Emails are part of the business landscape so including them in your Salesforce application makes sense.  Designing the look of the email and its contents is important so that the emails provide users with the right information at the right time.

So what are some typical scenarios that result in email notifications?

1. Acknowledgement – when a user submits a request, CASE, etc
2. Status Update – providing user with status of request, CASE, etc
3. Escalation – providing user with information on an escalation
4. Information – providing user with information

Design Considerations for Salesforce Email Templates

Every email should include the following:

• Reason person is receiving the email
• ID / Link back to the Salesforce record which resulted in the notification (if appropriate)
• Relevant information
• Next Steps for person receiving the email (if any)
• Next Steps for Company/Group (helps to set user expectations)
• How to contact us

In the process of creating your templates consider the following:

• Pick the appropriate email template type based on what your email recipients can handle and the level of layout control you require.
• Maximize your subject line
  • Keep it concise but informative
  • For mobile recipients some researchers feel the first 35 characters are key
• Use Merge Fields to personalize content
  • Be sure the merge fields you will be using have data. The merge field will not appear in the email for a record where there is no data in that field.
  • Email templates give you access only to the fields that are accessible to you via your page layout and field-level security settings.
• Configure your email Deliverability Settings — Information about these settings can be found here.

A great place to see how to create a Salesforce Email Template is the article “How to create an email template in Salesforce” at wikihow.com.

Question

How do you use email notifications in your business?