Personalize survey invitations correctly: case surveys, scheduled campaigns and supported variables

Updated Thursday, October 29, 2026 · Marcel Gravelle

Survey variables insert relevant details into an invitation so customers understand which experience you want them to evaluate. For B2B support, that can mean feedback on one technical case or a broader relationship check with selected customer contacts. Those are different contexts in Supportbench. A case-triggered invitation has case information; a scheduled campaign has recipient information. Choosing the right variables prevents blank greetings, literal placeholders and invitations that refer to a case the recipient cannot identify.

At a glance

For: support operations administrators and customer experience leads who design survey invitations. Applies to: Supportbench Core.

Start here: Settings → Customer surveys → Survey forms → Invitation Email

Choose the survey context first · Edit the invitation step by step · Use case variables for a case-triggered invitation · Use recipient variables for a scheduled campaign · Start with wording that works when data is incomplete · Keep variables and links safe and readable · Verify the actual customer experience · Use the Community logo or add a separate invitation image · Troubleshoot personalization and survey links

Choose the survey context first

Question	Case-triggered invitation	Scheduled campaign invitation
What experience is being evaluated?	A specific case through its configured survey workflow.	A scheduled request to selected eligible recipients.
What information is available?	Supported case-workflow variables, including case and contact context.	The recipient’s first name, last name and email, plus supported survey/account URLs and logo.
Which first-name variable should I use?	`{{contact_first_name}}`	`{{first_name}}`
Does a previous-case audience create a case context?	The invitation already belongs to its actual case context.	No. Selecting contacts with previous cases does not attach one particular case to the message.
Does changing the form send the invitation?	No. The configured workflow determines sending.	No. The campaign schedule and eligibility determine sending.

The form’s Template choice supplies a starting design, such as Satisfaction Survey or Scheduled Survey. Choosing a starter does not itself configure a workflow, select a recipient population or launch a campaign. Confirm the real sending route before copying variables from another invitation.

Edit the invitation step by step

Open Settings → Customer surveys → Survey forms with Administer survey engine permission. Open the intended form in Edit Survey Form.
On Setup, confirm the required Community. It supplies the applicable survey destination and logo context. Check that this is the customer experience you intend to use.
Open Invitation Email. Review From address, Subject, Template and Email body. The Subject field has a 50-character input limit; keep it concise and test the expanded result.
If using a starter template, choose it before carefully editing the wording and branding. Inspect the body after selection so you do not unintentionally replace content you intended to keep.
Write the invitation for one context using the tables below. Copy variable spelling exactly, including both opening and closing braces.
Preserve the generated survey link placeholder and choose an understandable link label, such as Share feedback about this support experience.
Use Preview to inspect the unsaved survey page and email layout, then select Save Changes. Reopen the form to verify the stored content.
Arrange a controlled delivery through the actual intended workflow or scheduled campaign. Preview sends nothing and uses sample substitutions; it is not a live-recipient delivery test.

The form also has Metrics, Questions, Survey Page and Audit areas. This guide covers invitation subject and email body substitution. Do not assume the same placeholders expand inside question wording or response fields.

Use case variables for a case-triggered invitation

These commonly useful variables are supported by the case invitation’s workflow translator. They can be used in the invitation subject and body where the value makes sense. Keep the subject short and avoid sensitive detail that may appear in mailbox notifications.

Variable	Meaning and operating consideration
`{{survey_url}}`	The generated response link for this invitation. Use it as the survey link destination; do not construct or share a sample recipient URL.
`{{community_logo}}`	The resolved logo URL. Use it in the intended logo image location, with useful alternative text; it is not the image element itself.
`{{case_id}}`	The case identifier that helps the customer recognize the support interaction.
`{{case_subject}}`	The case subject, with summary fallback where applicable. Check that it is appropriate for the recipient.
`{{case_summary}}`	The stored case summary. It may contain more detail than a survey invitation needs.
`{{contact_first_name}}` and `{{contact_name}}`	Case-notification contact values. Missing name data can produce a fallback such as unknown; a neutral greeting can be more reliable.
`{{company_name}}`	The company name in the notification context. Confirm customer data before relying on it in a personalized message.
`{{owner_name}}`, `{{owner_first_name}}`, `{{owner_last_name}}`	Owner name values are suppressed for a queue-owned case. Avoid wording that becomes incomplete when there is no named individual.
`{{owner_email}}`	The owner email value available in the context. Unlike owner name fields, it is not explicitly suppressed merely because a queue is assigned. Do not treat it as proof of the current customer-facing contact or reply destination.

