Zendesk Placeholders, In Practice
The difference between a macro that reads as personal and one that reads as a form letter is usually four placeholders and one conditional.
How they work
Placeholders are references to ticket, user or organization data, written in double curly braces and replaced when the message is sent. Zendesk supports Liquid markup on top, so you can add conditionals and loops rather than just substituting values.
They work in macros, triggers, automations, email templates and dynamic content, which is what makes them worth learning once properly.
The ones you will use constantly
Guarding against blanks
The classic failure is a customer with no first name receiving "Hi ," at the top of your reply. Liquid conditionals fix it:
`{% if ticket.requester.first_name %}Hi {{ticket.requester.first_name}},{% else %}Hi there,{% endif %}`
Do the same for organization and any custom field that is not mandatory. Test with a ticket that has none of them populated, because that is the ticket your worst-case customer will send.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use conditionals in Zendesk placeholders?+
Yes, through Liquid markup, which is how you avoid empty greetings and blank references.
Do placeholders work in automations as well as macros?+
Yes, in macros, triggers, automations, email templates and dynamic content.
One well-written reply, not two
Placeholders make each reply personal. Merging duplicates makes sure the customer only gets one.
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