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Problem Solving

Clarifying the ‘5 Whys’ Problem-Solving Method

By Lean Enterprise Institute

July 19, 2018

This brief animation offers a detailed explanation of one way to discover a problem's root cause.

To help lean thinkers apply this powerful approach to overcoming  work  obstacles, LEI Senior Advisor John Shook guides lean thinkers through a detailed example from Taiichi Ohno’s  Toyota Production System : Beyond Large-Scale Production . Find a transcript below.

Let’s take a look at the problem-solving method known as the “ five whys ” or also “causal chains.” Let’s take a look first of all at how that relates to the problem-solving funnel as a frame where we began with a high-level problem—it might be something vague that we don’t fully understand, but it’s the problem coming at us on a day-to-day, moment-to-moment basis. 

What we want to do is break the problem down to understand it, get some data, get some facts, and look for patterns. And from there, that means understanding the work, which is certainly a primary characteristic of lean problem-solving, which is to go and deeply observe and understand the work. From there, we can identify a point of occurrence, sometimes called the direct cause and also can be thought of as a problem on its own.

Now we can do the fun part, which is to start asking the five whys. We can put on our investigative hats and ask why, why, why is this occurring? That will lead us to a root cause regarding which we can attach a countermeasure. 

To look at this part of the problem-solving process , the five whys or a causal chain, let’s look at the famous example from Taiichi Ohno of Toyota and the one he used starting in the 1950s of a machine breaking down. 

The problem that he saw as the machine shop manager is that machines would often break down, and his people would often just attach a Band-Aid. They would only stop it at the first level of cause, meaning that the problems would recur; they would come back. So, he trained himself and his people then always to ask the five whys, sometimes three, sometimes eight, the point being to follow the causal chain all the way down to a root cause.

In this example, he looked at a machine that had stopped working and identified with the first why that it had blown a fuse in the control box because it was overloaded. The overload caused the fuse to blow. But, he didn’t stop there and asked why again, and recognized that insufficient lubrication was getting to the bearing. So, the bearing, therefore, was causing the overload on the machine. 

Not stopping there, he went to the next cause and, asking why, found that the pump was not drawing lubricant. So, the lubricant, then, would not be sent to the bearing.

Still not stopping there. Why, again, was the pump not drawing lubricant? Because the shaft was worn, causing it to rattle and not function properly. 

Now, another why there led him to a root cause, which was that there was no strainer, which allowed metal chips to enter and damage the pump. So, with the damaged shaft, that would mean the pump wasn’t drawing lubricant, so that there wasn’t enough lubrication going to the bearing, which overloaded the machine and blew a fuse, which stopped the machine from working.

So, he’s got a five-why causal chain going down to the root, and you can check that with the “therefore chain” going up as well. 

Now he knows if he applies a countermeasure here, which is to make sure there’s a strainer, then the problem will be solved so that it doesn’t come back.

So, this is what you can accomplish with a fairly simple way of thinking so that we’re not just putting Band-Aids on symptoms—that we’re solving problems at the root cause. 

Good luck with your problem-solving attempts.

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The Funnel Technique in Qualitative User Research

July 24, 2022 2022-07-24

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The funnel technique has been around since qualitative interviews emerged as a research method. This technique involves asking broad  open-ended questions  before gradually introducing more narrowly-scoped open-ended questions, as well as  closed questions . 

In This Article:

Why is it called the funnel technique, the funnel technique in user interviews, the funnel technique in qualitative usability tests.

This idea of  starting broad before getting more specific  is valuable in other types of studies besides user interviews. This technique can help you organize:

• Interview questions
• Followup questions
• Usability tasks
• Research in a multimethod study

This article discusses how the funnel technique can be used in  user interviews  and in  moderated usability tests . 

A funnel is broad at the top and narrow at the bottom, which makes it easy to pour a substance (for example, oil or rice) into a container with a narrow opening (for example, a bottle or jar). 

Similarly, the funnel technique in user research involves moving from broad to narrow — in other words, from general to specific. The funnel is a fitting metaphor because a user interview or usability-test session should start with broad, exploratory questions or tasks before introducing specific, narrowly scoped questions or tasks. 

The purpose of the funnel technique is to avoid influencing user behavior or perceptions as much as possible. When we ask specific questions or give specific tasks too early in a research session, we risk introducing bias and missing important data.

An  interview guide  for a user interview will usually consist of 5–8  open-ended questions  that get participants to share relevant stories or experiences. These are followed by followup questions, which can be open-ended or closed.

An interview should start with broad, open-ended questions like  Tell me about the last time you ordered movie tickets .

