Create recipient specific CTA links in an email template that is sent to a group of contacts

[GuyH]

I am tasked with evaluating the capababilities of hubspot before committing to build our website around it.  Apologies in advance for the numpty question.

My question:  is the CTA link in an email template that opens a form , unique to the recipient when the same mail template has been used to email many contacts so that Hubspot knows when the form is opened via the CTA who the contact is and which email survey they are responding too.

One of the things we want to do is survey by email a group of contacts when a piece of equipment comes in where the contact has registered an interest in that equipment  category. The email survey is to see if the contact wants to tender on the quipment comming available. 

The CTA  link in the email would be to a form that gets the contacts feedback.  I hope to make the link unique to the contact so that they do not have to logon or fill in any details in the form other than their interest and conditions or questions.  Hubspot needs to recongise automatically who the contact is and the survey they are responding to as we will have  between 50 and 100 surveys a day with each survey advertised to between 1 and 60+ potential contacts.  Some contacts are traders with wide interests and others private collectors with specific interests.

I am not asking how exactly to do it as I probably would not understand the detail,  just asking if that can be done easily / somewhat easily / or in a bodged fashion using hubspot or if another tool would be better.

Our volume will be small in the fist months and this is our MVP site to test the viability of our business for the first 6 months.  We expect to grow, as everybody does, to a scale of 1500 surveys a day in 24 months by which time we will have developed a web service from scatch that is fully automated.

[MFrankJohnson · Accepted solution]

>>"My question: is the CTA link in an email template that opens a form unique to the recipient when the same mail template has been used to email many contacts so that Hubspot knows when the form is opened via the CTA who the contact is and which email survey they are responding too."

Thanks for the tag @Stephanie-OG ... just a quick disclaimer and a couple points of concern @GuyH.

Disclaimer
HubSpot is cool for basic survey's, but it is not an enterprise survey tool. There are HubSpot integration partners much better suited for tracking and REPORTING surveys -- e.g., SurveyMonkey.

Point of concern #1
You refer to, "the CTA link in an email that opens a form" or something along those lines. And while TECHNICALLY correct, HubSpot CTA's are more frequently used to open your fully branded (HubSpot or non-HubSpot) LANDING PAGES (LPs) that houses a form (a subtle, but important distinction).

Released last year, HubSpot sharable form links are unique to each FORM (not each recipient). However, those sharable form links trigger default HubSpot-hosted pages that include little to no branding -- similar to MailChimp forms pages. In other words, those sharable form links are typically not a marketer's first choice. We like LPs!
- see [Now Live] A Shareable Link for your Forms

- see [Live] Shared Form Link Example

Point of concern #2
While HubSpot CTA's are trackable and customizable, they cannot be made unique to each recipient in the way you're thinking.

In order to achieve your goals you'll want to build links (not HubSpot CTAs) with URL parameters that GUARANTEE correct pre-population of the resulting form without having to rely on cookies. I mean, the recipient will still get cookied (important), but population of the form will not need to rely on them using the same device that cookied them before -- a pretty important point when implementing a mobile-friendly survey strategy for known contacts.
- see How to distribute multiple unique links with one email

HubSpot Formula One MarTechLastly, when evaluating HubSpot for future use in your organization, you might consider it's power as a Formula One marketing automation platform that rests atop a moderately customizable CRM. From that perspective, your expectations will not only be met, but exceeded as well.

Help answer your question? If so, remember to accept this solution now.

Best,
Frank

Chief HubSpot Consultant

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MFrankJohnson.com | Perfect HubSpot Series | Connect on LinkedIn

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[GuyH]

Hi Frank, Stephanie,

Thank you very much for taking the time to read , consider and give a very throughtful and helpfull responses.  Your responses have helped a lot.  FYI - We will use hubspot in our website but I can better plan the overall MVP solution landscape with your responses above.

Many thanks

Guy

[MFrankJohnson]

You're welcome @GuyH ... made a couple minor edits to clarify a couple points.

Good luck with your project.

[Stephanie-OG]

Hi there, I think the marketing experts over in the Marketing Hub section of the community ( @MFrankJohnson , @Phil_Vallender ) are probably better equipped to answer this one but yes, you can track individual clicks on email CTAs. 

When you go to a user's profile on the CRM, you should be able to see any actions they've taken, including clicks on particular CTAs. You can also create Lists to segment by users who have clicked on a particular CTA. 

Clicking on an email CTA should also cookie the user so that you'll be able to track them through your website and so that forms will be pre-filled with known data (these depend on your cookie/GDPR settings). 

I hope this helps!

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Stephanie O'Gay Garcia

HubSpot Design / Development

Website | Contact

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