Automatic PDF generator: how to add value to your questionnaires with personalized content

Questionnaires are more than just data collection. They can – and should – be used to strike up a conversation with the respondent, whether it’s a lead, a client, an employee, or someone looking for information.

You’re now in a situation where you have the information about the respondent in one hand, and a bucket of content you could provide in the other. How do you connect your respondent to the right feedback?

You want to make sure that your audience sees the value in the product or service you offer, preferably without long, complex funnels that are time-consuming and keep the respondent waiting, but with the ease of an all-in-one tool. That’s where an automatic PDF generator comes in!

What’s an automatic PDF generator?

A PDF generator converts data from a source, such as a database or a spreadsheet, and uses it to create a PDF report. In this case, the PDF generator will use a respondent’s answers and use that input to build a personalized PDF report.

Let’s see how that works.

Questionnaires that return personalized content

The “asking” part can be covered by a questionnaire, assessment, or quiz. They are among the most successful interactive content and manage to generate twice as many conversions than static content (such as blog articles or standard forms).

Assessments (which can be anything from an HR or management-assessment to a marketing quiz or calculator) allow you to add personalized, extra value in a simple setup:

  1. A person answers a “smart” assessment (which asks automatic follow-up questions based on previously given answers).
  2. The assessment calculates what predefined category fits the respondent best.
  3. The outcome/result of the questionnaire is created for that segment, making the report highly relevant and personal.
 

Take a car dealership, for example. A good car sales rep will not push you toward the most expensive car. Instead, they’ll start by asking a few questions about what you’re looking for, your budget, your preferences, etc. Based on your answers, he’ll suggest a car that fits your needs. The same thing happens here, but online, instantly and automatically.

Try this management assessment example to see how it works:

Add even more value with a personalized report

Assessments are a great start.
But there is more you can give in return to increase the value of your content.

The cool thing about these questionnaires is that you can set up an automatic PDF generator that sends additional, personalized content in the shape of a report to the respondent, based on the answers they gave. A personalized assessment report with recommendations that feels as if a consultant wrote it especially for the respondent, which increases the value perception of the content.

360 Assessment example

Immediately on the end screen or via email

Sending a report via email allows you to start up a conversation afterward, where you can discuss aspects of the report. But if you want to offer the respondent value immediately, you can add a download button on the final screen of your assessment.

Assessments and reporting: a fit for any business or industry

Resologics, a consulting business, used an assessment with a PDF report to market their business.

The assessment called the “Cost of Conflict Calculator” offers, in just a few questions, a dollar figure of what it costs to have conflict in their team.  It calculates the cost in the background and compares that to industry standards. Read the full Resologics case study here.

What makes automatically generated PDF reports and assessments a winning combination?

Your audience (and consumers in general) highly value being acknowledged as an individual. They have increasingly come to expect a personalized customer experience. Personalization is one-to-one marketing in the truest sense — one brand speaking directly to one customer.

In short, the assessment uses customer information to highlight specific services, offers, or highly relevant insights in a PDF report.

There are benefits for:

Your audience: the assessment taker
  • Respondents take assessments to reaffirm an idea they already had or point out the best solution to their problem.
  • Based on the first point, personalized advice through a PDF report generator increases that affirmation with additional content, adding extra value. 
  • PDF generated reports that are automatically personalized filter out unnecessary information.

For example, if you offer 100 marketing tips, that’s great! But I’m only interested in the five tips that apply to me and my business. Based on the marketing assessment I took, I could receive an automatic PDF report with information customized to my needs.

You: the assessment maker
  • There’s no need to set up complicated constructions or technical integrations. Just one tool, Pointerpro, allows you to create an interactive questionnaire that generates personal reports for your respondents.
  • Generate PDF files with flexible content. There’s no reason to limit yourself to solid text, build a document with graphs, variable blocks of text, images, calculations, etc.
  • Easily implement in whatever format works best for you. Just start from your existing content and repurpose it in the way that suits you best. Build a lead generation quiz, a price proposal calculator, a self-assessment, etc.
  • Easy to adapt to any audience or market, for example:
    • HR assessment reports can provide an overview of results and recommendations revolving around a candidate or an employee.
    • Marketing assessment reports provide business advice tailored to the client. There’s even the possibility to send a customized price proposal within the report, all based on the client’s answers.

Bear in mind, today, more than ever, customers expect companies anticipate their needs and make relevant suggestions before making personal contact.

Questionnaires are more than just data collection. They can – and should – be used to strike up a conversation with the respondent, whether it’s a lead, a client, an employee, or someone looking for information.

You’re now in a situation where you have the information about the respondent in one hand, and a bucket of content you could provide in the other. How do you connect your respondent to the right feedback?

You want to make sure that your audience sees the value in the product or service you offer, preferably without long, complex funnels that are time-consuming and keep the respondent waiting, but with the ease of an all-in-one tool. That’s where an automatic PDF generator comes in!

What’s an automatic PDF generator?

A PDF generator converts data from a source, such as a database or a spreadsheet, and uses it to create a PDF report. In this case, the PDF generator will use a respondent’s answers and use that input to build a personalized PDF report.

Let’s see how that works.