Starting with broad open-ended questions:

• Gets the participant comfortable with talking
• Allows the participant to begin sharing stories
• Generates lots of new, unanticipated information
• Avoids the researcher  priming  the participant

After the participant responds, the interviewer should ask open-ended followup questions (known as  probing questions ) to dig into areas of the participant’s response that the researcher wants to learn more about. These include questions like:

• Can you expand on that?
• What do you mean by that?
• How do you feel about that?
• Why do you think that?

The interviewer may also want to gather additional information and details that the participant omitted, by introducing closed questions, such as: 

• When did you see this movie?
• Did you go alone?
• How long was the movie?

For each main question prepared in the interview guide,  the interviewer is moving from broad open-ended questions to closed questions . With each new question in the guide, the funneling process repeats.

When we make use of the funnel technique, we allow space for us to  learn new things before gathering detail.  This approach to interviewing is the best way to build rapport and learn what users really think without priming them.

In qualitative usability testing, funneling can be used in: 

• Creating and ordering tasks
• Devising the sequence of followup questions after a participant completes a task

Funneling Tasks

The same process of moving from broad to specific can apply to constructing and ordering tasks for a qualitative usability test. Broad exploratory tasks — which allow us to learn how people do things on their own — should be given before specific, directed tasks that ask users to find or do something that they might not otherwise do.

Another metaphor for the funnel technique is a mouse in a maze. Imagine a researcher in a lab wants to see if a mouse can find a piece of cheese in a large maze. They might start off by giving the mouse the entire maze and seeing whether it finds the cheese. After some time, if the mouse hasn’t arrived at the cheese, they could slowly start closing off incorrect pathways, increasing the chances that the mouse will find the cheese.

In this metaphor, the mouse is the participant, and the cheese is the aspect of the design that we’re interested in studying. It’s better to first see if our participants get there on their own, but we might have to nudge them a bit.

If we started with task 3, and moved in the reverse order, we would prime participants on how to behave in task 1 and task 2. It’s likely that we would miss out on learning how they would do things on their own without prompting. Funneling tasks, by starting with broad exploratory tasks before introducing directed tasks, ensures you get valid data about behavior.

The funnel technique is the idea behind  stepped tasks . Stepped tasks are multistep tasks that start broad and then provide more specific instructions as necessary. 

For example, let’s imagine that we’re interested in studying the  comparison feature  on an ecommerce site. 

If we get to Task 4.2 in the stepped task example above, we might conclude that there are some discoverability or desirability issues with the feature. However, providing this level of specificity would allow us to make those conclusions while also getting a chance to see if there are any interaction-design problems with the feature itself.

Funneling in Followup Questions

In  qualitative usability tests , the facilitator will make use of the funnel technique when asking followup questions. For example, we might ask the following questions after the participant has finished a task:

In the above example, we are starting with broad, open-ended questions before narrowing the scope to specific, open-ended questions that relate to a UI element that we want more feedback on. 

We shouldn’t start with Question 3 and move in the reverse direction, because it’s always better if participants volunteer information unprompted. We’re hoping the participant will organically provide feedback without our specific direction, because unsolicited feedback is more likely to be the participant’s true opinion. Asking participants for feedback on specific elements can be risky — there’s always a chance that the participant will simply make up an opinion for the researcher. For example, if the participant said the filters were really helpful in response to question 1, we can be more confident that they really think so than if they gave us a similar response to question 3.

The funnel technique can be used when administering questions or tasks in user interviews or usability tests. Start with broad open-ended questions or tasks before introducing more specific questions or tasks. This approach helps to ensure that you don’t miss out on important information and you avoid prompting or priming participants too early.

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How to Use Funnel Questions – With Examples

A funnel question is a type of questioning technique used to guide a conversation from broad, general inquiries to more specific, detailed ones.

This method helps to gradually narrow down the scope of the discussion, allowing the questioner to gain a clearer and more precise understanding of the issue or topic.

What is The Funnel Effect?

“The Funnel Effect” involves creating a questioning funnel by asking open, probing and closed questions – in that order. The diagram below highlights this.

• Open questions require detailed answers. They cannot be answered with a “yes” or “no”. Asking these questions helps to gather information from the get-go. Sometimes, the open question “How may I help you?” is all an advisor needs to ask before probing.
• Probing questions allow advisors to home in on crucial bits of information gathered after asking open questions. They also help uncover grey areas within a customer’s account of events, understand the impact and clarify preferred outcomes.
• Closed questions help take control of a conversation once the advisor has all the information they need. Restricting customer responses to “yes” or “no”, these questions are also great for confirming details within the answers to open and probing questions.