Other case-workflow variables exist, but a survey invitation rarely needs an entire case record. Include enough context to identify the interaction and make a feedback decision. Do not insert internal activity history, commercial notes or diagnostic content simply because a wider workflow context can expose it.

Use recipient variables for a scheduled campaign

Variable	Meaning and limitation
`{{first_name}}`	The selected recipient’s first name; may be empty if the contact record lacks it.
`{{last_name}}`	The selected recipient’s last name.
`{{email}}`	The selected recipient’s email address. This is personalization data, not a setting that changes who receives the campaign.
`{{survey_url}}`	The generated survey response link for the recipient and campaign.
`{{community_logo}}`	The logo URL associated with the form’s community configuration.
`{{community_url}}`	The account’s default community URL when this optional variable is used. It need not be the same community chosen for the survey form.
`{{agent_url}}`	The agent application URL. It is normally inappropriate as a customer’s feedback destination; use the survey link instead.

A scheduled invitation does not expand case, owner or company variables merely because its audience was selected from customers with case history. Do not use {{case_id}}, {{contact_first_name}} or {{owner_name}} as campaign equivalents. Unsupported campaign placeholders can remain visible literally. The same campaign substitution context is used for a subject that contains variables.

Start with wording that works when data is incomplete

Case feedback example

Use this wording in the case-triggered invitation body. In the editor, make “Share feedback” a link whose destination is {{survey_url}}.

Hello,

We would value your feedback on support case {{case_id}}: {{case_subject}}.
Please tell us how the support experience worked for you.

Share feedback

Thank you,
The Customer Support Team

Relationship feedback example

Use this wording for a scheduled campaign. Link “Share feedback” to {{survey_url}}; the message intentionally makes no claim about a specific case.

Hello,

We would value your perspective on working with our support team.
Please use the survey to tell us what is working well and where we can improve.

Share feedback

Thank you,
The Customer Support Team

If first-name data is consistently maintained, personalize the greeting with the correct context-specific token. Otherwise, a complete neutral greeting is better than “Hello unknown” or a blank name. Do not promise a survey duration, response confidentiality or a follow-up deadline unless your organization has verified that claim for this survey.

Keep variables and links safe and readable

The invitation substitutions are literal replacements rather than a general-purpose Liquid template engine. Double braces are significant: {first_name} is not the supported campaign token {{first_name}}. Do not add conditional syntax from portal Liquid examples and expect the survey sender to evaluate it.

Customer-derived values are not automatically HTML-encoded by these substitution paths. Keep personalization simple, avoid putting customer names or free text into HTML attributes, CSS, scripts or arbitrary link destinations, and have an administrator familiar with HTML review custom layouts. Test names containing punctuation and special characters. A successful sample preview is not proof that every real value will render safely.

Use {{survey_url}} for the response link and {{community_logo}} only in the intended logo location. Do not hand-build /rate/ or /survey/ links, copy a previously received invitation’s private response link into the form, or place an agent-only URL behind a customer-facing feedback button.

Verify the actual customer experience

Choose an approved test recipient and the same sending route you will use operationally. Ensure the test cannot accidentally contact a broad customer population.
For a case survey, use an appropriate test case with the expected company/contact context. For a scheduled campaign, use a deliberately limited authorized recipient selection.
Inspect the delivered subject and body: no unintended braces, unknown names, missing text or another customer’s details. Check the sender and image-blocked appearance.
Open the generated link as the intended recipient and verify the correct survey page and branding. If submitting a response, follow your organization’s procedure for identifying test responses in reporting.
Test incomplete names and a queue-owned case where applicable. Compare the result with the form preview; sample data can conceal missing live values.
Record which form, delivery route and scenarios passed. Re-test after changing variables, community, sender, layout or campaign audience.

