Funnel analysis: the questions we get asked most

It is rarely the thing that gets a project approved, and often the thing that decides how it goes. The questions about funnel analysis that come up most often on our calls.

Data you do not trust is worse than no data, because it gets quoted anyway. It is worth deciding this deliberately rather than inheriting whatever the last person set up.

Do we need to care about this?

The biggest drop-off is the best place to work. The cost of getting this wrong is rarely visible on the day it happens. Most teams find the first pass takes an afternoon and the maintenance takes minutes a month.

Can it wait until after launch?

Occasionally. More often the post-launch version costs several times the pre-launch one. The reasoning matters more than the rule, because the rule has exceptions.

How do we know it is working?

A leaky funnel wastes every pound of ad spend. None of that requires a large budget, only a decision and someone to own it. It is worth deciding this deliberately rather than inheriting whatever the last person set up.

What this looks like day to day

Measurement is only useful when someone has agreed in advance what they would do differently. Three things worth confirming about funnel analysis before you move on:

• Someone can say what the current setup is without going to look
• The biggest drop-off is the best place to work — and you know whether that is true here
• There is a way to tell whether the last change to this helped

Pick the one that would hurt most if it failed, and start there.