After finishing on a closed question, advisors can press ahead and focus on finding a solution.

Within many contact centres, going through this process is known as putting a query “through the funnel”.

Examples of Funnel Questions

To further highlight the difference between each type of question, here are some examples of funnel questions.

• “How can I help you?” – Open Question
• “When did the situation start?” – Probing Question
• “… is that right?” – Closed Question
• “What are you looking for?” – Open Question
• “Has this happened before?”  – Probing Question
• “Do you agree?” – Closed Question
• “Which product features are most important to you?” – Open Question
• “What difficulties did you face when you tried to…?” – Probing Question
• “Have you already tried to…?” – Closed Question
• “What is preventing you from…?” – Open Question
• “Could you describe what it sounds / looks like?” – Probing Question
• “Would you like to find out more about product X?” – Closed Question
• “Could you tell me what you see on your screen?” – Open Question
• “So I fully understand, could you give me an example of what you mean by…?” – Probing Question
• “Are you interested in buying something too?” – Closed Question

Using these questions within the filter helps to deal with challenging calls . During simpler transactional calls, advisors may take the lead. To do so, they can ask more closed questions and apply techniques like signposting to provide a more effortless customer service experience.

However, in a world where self-service and automation is eating up all of these easier calls, advisors must become more skilful at questioning. The Funnel Effect is, therefore, an excellent string to the modern advisor’s bow.

Printable – Examples of Funnel Questions for Customer Service

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Funnel Question Examples in Customer Conversations

Here are three examples of contact centre conversations in which the advisor uses the Funnel Effect to troubleshoot and move the call towards a solution.

The Faulty Return

After beginning the call with an open question, the advisor uses two probing questions. However, they bridge between the questions by using empathy statements such as:

• “That’s not good. I’m sorry to hear you’ve tried everything, and it’s not working…”
• “I can imagine that’s frustrating…”

Doing so helps to build rapport with customers , and it also helps to avoid overwhelming customers with question after question.

Interestingly, the closed question also attempts to pre-empt a future contact. If the customer begins the returns process before realizing that they must wipe data from their laptop, they may call again. Asking the simple question could prove valuable in simplifying service.

The Faulty Fix

From the customer’s first response, the advisor can narrow down the cause of the issue to one of two options:

• The customer is overfilling their washing machine
• The washing machine needs a rest.

The advisor then probes to discover which is at play. Upon learning that the issue is not due to a customer mistake, the advisor begins using positive words to build rapport.

“Excellent”, “great”, “good”, “best”, and “fabulous” are used, helping to generate enthusiasm around the solution of a maintenance wash.

Finally, the advisor twice demonstrates their expertise while bridging their questions. They tell the customer:

• Many people overfill their washing machines, causing this issue.
• It’s a straightforward process. The key things to remember are…

Doing so reassures the customer, so they feel as though they are in good hands.

The Moving Customer

[CONVERSATION CONTINUES]

To answer the query, the advisor must find out more. They do so with a probing question, which helps to uncover where the customer is moving.

It is then simple enough for the advisor to provide a sufficient answer. Yet they again pre-empt a future query with a final closed question. That query would have been: “How do I change the address on my policy?”

Not only that, but they also influence the future channel choice of the customer, relieving future strain on the contact centre.

Predicting future customer behaviours like this and coaching advisors to influence them is a progressive contact centre strategy that can increase efficiency .

How to Ask Good Probing Questions

Rea Alducente

“Probing is the art of delving deeper into what caused the issue. Asking probing questions ensures that you find the underlying cause of the issue,” says Rea Alducente , a popular industry vlogger otherwise known as Rea Ninja.

After finding the root cause of an issue, advisors may work towards an appropriate solution. But it is not always as easy as in the examples above. Sometimes customers are not sure of themselves. Other times advisors will have never before come across the issue.

Advisors must, therefore, work on their probing skills, which include active listening , self-awareness and patience. Keeping an open mind is critical, as assumptions are often the enemy.

Skilled in each of these areas, advisors will naturally ask great probing questions. Until they reach that point, however, asking TED questions are often a good hack. TED stands for:

• T ell me – e.g. Tell me, what happened when you…?
• E xplain to me – e.g. Explain to me how it looks?
• D escribe – e.g. Describe what you were doing when you first noticed the issue?

By adding these prefixes to their questions, advisors will automatically probe customers, encouraging them to share specifics.

Just try to mix it up. Avoid always saying “Tell me…” and remember to use common courtesies – such as “please” and “thank you” – to maintain a friendly tone.

