What’s effective in the marketplace changes. However, elegant B2B questionnaires will always be an asset. When an Upwork client hired me for a B2B writing job, I promised to send over my B2B company bio questionnaire.
Commitment made, I proceeded to review my old Company Bio Questionnaire. Immediately, I could tell I needed to add better B2B specific questions. No problem. I like to stay current.
However, I also discovered one thing had disappeared—the content protection I’d placed on the questions. Ugh! Another one of those features that broke when I switched from using Word for Windows to Word for Mac.
Why is this such an irritant? If you’ve ever gotten a questionnaire back with missing questions and crazy formatting, you know why protection is useful. Most people aren’t experts at using Word’s features. They just use the essentials. It’s a fancy word processor, and that’s all they need. However, for some of us, it’s a flexible design tool for projects that don’t need the power (or price tag) behind Adobe’s Creative Cloud suite.*
Unfortunately, there are difference between Microsoft’s Mac and Windows versions. While you’d think Microsoft would have added the ‘Restrict Editing’ feature to the Mac version since I first used it on Windows in 2012, they haven’t. After combing the internet, I finally put in a support request. That’s when I learned there was one way to protect portions of a file. However, it’s cumbersome and frustrating. For that reason, I’m not going to discuss it. A waste of your time.
I thought, “There has to be a better way.” And there is. It’s found under the ‘Developer’ tab.
Use the Developer Tab for Protection.
There are many options, however for most questionnaires, you’ll only need three of them: Text Box, Check Box and Protect Form.
All you have to do is add a text box anywhere you need long-form information entered. The Check Box allows the option to select answers when you insert it. And the Protect Form button protects all your text when you click on it.
Simple! Now you can use all of Word’s design features to create an attractive questionnaire. Word expands automatically as the questionnaire is filled out. No character limits ever. Your most verbose customers will love it.
Use the Home Tab for Designing Elegant B2B Questionnaires.
To create truly elegant b2b questionnaires, you’ll want to learn how to use styles, if you don’t already. I’ve prepared a video to walk you through it.
If you like, go ahead and type in all your questions. By default, Word will use a style called ‘Normal.’
In the Home Tab, you’ll see the ‘Styles Pane’ icon. Click it to expand it. By default it opens in the ‘Recommended Styles’ mode. This usually has all the styles you need to see.
You may like the styles you see there. Feel free to use them. Just place your cursor anywhere in the line and click on the style.
However, Word’s built-in styles are everywhere, which means your questionnaire will look like you made it in Word unless you customize. If you want to get creative, check out the video.
The advantage of using styles to format your questionnaire is this. If you decide to change the look of a style, everything in your document that uses that style will update to match. This will save you hours of tedium if you’re like me. I really like things to look professional. Using styles makes it easier for me to get there.
* Adobe’s great for building editable forms. However, because text boxes don’t expand they aren’t practical for questionnaires.