Why Use Respondent ID?
Using Respondent ID allows you to:
Identify who has completed your survey.
Connect survey data directly to your CRM or database.
Segment results based on customer profiles.
Close the feedback loop with 1:1 follow-up or personalisation.
What You’ll Need
A live Attest survey link.
Access to your email client or marketing automation platform (e.g. Pardot, Mailchimp, Salesforce).
A CRM ID or unique customer identifier tied to each contact.
Basic knowledge of merge tags or personalisation fields.
Upload your audience data to the Attest platform
You have the option to upload your own customer data to the Attest platform. This is what Attest will use to help you identify your respondents and the attributes that relate to them so that you can also use them when you're analysing your survey results.
Add a Respondent ID Parameter to the URL
To track individual responses, you’ll need to append a customer ID / query string to your survey URL that includes a placeholder for your CRM/customer ID.
To append a customer ID to your survey URL in your email campaign, you need to use merge tags. You can use this in any email platform like Hubspot, Pardot, MailChimp etc.
Example of the link your respondents will use with a merge tag placeholder:
Replace {{crm_id}} with your platform’s specific merge tag (e.g., %%ID%% for Pardot, *|ID|* for Mailchimp).
Add the Personalised Link to Your Email
You can now embed the survey link in your email copy or CTA button.
In the Email Body:
Text link example:
Take our survey →
https://opinion.askattest.com/survey/xyz123?respondent_id=%%ID%%
Button CTA example:
“Complete Survey” button linked to:
https://opinion.askattest.com/survey/xyz123?respondent_id=%%ID%%
This ensures that when your email is sent, each recipient gets their own personalised link with their unique ID embedded.
Test It Before Sending
Use your platform’s preview or test mode to confirm everything works.
Select a test contact (e.g. Alice).
Check that the CRM ID populates correctly in the link.
Click the link and ensure it opens your survey with the respondent ID in the URL.
Send Your Campaign
Once tested, go ahead and send the email to your customer list. Each recipient will receive a survey link that includes their unique identifier.
View Responses in Attest with Respondent IDs
As respondents complete the survey:
Their responses in Attest will include the Respondent ID from the URL.
You can download the data and match responses to your CRM records using this ID.
This creates a seamless loop between survey data and your customer system—ideal for deeper analysis or follow-ups.
Final Tips
Hide the ID from email display: Although the ID is in the URL, it doesn’t need to appear in your visible email copy.
Secure your data: Use only non-sensitive identifiers (not personal data) in the URL to stay GDPR-compliant.
Use consistent field names: Ensure your merge tags match what’s stored in your CRM (e.g., “user_id”, “contact_key”, etc.).