Interested in learning more probing questions to add value to your contact centre conversations? Here is an excellent list of examples: 17 Probing Questions to Improve Your Customer Service

Accompany Questions With the Right Attitude

To ask great questions, advisors must want to like and help the customer. Asking advisors to be wary of the “Halo and Horn Effect” encourages this positive mindset.

The Halo Effect

When the customer brings out the best in an advisor, they begin to build a good rapport. The advisor then takes on a figurative halo.

The Horn Effect

When the customer has their back up against the wall, making them feel defensive, advisors often feel an urge to provide worse service. Unwilling to support the customer, they assume a figurative horn.

Yet it’s not only when dealing with angry customers that advisors experience “The Horn Effect”. As Carolyn Blunt , a customer service specialist, once told us: “If you have customers who ring time and time again, draining your energy, your eyes start to roll… Here we go again.”

Such a negative mindset sticks with advisors as they move from one call to another. Even with pleasant customers, the advisor feels bitter from the previous call, infecting their call handling skills.

However, if they remain aware of the Horn vs. Halo Effect, advisors can better recognize their emotions and ensure they do not impact their customer service approach.

After all, mindsets are vital. Advisors must be willing to ask the best questions to ensure that the Funnel Effect elicits the right results.

Final Thoughts

The Funnel Effect is a questioning technique that allows advisors to follow a tried-and-tested process when finding root causes to tricky customer queries.

Use open questions to gather information, probing funnel questions to focus on the vital details and closing questions to confirm and proceed. With such a structure, advisors feel confident in taking on difficult contacts.

Having such confidence is great because mindsets matter. A confident advisor – who avoids the dangers of the Horn Effect – is likely to deliver superb customer service. With great people, processes and technologies surrounding them, advisors can create exceptional service experiences.

This article was written by Charlie Mitchell Discover more questioning techniques to bolster customer service in our articles:

• 10 Effective Questioning Techniques for Customer Service
• The Art of Conversation in Customer Service
• Call Control Techniques: Controlling a Runaway Talker on the Telephone

Author: Charlie Mitchell Reviewed by: Robyn Coppell

Published On: 30th Mar 2022 - Last modified: 21st Aug 2024 Read more about - Skills , Carolyn Blunt , Charlie Mitchell , Customer Service , Downloads , Editor's Picks , Printable , Questioning Techniques , Rea Alducente

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Effective Questioning

Last updated on 20th April 2023

Effective questioning is a technique that is mostly used in the classroom or a learning environment to open up conversation and debate and promote interaction within the group of students.

Thought and analysis begins by using questions which focus on ‘how’ and ‘why’ rather than ‘what’ which tends to encourage a fact-based delivery. Review and analysis are developed by using effective questioning to encourage students or participants to debate their own thinking and response and evaluate that of their peers or colleagues.

Effective questioning is one of the types of questioning that has numerous benefits:

• Students think out loud.
• Students engage with one another in response to vocalised thoughts.
• Active discussion is promoted.
• Speaking and listening skills are improved.
• Effective questioning develops critical thinking.
• Effective questioning develops respect for opposing viewpoints.
• A topic can be brought to life with interest and colour.
• A teacher can check and monitor the understanding of the group.

What is a probing question?

A probing question is designed to delve deeply into a topic or subject. Probing questions are designed to access subjective viewpoints, so taking the debate on to the next level and into the area of personal thoughts and feelings. Probing questions can develop a topic and everyone will have something to contribute.

Probing questions do not usually elicit a fact-based answer but are more likely to bring forth an opinion which is totally unique to the responder’s feelings and personal experiences. On a one-to-one basis, this can provide valuable insight and information, and within a group situation it can open up the debate with often quite varying opinions and contributions which naturally drive forward the discussion.

What is an open question?

Open questions are used extensively in a classroom-based setting for students of all ages. An open question digs deeper into students’ understanding and requires reflection and evaluation over facts or scenarios. Open questions encourage debate and require meaningful input from the audience or participants, so they are a good way to engage students who may be otherwise disengaged or disinterested.

An example of an open question surrounding a piece of literature or a poem might be, “What do you think the writer is trying to achieve in the last verse/chapter?”

Open questions enrich the learning experience by inviting valid participation from every student in the room. Open questions recognise and value individuality. Open questions also allow the teacher or tutor to evaluate how much the students understand the subject.

What is an closed question?

A closed question is characterised by either a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer or a very short and limited reply. Some examples might include, “Are you feeling good today?” or “How many wives did Henry VIII have?” or “What day is it today?”

Closed questions perform a different function to open questions; they are a great tool for fact checking after previous sessions or revising detail before a test or exam. However, because the answer to a closed question is inevitably correct or incorrect, it can discourage shy pupils or participants and reward confident students even if their answer is wrong.

