can be used in a variety of situations, but here are my favorite use cases:
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Asking a follow-up question about a favorite product or service: Use the merge code [question("value"), id="#"] to pull a previous response into a follow-up question. For example, if you ask a respondent to select their favorite product from a list of products, you could present a follow-up question which identifies that previous selection: “You indicated that [Product A] was your favorite. Can you tell us a little about why you made that choice?”
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Easily creating “clickable” text: Use themerge code [invite("html link"), title="Linked Text"] to create a link or clickable text to your survey in a SurveyGizmo HTML email campaign. With this merge code, you do not need to know any HTML, simply replace Linked Text with whichever words you’d like to be clickable. Here’s an example in action: Click [invite("html link"), title="here to take our survey"]
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Pre-populating a contact form: Use contact merge codes to pull information that is uploaded into an email campaign to pre-populate a contact form in your survey. This is a great tool for making sure that your business database is up to date. You can ask a respondent to, “Please confirm your phone number [contact("Phone")].”
The best part about merge codes is the time and effort that they save! No need to hire a developer to create massive amounts of code, just use a merge code to get things done.
Click here for a complete list of SurveyGizmo merge codes, and fear these magical super tools no more!