Been digging into our app analytics lately. Trying to come up with questions that’ll lead to those ‘aha’ moments.
Standard metrics are fine, but I’m after those unexpected insights that can really move the needle.
What kind of open-ended questions have you all found most effective?
Look at what features users ignore. Might show what’s not working or what needs better onboarding. Sometimes the stuff people don’t use tells you more than what they do.
I like asking ‘What’s the most surprising user behavior we’ve seen?’ It often reveals unexpected use cases or pain points.
Another good one is ‘Where are users spending time that we didn’t anticipate?’ Sometimes the features you think are minor end up being key.
Ask where users get stuck and bail. That shows real problems to fix fast.
Focus on ‘why’ questions. They uncover motivations and pain points.
‘Why do users drop off at X step?’ reveals friction you didn’t see.
‘Why do power users love feature Y?’ shows what drives retention.
‘Why did this cohort outperform others?’ points to growth levers.
Combine these with data to find patterns. Look for outliers and dig into the reasons behind them. That’s where the gold is.
Don’t overthink it. Sometimes the simplest questions lead to the biggest insights.
Here’s one that’s helped me a ton: ‘What are users doing right before they convert?’
It’s crazy how often the path to conversion isn’t what you expect. On one app, we found a bunch of users were checking out competitor prices right before buying. Made us rethink our whole pricing page.
Another good one: ‘Where do our most valuable users come from originally?’ Tracked it back once and found a niche forum driving high-quality installs. Completely changed our ad strategy.
Last tip - look at your ‘zombie’ users. The ones who don’t quite churn but barely use the app. Understanding why they stick around can uncover hidden value you’re not tapping into.