Closed questions are by definition limited and do not encourage debate or expansive thinking, but closed questions can have a value in establishing fact and paving the way for different types of questions later on.

What is a TED question?

‘TED’ stands for ‘Tell, Explain, Describe’ and this technique is often used in conjunction with a probing question.

Some examples might include:

• Tell me the impact this accident has had on your daily life.
• Explain to me how hard it was to go back to work after the lockdown restrictions were lifted.
• Describe to me how you feel about your life at this moment in time.

TED questions have a relevance beyond the classroom and are used in mentoring scenarios and as part of coaching techniques, counselling sessions, improving customer service in a business environment and even to help with writing victim impact statements in a court case.

TED questions prompt the recipient to slant the answer in a certain way so it is directive, but it is not as influential as a leading question which can often prompt or encourage the answer that the questioner wants to hear. This is why leading questions are not allowed in a court case; the duty of the questioning barrister is to probe and draw out information not to slant the answer or ‘lead the witness’ to his own advantage.

What is a funnel question?

Funnel questions – the clue is in the name! Funnel questions start from a particular point and either broaden or narrow the debate by using a set of question sequences or types of question. The conversation may be narrowed by using closed questions or widened by using open-ended questions.

Funnel questions are important because they form part of a directional questioning strategy and they change based on the answer to the preceding question. Funnel questions can add value to a number of different types of scenario, and here is how:

• Obtaining a high level of detail – The progression of questions can harvest specific information and increase the level of detail with each answer, layer upon layer.
• Making a person feel more comfortable – Funnel questions can break the ice and make the atmosphere more welcoming and relaxed. Starting with simple questions like a person’s name, questioning can develop which draws out that person so they feel more relaxed – this is a popular technique at the beginning of an interview or in a counselling session where people can be tense or nervous.
• To calm a tense atmosphere – Funnel questions can provide the questioner with more detail about a person and why there appears to be a problem situation. Funnel questions set the scene and help the interviewer or questioner understand what has happened before moving forward into more detail and possible solutions to the problem. Funnel questions can portray the questioner as receptive to that person’s concerns.

Funnel questions usually start with open questions which could involve describing a situation or event. The idea is to bring forth a detailed answer following which the questioner can ask for more detail or clarification based on the initial response. This may involve more open-ended questions and then the questioner can begin to narrow the funnel and chase down the detail by asking probing questions or more closed questions. This technique can elicit all the information that is required about the issue.

The alternative is to create a funnel in reverse by starting with more closed questions, and then expanding the process through to open-ended followed by probing questions. This can work well in a situation where the questioner or interviewer needs to obtain objective information first such as a police interview or a conflict in the workplace . Once the facts have been obtained, more subjective information can be gathered including opinions and points of view using open-ended questions.

What is the effect of rhetorical questions?

Rhetorical questions are ones that do not expect an answer.

Here are a couple of clear examples of rhetorical questions:

• What time do you call this then?
• Do we want our planet to survive?

The intended effect of rhetorical questions is to make a point. So in the first scenario, this person clearly doesn’t want an answer, they are just making the point that the arrival is very late. With the second question, of course, no-one is going to answer that in the negative because everyone wants the planet to survive; the question is there to stimulate how people think about the environment and their own involvement in eco-friendly behaviours. This rhetorical question is a challenge and provocative.

Rhetorical questions are a popular technique in the written context as effectively there is no-one there to answer the question, which is designed to speak directly to the reader. The question is a literary device to prompt the reader to think, to spike interest and encourage the reader to mull over their own response or feelings towards something in the text or story.

In a real-life context, a rhetorical question is often used in a lecture or a presentation to create the same effect; the audience is present but silent and listening – the questioner is not looking for an answer but wants to encourage each individual to reflect upon their own response. In this sense a rhetorical question is more powerful than simply making a statement. Rhetorical questions can be subtle in their effect or directly provocative, so they are a powerful tool.

How to ask effective interview questions

Asking the right types of questions at an interview can make the difference between hiring the right candidate or not. Good interview questions can play a huge role in separating out the applicants and isolating the most suitable person for the role; poor questioning will not always produce a good outcome and make it harder to evaluate the candidates objectively, leading to subjective decision-making.

The best way to create an effective set of interview questions is to start by identifying the qualities, talents and skills that the ideal employee would have. Then devise a set of questions which allow candidates to demonstrate whether they have the right qualities, talents and skills with a scoring process to evaluate different answers.

The list could contain many questions, so highlight the most important and attach a score or value to each question so the candidate can then receive a mark out of ten for their quality of response. Attaching higher values to the more important questions will also help filter out different applicants.

