Distributions

Templates, rules, and connections define the distribution rules for messages sent to potential survey through different survey channels. You can create these types of messages:

  • Invitation email — New records with data are matched up against the preconfigured rules. If the setting matches the record, an Invitation email is sent .

  • Reminder email — If a survey has not been taken, a rule can optionally send one or several scheduled Reminder emails.

  • Thank-you email — When surveys are completed, a rule can optionally send a Thank-you email.

  • Auto Reply email — These are the emails sent when a recipient either replies to an email, or clicks a mailto link to support in a survey or Invitation email. Although this email type can be created through templates,they are not handled by Rules.

To use and access templates, see Access Shared assets.
Note: Admin Suite templates are single language and don't support messages that are sent for purposes other than those listed above, such as Alerts or User emails. Contact your Medallia expert to set other types of messages.

For creating Multi-language templates, see Multi-language templates.

Distributions screen

The Distributions screen lists all the available messages for that particular company instance. By default, messages are sorted by the last modified date and can be filtered by Program and Template type. Use the search bar at the top of the list to search for a particular template.

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  1. Details pane
  2. Details pane tabs
  3. Details pane menu
  4. Message type thumbnail
  5. Search bar
  6. Filters

Details pane

Click an message to reveal its details pane, which shows the following:

  • Details tab — Summarizes the most important information of your message, such as:

    • Template type — Whether the message is an Invitation, Reminder, Thank-you or Auto-reply message.

    • Priority — Priority number given to the setting. For more information, see Priority and rule.

    • Created — Date the message was created.

    • Last modified — Date the message was last modified.

    • Thumbnails — Thumbnails to preview and/or edit the message.

    • Distribution rule — Distribution setting rule applicable to the message. For more information, see Rules.

  • Used In tab — Experience programs where the template is being used.

Hover over the different available template type thumbnails to either:
Preview

Sends a preview message.

Edit

Edits the email on the Template editor.

Details pane menu

ClickMore vertical icon. the details pane menu to:
Edit Template details
Modifies the template's name, content type, and advanced settings.
Preview

Allows for entering an email address to send a preview email.

Translate
Translates the Invitation template in the Email translation editor.
Download
Downloads the template. To upload a template, click New template and select Upload, then select the file to upload.
Important: Medallia Email format (.mef) files cannot be opened and are not editable.
Duplicate
Creates a copy of the template.
Delete

Deletes the template.

Create and manage messages

Before you begin

  1. Obtain or create a detailed specification of the message:

    • Ask the company to provide the HTML template themselves and establish that the company owns the maintenance of the HTML.

    • Ask the company to provide a spec or at least approve one created by the implementation team. The following example shows the detail level needed:

      Email specification example including font details and margin suggestions.

  2. Show the company the list of supported content clients to confirm that they find it reasonable.

  3. Identify which aspects of the design could acceptably change in the event that one content client renders differently than others. Some differences are unavoidable, but it helps to know the priorities before implementing.

Create a template

  1. From Distributions screen, click New template and select a template type: Invitation email, Reminder email, Auto reply email, or Thank-you email.

  2. Enter a name for the template.

  3. Optionally, enter some description.

  4. Choose the Content type for the email:

    • HTML and plain text — When selected, the HTML version of the template is used by default, and if the content client has trouble reading it, then it falls back to plain text. For more information, see HTML editor and Plain text editor.

    • HTML only — Only uses the HTML version in the content editor. For more information, see HTML editor.

    • Plain text only — Only uses the Plain text version in the Email editor. For more information, see Plain text editor.

  5. Optionally, click Show advanced settings to configure:

  6. Click Save.

  7. Edit the default content provided by the editor to match your needs.

  8. Optionally, you can switch to Source HTML to have full control of the design. For more information, see Source HTML editor.

  9. Create a Distribution setting to combine the email with record data and send it to potential survey takers.

New reminder email.

Manage templates

To modify the content of a template content, hover over its thumbnail or navigate at the bottom of the details pane and click Edit. Click the More vertical icon details pane menu for more options.
Restriction: A Reminder email can be edited after an Invitation email goes out.

Hover over the email thumbnail and click Edit to modify the message content, or click Edit to modify its settings.

Priority and rule

Priority and Rule determine when to use a template if the Distribution setting does not indicate which template to use, or if it expressly indicates that uses the distribution rule (Based on email rule option). Priority and Rules set in the emails themselves are ignored when Rules are configured to always use the same emails.