A preview is useful for spacing and basic layout. The current preview fills only a selection of fields with synthetic examples, so it cannot validate every supported variable, real contact, access condition or delivery path.

Use the Community logo or add a separate invitation image

Choose whether the email should follow the selected Community’s branding or contain a separate image maintained in the invitation. These are different choices. The {{community_logo}} variable is a logo URL, not a complete image element. An explicitly uploaded image is separate from the portal’s configured logo.

Choice	Use it for	Maintenance consequence
Community logo variable	The normal logo for the form’s selected Community.	The message resolves the relevant configured logo. Verify the form’s Community rather than copying a different portal’s logo URL.
Explicit email image	A distinct approved graphic used in this invitation.	Uploading it does not update the portal logo or unrelated message templates. Maintain that image and reference deliberately.

Open Settings → Customer surveys → Survey forms, select the intended form and confirm its selected Community. Open Invitation Email. You need editing access to the form and the selected Community.
For the normal Community branding, maintain the intended portal logo through Settings → Self-Service → Customer portal and Upload logo. Choose Save Changes and verify the logo setting, which applies immediately. Publishing Design drafts is a separate action and is not required for this logo setting. Saving the survey form remains a separate step.
In the invitation HTML, use the logo variable as the image source, for example <img src="{{community_logo}}" alt="Support team logo">. Keep it inside the image source rather than pasting the URL variable alone as visible text. Use the editor’s source-editing control if you are maintaining the HTML.
For a separate image, use Insert image in the invitation editor and choose the approved file. The supported upload accepts PNG, JPG/JPEG or GIF up to 5 MB and stores the image with the selected Community’s files. Wait for the upload to finish; the form cannot save while it is pending.
Select the inserted image and provide meaningful alternative text. Use an appropriately sized source image and inspect its layout. Do not rely on an old instruction to double-click and enter a fixed height: the current controls must support the adjustment you use.
Keep the invitation’s purpose, next action and survey link understandable when images are blocked. Do not replace the generated survey link with a logo or portal-home link.
Choose Preview and select Invitation Email, choose Save Changes, reopen the form and verify the saved body. Preview uses sample context and does not send a message.
Run the intended survey workflow or scheduled campaign with approved test recipients. Check the actual received image, alternative text, mobile layout, recipient context and survey link. Test with external images blocked as well.

One logo edit does not change every customer message

An image placed directly in a survey body is not a universal brand setting. Case replies, workflow notifications and Chat transcripts have their own message generators. Test each affected message type through its real delivery path.

If the upload fails, verify the selected Community, form-edit permission, file format and size, then retry only after the previous attempt has clearly failed. If delivery shows an old or missing logo, compare the saved image source, the selected Community and the receiving mail client’s image policy. Do not assume a successful editor preview proves customer delivery.

Troubleshoot personalization and survey links

Problem	Likely cause and corrective step
Braces appear in the email	Check exact spelling, double braces and delivery context. A scheduled campaign cannot fill case-only variables; unsupported subject placeholders may remain literal.
The case survey does not send after editing	Saving the form is not a send action. Check the configured workflow, event and eligibility separately. Unsupported body variables can also fail the case translation path.
The owner greeting is blank	A queue-owned case suppresses owner name fields. Use a team identity or wording that does not require a named owner.
Preview looks correct but delivery differs	Preview uses sample values and does not send. Test through the real delivery path with representative contact data.
The logo does not appear	Confirm the form’s community and logo URL, then check whether the receiving mail client blocks external images. Keep essential wording outside the image.
The feedback button opens the wrong place	Restore the generated survey URL token and inspect the final link. A community home page or agent URL is not the survey response link.
A relationship invitation mentions a case	Remove copied case-only text and variables. Previous-case audience selection does not provide one case context.

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