Using scenario-based or occasion-based questions which invite the applicant to tell the interviewer about when they were able to demonstrate a particular talent, attribute or skill, is the easiest way to make an evaluation.

Compare this with asking a closed question like, “Are you resourceful?” or “Are you a team player?” which elicits a one-word answer and gives the interviewer little opportunity to evaluate that person any further unless they continue on to more probing questions. These types of questions make the process of selection more fact-based and less subjective; decision-making is based on the quality of the answer and the score.

Interview questions should always be determined before the interview day. They may need approval by a Human Resources department – in large companies, HR usually prescribe the questions they want used – or agreement within the interviewing panel. Different types of questions can be a huge resource in a job interview and well thought out and well written questions will almost always yield the right applicant if the interview panel follow the system and value that the candidates will give the strongest responses.

How to answer interview questions effectively

For the candidate, the most important thing is to answer the question directly by linking their reply to the actual question; the connection must be clear and obvious and the answer must be relatable.

Answering interview questions effectively can mean the difference between success and failure. Many interviewers will use scenario-based questions such as, “Tell us about a time when you showed leadership skills” or “Give some examples of when you used your own initiative to solve a problem”. Responses can be drawn from previous experience in the workplace or other situations within a voluntary capacity or from hobbies or personal pursuits.

Pausing to consider an answer is perfectly normal as long as this doesn’t develop into an uncomfortable silence. Always direct your answer to the person who asked the question and make eye contact. If there is a panel of interviewers then usually they will each ask a question in turn, so the candidate can address each individual questioner.

There is plenty of preparation an interviewee can do before an interview, with lots of online tools and guidance to help provide information and test questions to assist in refining answers so they are well prepared and thought out. Practice makes perfect, so mock interview sessions with friends, family members or work colleagues can assist in honing technique and make interview questions less daunting and easier to answer.

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Evie has worked at CPD Online College since August 2021. She is currently doing an apprenticeship in Level 3 Business Administration. Evie's main roles are to upload blog articles and courses to the website. Outside of work, Evie loves horse riding and spending time with her family.

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What Is Funnel Analysis? Definition, Examples, and Tools

Use funnel analysis to identify key events along the customer journey and improve metrics like acquisition and conversion.

Not all prospects will become customers, and not all customers will immediately find the value of your product. Funnel analysis can help you pinpoint key events along the customer journey so you can conduct tests, improve the user experience, and increase conversions.

What Is Funnel Analysis?

Funnel analysis is a method used to analyze the sequence of events leading up to a point of conversion. Events within the funnel take place inside products, mobile apps, websites, emails, or other digital touchpoints. Funnel analysis lets product and marketing managers understand user behaviors and the obstacles encountered throughout the customer journey.

As users travel this digital path, they will probably encounter experiences that prevent them from reaching the desired outcome. You can improve the points of friction to encourage users to travel further down the funnel by zooming in on each step.

According to TechCrunch , “From leads all the way through to engagement, conversion and retention, understanding each step and making even small optimizations at any stage will have down-funnel implications.”

As an example, let’s say you’re trying to convert free trial prospects into paid subscribers. Your funnel might look like this:

• Step 1: Prospects open an email and discover an offer for a free trial.
• Step 2: They click on a CTA button to redeem the free trial.
• Step 3: Prospects create an account and use your product for free.
• Step 4: Prospects convert to paid customers after the free trial expires.

Many distractions or barriers can happen in between each of these steps, and there are likely patterns of behavior that can tip you off to what’s working and what’s not. Perhaps prospects are dropping off at step 3 because of a multi-device activation required to create an account?

Maybe you discover that if you can usher prospects past step 3, you have a stronger chance of conversion. Without funnel analysis, you’ll miss these opportunities to delight customers and drive business outcomes.

• Funnel analysis is a method used to visualize, measure, and understand key user behaviors throughout the customer journey.
• As customer habits and patterns shift, you’ll need to be able to monitor those differences ASAP. Funnel analysis alerts you when something isn’t right, so you can keep users on their path to conversion.
• Funnel analysis is nearly indiTakeawaysspensable when it comes to product improvement, personalization, and creating smooth customer journeys.

The Importance and Benefits of Funnel Analysis for Your Product

At its core, funnel analysis is important because it allows you to monitor user actions and behaviors. This is critical because those behaviors reveal the intention and motivation of your customers.

Funnels are not just used in sales or marketing to create prospects, they are also important for customer retention . Once you know what your customers want, you can inject that value into each step of the customer journey.