Restriction: Priority and Rule are not available when configuring templates in Experience programs.

Priority

When a record matches multiple rules, the template with the highest priority (the lowest number) is used. The priority number is not set directly; instead, the number is determined by the relative position to other messages. If you change the position of one template, the priority numbers of all others is subject to change to ensure that a priority number only applies to one message.

Rule

An rule determines when to use the template and connects it to an existing program. Rules can be:

  • Active — The template is always used.

  • Inactive — The template is never used.

  • Custom rule — The template is used based on the rule conditions. Click Add rule to build the rule. For more information, see Logic, rules, and conditions.

Based on email rule

You can configure a Distribution setting so that it does not choose a specific template to send. Instead, the template is chosen based on rules of emails themselves.

This configuration can be set separately for each Invitation email, Reminder email, and Thank-you email email. To do so, set the corresponding email field to the value Based on email rule. Admin Suite then checks each record against the email rules to pick the appropriate email. However, it only checks emails that belong to the email type being used, so for example it will not send a Thank-you email as a Reminder email, even if the survey record matches the email rule on it.

Tip: To keep an email from being selected, set the email Rule to Inactive (false). Similarly, to create a default email that catches all corner cases, set its Priority to a high number relative to the other emails (a higher number makes it less important) and the email rule of true.

Tips and best practices

General

  • An effective email boosts click-through rates towards surveys, capturing data from a sample of individuals that is as unbiased as possible.

  • Sending too many messages can also fatigue survey takers, not just from messages but from the brand itself, so find the right trade-off between survey taker fatigue and gathering the information you need.

Templates

Many best practices for content design are already included in templates that you can use as a starting point to create your own messages. These templates are optimized to improve click-through rates to your company's survey and for compatibility across content clients. They include:

  • Subject line tailored to the experience with a time estimate for completing the survey. Including the survey time in subject lines has proven to increase click-through rates.

  • Short, straightforward body text in a letter format that seems personal for respondents.

  • Footer with privacy policy, technical support link, and opt-out link.

Invitation, Reminder, and Auto-reply responses emails should have:

  • At least one form of contact for survey takers to reach the company's customer service department. Company contacts should come before Medallia contacts.

  • The unsubscribe statement should be at the bottom of the email.

  • The survey support statement should immediately precede the unsubscribe statement.

Wording

Wording can have a great impact in click-through rates and in capturing data from an unbiased set of respondents.

Tip: If you change the wording of the message, you must also provide language translations (if applicable).

  • Subject line — Subject lines should be concise and state upfront the approximate time to complete the survey. For example, Member Survey - 3 minutes.

  • Body — The body should make it clear that this information is important to the company. Wording should be as short as possible and to the point. The content should also include personalized elements, for example include the person's first and/or last name and details about the last transaction.

    Make the email entirely about the invitation to the survey; do not make a second request like asking the user to follow on Twitter or Facebook.

    A good practice is to put the first question directly in the email body, as this can increase click-through rates. For more information, see Quick Start.

  • Signature — The name of the company should appear in the Sender field if not stated in the subject line. Make sure that your domain is not part of blacklists and does not fall into the spam folder.

Branding

  • Use an HTML template to make the message attractive, include images and colors that match the brand. The design should be responsive, so that it displays correctly in a mobile screen as well.

  • Use only web-safe fonts (like Arial, Verdana, Georgia, and Times New Roman) to make sure it is readable on any email client.

  • The link to the survey should stand out in some way, as many invitees do not take the time to read through the text of the message. Mobile "hit" areas should aim at being no smaller than 48x48 pixels in size (an average thumb size).

  • Validate that the HTML follows accessibility guidelines. For more information, see Shared assets accessibility.

  • To add a logo as a profile image in the To and From fields of an email, contact your Medallia expert to implement BIMI in Email masking.

Note that templates do not automatically adjust to dark mode as they are based on HTML (static content only) which cannot detect or match the user's browser preference. To avoid an unaesthetic experience, use a background color for the entire message and a translucent border for images, and also check The ultimate guide to Dark mode for email marketers.

Test the message

  • Send the message to yourself and test all click-through functionality across multiple content clients and browsers (mobile and desktop).

  • Use external email testing tools to verify that it works across different browsers and email clients. Include translated emails in these tests as well.

  • Test the message with other people.