Viking uses e-mail templates for automatic communication with customers throughout the booking and lesson process.
Each template has a fixed trigger in Viking. You decide whether the e-mail is enabled and what the subject and message should contain.
Go to Settings → E-mail templates to review and edit your templates.
Review your e-mail templates
Viking includes default template text when your system is set up, but every school should review its e-mails and adjust the content where needed.
The templates are grouped by when or why the message is sent.
Messages sent after creating a new booking
These include the main booking confirmations.
There are different templates depending on the booking situation, including:
- a new customer account;
- an existing customer account;
- a booking made by the customer;
- a booking created by staff in Viking;
- confirmation for the head booker;
- confirmation for an additional participant when their e-mail address is available.
These are some of the most important templates to review because they are used immediately after a booking is created.
Messages sent one day before a course
This group includes the messages used from the Daily overview, such as:
- approval notification;
- cancellation notification;
- standby or other notification.
SMS versions can also be available when SMS is configured.
Upsell and booking reminder messages
This group contains messages such as:
- upsell e-mails sent after a completed lesson;
- payment reminders;
- reminders before an upcoming course.
Other messages
This group contains additional system messages, such as:
- password recovery;
- payment-related messages;
- waiver reminders;
- the template used for Find and mail.
The explanation at the top of each template tells you when that specific message is sent.
The trigger itself is fixed by Viking and cannot be changed by the school.
Edit an e-mail template
Click a template to open it.
You can then configure:
- whether the e-mail is enabled;
- the subject;
- the message content.
Use the editor to format your text and add dynamic information using variables.
Click Save when finished.
Enable, disable or use the default template
Each template can have one of these settings:
Enabled
Viking sends this template when its trigger occurs.
Disabled
Viking does not send this e-mail.
Use generic template or default language
This tells Viking to fall back to the default template instead of using a separate version.
Generic template and default template refer to the same template.
This fallback is also used for languages. If no translated version is available for the customer's language, Viking uses the system's default language.
Use different templates for different product categories
By default, Viking uses the templates under Default templates.
Use the Product category dropdown when you want different e-mails for different types of activities.
The available categories are based on the product categories configured in Viking.
For example, you could use different e-mails for:
- rentals and lessons;
- windsurfing and kitesurfing;
- different types of activities with different practical instructions.
If an enabled template exists for a specific product category, Viking uses that template instead of the default template.
If there is no active category-specific template, the default template is used.
This makes it possible to keep one general set of e-mails while only creating separate versions where the customer really needs different information.
Set up templates in different languages
Each e-mail template can also have a separate version for every language you use.
To edit another language:
- Open the e-mail template you want to change.
- Use the language selector in the top-right corner.
- Select the language you want to edit, for example Dutch instead of English.
- Review and edit the subject and message for that language.
- Click Save.
Repeat this for every language in which you want to send a separate version of the template.
When setting up your e-mail communication, review the relevant templates in every language your customers use. Do not assume that changing the English version also changes the other language versions.
Product category and language settings can be used together. This means you can have, for example, a separate Dutch kitesurfing template and a separate English kitesurfing template.
How Viking chooses the e-mail language
Every customer has a language stored in their customer profile.
Viking uses this language to decide which version of the e-mail template to send.
For example:
- an English customer receives the English version;
- a Dutch customer receives the Dutch version.
The customer's language can also be changed from their customer profile.
If no template is available in that language, Viking falls back to the system's default language.
Insert variables
Variables add information from Viking automatically when an e-mail is sent.
For example, a template can include:
- customer name;
- course name;
- course date;
- course time;
- location;
- waiver link.
To insert a variable:
- Place your cursor where the information should appear.
- Click Insert variable using the magic wand icon in the editor.
- Select the variable you want to use.
- Click Insert.
Viking replaces the variable with the correct information when the e-mail is sent.
Using variables helps you keep templates reusable without manually adding booking-specific information.
Add a planner message
Some operational e-mails can include a Planner message variable.
This is especially useful for the messages sent from the Daily overview, such as approval, cancellation and standby notifications.
Add the Planner message variable to the e-mail template at the position where you want the custom text to appear.
When a planner approves, cancels or sends a notification for a lesson, they can enter a message. Viking inserts that text into the e-mail where the Planner message variable is placed.
This allows the standard e-mail template to remain consistent while still giving the planner space to add information specific to that lesson or day.
Test your e-mail templates
Viking does not currently have a separate test or preview button for e-mail templates.
To test a change, trigger the relevant e-mail through the normal workflow.
For example:
- make a test booking after changing a booking confirmation;
- approve a test lesson after changing the approval notification.
Then check the e-mail that was sent.
Your school can also configure a BCC e-mail address. Viking sends a copy of outgoing customer e-mails to this address.
This mailbox is useful for:
- checking which e-mails Viking is sending;
- reviewing how templates look when received;
- checking recent template changes;
- keeping an overview of customer communication.
Before you start using Viking
Review the templates before relying on them in daily operations.
Pay particular attention to:
- booking confirmations;
- approval notifications;
- cancellation notifications;
- standby or notification messages;
- payment-related messages;
- any activity-specific templates your school needs.
Also review these templates in every language your customers use.
The default content gives you a starting point, but the wording and information should match how your own school works.