Although every business has unique goals, funnel analysis can be used to:

• Improve conversion. Conversion funnel analysis can support a lot of outcomes or specific goals. The final step for a user might be clicking a “Sign Up” button or downloading a PDF. Funnel analysis enables you to find out what’s preventing users from reaching the end destination. Each stage of the funnel poses opportunities for a smoother, more personalized journey to the end of the funnel.
• Streamline the funnel . Your company probably supports multiple points of digital interaction , such as websites, mobile apps, email, or dashboards. Each one has a funnel of its own, but together, they represent one overall customer journey funnel Funnel analysis can provide a macro perspective on how each of those funnels links together.
• Merge marketing and product teams . Oftentimes, marketing teams are focused on converting prospects into customers, while product teams are primarily focused on retaining those customers. Funnel analysis presents an opportunity for both teams to cross-pollinate data and insights. If prospects respond positively to a certain aspect of the marketing funnel, they may stick around if they find that same value in the product funnel.

4 Ways to Use Funnel Analytics

Funnel analytics presents many different ways to extract insights from the data you collect. How you interpret funnel data and leverage it to achieve goals is native to your business and industry.

• Conversion: This is the default mode of analyzing your funnel. It measures the number of users who have converted through each step of your funnel. Depending on the platform, this data can be visualized through a chart or bar graph. The results of this method should immediately alert you if there’s a problem. If there’s a severe drop-off of users during one step of the funnel, you’ll know where to center your efforts.

• Conversion over time: Conversion over time lets you see conversion rates for users who enter the funnel on a certain date. Users don’t necessarily have to complete the funnel to appear in your analysis. This is useful when it comes to understanding how your funnel operates through different times of the year, like holidays or special events.

• Time to convert: An important factor in analyzing a funnel is time. How long should it take for each user to click through each step? These user tendencies can confirm that your funnel sequence is operating as designed. For instance, someone shopping on a quick-service restaurant app should convert faster than someone shopping on a tax service app. By breaking conversion down by hours, days, weeks, and months, you can alter the flow of your funnel in a way that’s meaningful to your business.

• Frequency: How many times do users perform an action or behavior before they move on to the next step in the funnel? By measuring frequency, you can see exactly what your users are doing (and how often) throughout the funnel. Understanding the frequency of events can help you make changes to specific funnel steps to encourage higher conversion.

Oftentimes, problems in your funnel need to be approached from a unique angle or perspective. Funnel analytics provides a launchpad to start asking the right questions . Once you’re familiar with basic analysis methods, you can find innovative ways to overcome challenges.

Tools for Conducting Funnel Analysis

Analytics platforms are nearly indispensable for businesses that offer digital products and services. Without the right tech stack, it becomes extremely challenging to measure and improve things like conversion.

Amplitude’s Digital Analytics Platform offers a unified suite of products that gives you an in-depth understanding of how customers experience all of your digital touchpoints. Amplitude’s funnel analysis product is built for websites and products, giving a more holistic perspective on data.

Any event or user behavior can be measured and tracked, not just page views or sessions. When conducting funnel analysis in Amplitude, you can order the events of your funnel, segment behavioral cohorts, and set specific conversion windows.

To meet the needs of companies across every industry, Amplitude’s funnel analysis chart is flexible and customizable, making it an ideal option for multiple teams or stakeholders. Easily leave notes for teammates or quickly share a link to a funnel view.

Real-World Examples of Funnel Analytics

Many companies are taking advantage of funnel analysis because understanding the customer journey is critical to building successful products . The power of funnel analysis comes from its utility—although it’s only one tool, it can be used to solve a host of various challenges. Below are two funnel analysis examples, so you can have a better idea of what’s possible.

Patreon Increases Subscriber Conversions with Funnel Analysis

Patreon provides creators, artists, and entrepreneurs with the opportunity to earn a living through donations. Users can “pledge” donations to creators on Patreon’s platform, and when creators win, Patreon wins. Patreon faced a conversion challenge—they needed to find new ways to incentivize monthly subscriptions to creator content.

Patreon discovered an opportunity to improve the pledge flow funnel through Amplitude’s funnel analysis chart. Patreon tested a new feature called “blurred posts” to encourage more users to click through the pledge flow. These blurred posts concealed a portion of creator content, enticing users to delve deeper into the pledge flow funnel and ultimately subscribe. The result? Patreon was able to double pledge conversions on creator pages.

Mindbody Uses Funnel Analysis to Drive Conversion with New Features

Mindbody is a digital application that connects customers with fitness experts. Users can book classes, track fitness progress, and find local deals. Using Amplitude’s funnel analysis tool, Mindbody tested a new app feature, the “Activity Dashboard,” to find out how it would influence the conversion rate of booked classes.