Questionnaires that return personalized content

The “asking” part can be covered by a questionnaire, assessment, or quiz. They are among the most successful interactive content and manage to generate twice as many conversions than static content (such as blog articles or standard forms).

Assessments (which can be anything from an HR or management-assessment to a marketing quiz or calculator) allow you to add personalized, extra value in a simple setup:

  1. A person answers a “smart” assessment (which asks automatic follow-up questions based on previously given answers).
  2. The assessment calculates what predefined category fits the respondent best.
  3. The outcome/result of the questionnaire is created for that segment, making the report highly relevant and personal.
 

Take a car dealership, for example. A good car sales rep will not push you toward the most expensive car. Instead, they’ll start by asking a few questions about what you’re looking for, your budget, your preferences, etc. Based on your answers, he’ll suggest a car that fits your needs. The same thing happens here, but online, instantly and automatically.

Try this management assessment example to see how it works:

Add even more value with a personalized report

Assessments are a great start.
But there is more you can give in return to increase the value of your content.

The cool thing about these questionnaires is that you can set up an automatic PDF generator that sends additional, personalized content in the shape of a report to the respondent, based on the answers they gave. A personalized assessment report with recommendations that feels as if a consultant wrote it especially for the respondent, which increases the value perception of the content.

360 Assessment example

Immediately on the end screen or via email

Sending a report via email allows you to start up a conversation afterward, where you can discuss aspects of the report. But if you want to offer the respondent value immediately, you can add a download button on the final screen of your assessment.

Assessments and reporting: a fit for any business or industry

Resologics, a consulting business, used an assessment with a PDF report to market their business.

The assessment called the “Cost of Conflict Calculator” offers, in just a few questions, a dollar figure of what it costs to have conflict in their team.  It calculates the cost in the background and compares that to industry standards. Read the full Resologics case study here.

What makes automatically generated PDF reports and assessments a winning combination?

Your audience (and consumers in general) highly value being acknowledged as an individual. They have increasingly come to expect a personalized customer experience. Personalization is one-to-one marketing in the truest sense — one brand speaking directly to one customer.

In short, the assessment uses customer information to highlight specific services, offers, or highly relevant insights in a PDF report.

There are benefits for:

Your audience: the assessment taker
  • Respondents take assessments to reaffirm an idea they already had or point out the best solution to their problem.
  • Based on the first point, personalized advice through a PDF report generator increases that affirmation with additional content, adding extra value. 
  • PDF generated reports that are automatically personalized filter out unnecessary information.

For example, if you offer 100 marketing tips, that’s great! But I’m only interested in the five tips that apply to me and my business. Based on the marketing assessment I took, I could receive an automatic PDF report with information customized to my needs.

You: the assessment maker
  • There’s no need to set up complicated constructions or technical integrations. Just one tool, Pointerpro, allows you to create an interactive questionnaire that generates personal reports for your respondents.
  • Generate PDF files with flexible content. There’s no reason to limit yourself to solid text, build a document with graphs, variable blocks of text, images, calculations, etc.
  • Easily implement in whatever format works best for you. Just start from your existing content and repurpose it in the way that suits you best. Build a lead generation quiz, a price proposal calculator, a self-assessment, etc.
  • Easy to adapt to any audience or market, for example:
    • HR assessment reports can provide an overview of results and recommendations revolving around a candidate or an employee.
    • Marketing assessment reports provide business advice tailored to the client. There’s even the possibility to send a customized price proposal within the report, all based on the client’s answers.

Bear in mind, today, more than ever, customers expect companies anticipate their needs and make relevant suggestions before making personal contact.

Create your
own assessment
for free!

Create your
own assessment
for free!

About the author:
Nigel Lindemann

Nigel Lindemann

Nigel is responsible for all things marketing & communication-related. He has a soft spot for original marketing campaigns as well as great food. On weekends, he likes to ride his bike for hours on end for no specific reason.

8 Responses

  1. Hi Sofie, a super article you have here: please keep writing this particular way, it becomes so easy to apply.

    Combining assessments and PDF reports: very powerful indeed.
    I have taken the assessment and sent it to myself. I will certainly look deeper into the model you send us, it has great potential and not only for sales and HR.

    And if I do have questions, I will ask on my platform,
    Thank you.

    Benoit

    1. Hey Benoit,
      Thanks for your comment!
      You’re right, the options can go much further than sales and HR, whatever your business needs you can build. 😉
      Good luck!
      — Sofie

    1. Hey JM! Since it’s brand new, it hasn’t found a spot in any plan just yet. We’re currently helping out customers with a personalized pricing based on their needs. Happy to get in touch with you if you’d like more information about it. — Sofie

  2. Hi Sofie, I just read JM’s comment. I would also like to know the pricing based on a minimum need to start with. I am on the Pro plan. Thank you.

    1. Hey Benoit, you got it! An email with more information will land in your mailbox shortly 😉

  3. Hey Sofie, Interesting article! Just wondering if its also possible to create group or team pdf reports based on multiple participants survey responses collated together to provide a group overview if that makes sense?

    1. Hi Andrew,

      Thank you for reaching out. That’s actually a great question.
      We’ve seen you contacted us via email as well. Let’s discuss it further that way.

      Kind regards,
      Nigel

Comments are closed.

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