Mindbody created behavioral cohorts—groups of users categorized by behavior—to conduct their analysis. Cohorts were segmented into two groups: those who interacted with the Activity Dashboard and those who did not.

After comparing the two groups in the funnel analysis chart, they noticed a huge lift in conversions. The group that used the Activity Dashboard booked 24% more classes per week. Based on this success, Mindbody placed the new feature in the navigation bar to make it more noticeable.

• Build and Analyze a Funnel Analysis Chart Video , Amplitude
• Funnel Analysis and Its Use Cases Live Session , Amplitude
• In freemium marketing, product analytics are the difference between conversion and confusion , TechCrunch
• Don’t Throw Your Customers–And Your Business–Down The Funnel , Forbes
• Optimize Your Marketing Funnel With These Three Questions , Forbes
• Designing Customer Journeys for the Post-Pandemic World , Harvard Business Review

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Adopting a Funnel Strategy and Using Mind Mapping to Visualize the Research Design

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• Uche M. Mbanaso 4 ,
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This chapter explains the need to adopt a research strategy and illustrates the funnel strategy that enables the researcher to move from identifying the flaws, or defects or gaps that require attention to scoping the problem statement, finalizing the research proposal as a foundation for data collection and analysis and conducting the experiments or fieldwork, through to the point of analysis and thesis writing. It presents the funnel strategy as a roadmap that can be applied to completing the various phases of the research. The chapter demonstrates the application of mind mapping techniques (graphical representations of what to do and how to do it) to the identified research problem. It sets out a series of major activities as part of the mind mapping process. It presents a series of visuals, for example, artificial intelligence and robotics sub-topics.

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Mbanaso, U.M., Abrahams, L., Okafor, K.C. (2023). Adopting a Funnel Strategy and Using Mind Mapping to Visualize the Research Design. In: Research Techniques for Computer Science, Information Systems and Cybersecurity. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-30031-8_4

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"Funnel" Your Questions for Positive Results

By Steve Adubato, PhD

Asking questions is an art form. Some people are a lot better at it than others. The most effective professionals in sales, customer service or counseling, are those who truly understand how to ask questions.

One of the most effective questioning techniques is called the "funnel" approach. Picture what a funnel looks like--wide at the top and narrow at the bottom. The idea is to ask broad, very general questions at the beginning and continue to narrow the focus of your questions with greater specificity. Your goal is to draw out your audience, be it one or one hundred, in an effort to capture their true wants, hopes and needs.

Your first question(s) opens the door. You want to get the other person talking. Consider some general questions that achieve this goal:

• What do you like most about your work?
• What goals do you and your organization want to accomplish over the next six months?
• How do you see your personal and/or professional life changing over the next several years?

Then, the key is to truly listen to what is said and make sure the next questions you ask tap into what you've heard. Start narrowing the funnel. So, for example, if someone responds to the question regarding what they like most about their work; "I enjoy the challenges I face on a daily basis and the opportunity to take risks," a logical follow-up question would be, "That's great, George, but could you tell me of a recent challenge you've had in the last month or so?" or, "What's the biggest risk you've taken recently and how did it work out?"

Next you get even more specific. Now you are getting to the bottom of the funnel. "What was the reaction of those around you to how you took on the challenge?" or "When you took on that risk, what was your greatest fear or concern?" Then finally, at the bottom of the funnel, you might say; "What's the biggest lesson you've taken away from this?"

As you can see, the questions become more and more specific. Resist the urge to jump around to different topics or other lines of questioning that have nothing to do with the area you are attempting to explore. You can't have several funnels going on at the same time.

One of the biggest questioning mistakes people make is to ask questions without a game plan. They are all over the map. It is as if they think that magically they are going to unearth some crucial information from a customer with this haphazard technique. Well, it is not going to happen. Plus, you are wasting valuable time and turning people off.

The funnel approach of questioning is also extremely helpful in solving problems, identifying opportunities and resolving conflict. Consider this. If you are in a debate with someone, what do you accomplish by simply arguing the same point over and over again? Usually nothing. So, instead of making a point or arguing with someone, ask a question; "Jim, I want to understand this. If we do what you propose, what impact do you think it will have on our customers?" The goal is to get out of argument mode and move to a more productive dialogue with Jim. A probing question is a great way of switching gears. Then, once Jim responds, you can proceed with the funnel approach by asking a more specific question.

Simply put, questions are powerful, so how you ask them should be taken seriously. Try the funnel approach with some sticky issue or challenge at work or at home. Write back and tell me what happened.