Move More Leads Toward Conversion With Mixpanel Funnels

What if you could tell where in the conversion process the most leads drop off? Or view conversion actions of users that are on a specific platform? Or figure out how much time it takes the average user to convert?

All this and much more is possible when you create funnels using Mixpanel. 

A funnel is a series of steps (events) that a user takes that leads to a conversion. It’s a true analytics tool that delves deep into user behavior and can tell you how well your website or app is performing. With the Mixpanel platform you can build funnels and track how users move through the funnel with absolutely no analytics experience. 

The most common reason businesses use funnels is to figure out their conversion rate. Conversion rate is the number of users that complete a desired action divided by the number of total users. The total number of users will be entering at the top of the funnel (first step) and a smaller number of converted users will complete all the steps are at the bottom. Funnel analysis can also tell you where you lose users along the way and what’s preventing them from converting. 

Funnels are an amazing tool for gaining customer insights and boosting conversion rates. Every business would love to use them, but not everyone has the time, knowledge and resources to create programs capable of building funnels on their website or app.

That’s where Mixpanel comes in.

Imagine you have an exercise app that gives users the ability to log their workouts. You want to know how many people are downloading the app and creating accounts as well as more granular information, like what types of exercises are being logged. The granular information not only helps you build a more valuable product, it can tell you who fits into your target market. 

Setting up a funnel with the Mixpanel analytics platform to track these events can be done in minutes after pasting a code snippet on your website or mobile installation.

1. Define Trackable Events 

Before you can begin building funnels you’ll need to define trackable events. These events will show up in drop down lists for steps in the funnel.

2. Click the + Icon to Create a New Funnel

With one click you’re ready to start creating a new funnel.

3. Select Events for the Funnel Steps

The events of the funnel is the journey that you want the users to take. Events should be in a logical order with only the necessary steps needed for a conversion. The fewer the steps the better. For example, a funnel for the exercise app could be:

Sign up > View the Dashboard > Log an exercise

You can rearrange the order of events by simply dragging the event up or down the list of steps. The order of the events matters because if a user skips a step or doesn’t do them in order it won’t count as a conversion.

4. Add Properties to Focus the Events Data

The properties feature acts like a filter that lets you narrow the focus of the data. Properties can be based on the event or users. For example, you can narrow the results to only actions that happen on the Android platform.

5. Select a Timeframe and Date Range

The funnel will need to have a timeframe for completing all the steps and collecting data. It can be as short as a few seconds or months long. 

The date range defines the time for triggering the first step in the funnel. So, if the date range is September 1, 2019 – September 30, 2019 only users that start the first step in the month of September will be counted.

6. Establish Conversion Details

At the bottom of the funnel builder you can establish the conversion details. Choose to include unique visitors only, set a time range for the conversion window or hold a property constant across the funnel.

7. See Conversions From Every Angle

The Mixpanel platform gives you every conversion rate measurement imaginable. The completion rate of users who made it all the way through the funnel is just the start. You can get conversion rates for each funnel event, filter results with properties and narrow the data down to a specific date.

8. Run A/B Tests to Optimize the Funnel

Data is actionable when you have the Mixpanel platform. The whole point of a funnel is to figure out where and why you are losing leads then improve the process to increase your conversion rate. We help you do just that by giving you the ability to run A/B tests to know with certainty which changes have the biggest impact on conversions.

9. Create More Funnels

Mixpanel gives you the tools to create an array of funnels that run simultaneously. One-click duplication makes setting up more funnels even quicker than the first. You can also edit a funnel at any time. 

Funnels are not a generic thing. They need to be highly individualized because they are based on your unique goals. There are several ways Mixpanel lets you personalize funnels:

Funnels for Websites and Apps

If you use Google Analytics and have an app you won’t get very far with funnels. GA funnels are entirely based on URL visits. It doesn’t have the ability to track clicks, taps and other user events like Mixpanel. 

Customization

Mixpanel offers more funnel customization than other analytics platforms. Our filters can be used on cohorts, people properties and event properties to customize the data and discover more. Plus, filters aren’t automatically applied to every step in the funnel for better customization. There is also a filter for date range that allows you to set the time period.

Segmentation

The Breakdown feature makes it possible to segment funnels by cohort, event property or people property so that more values can be shown in the Overall conversion table. Data for up to 10,000 segments can be shown.

Data doesn’t do much good if you can’t decipher it. With our intuitive reporting, you don’t have to be an analytics guru to use Mixpanel funnels. Graphs and charts are automatically generated as soon as funnel data starts pouring in, and they will continue to update as more data is collected.

Overall Completion Rate Graph – A bar graph makes it easy to see at a glance which steps in the funnel have the most activity and where the biggest drop off occurs. Adjust the graph by selecting a date range or step in the funnel.

Historical Charts – Historical charts of the overall converting rate offer another way to gauge performance over time and can be adjusted to narrow data analysis down to a single day, week or month. You can look at the funnel as a whole or individual steps in the process.

Event and People Property Conversion Rate Chart – Charting by event and people properties lets you go granular with your data. Choose a property to see the conversion rate for each value. Go deeper still by selecting a step in the funnel to see how long it took people to convert or select a property to add additional filters.

Segmentation Graph – If you choose to add segments to your funnel you can view the data on segmentation graphs.

Conversion-Over-Time Chart – When did the most users convert? The Conversion-Over-Time chart shows conversion rate for a specific day, week or month based on when a user started the first step in the funnel. 

Time to Convert Chart – How long does it take a user to convert? This bar chart clearly lays out the time it takes users to go from the first step in the funnel to the last.

Because funnels are set up in a loose order, users can take other actions in between the funnel steps. What are they doing between those steps? 

With Mixpanel you can analyze user behavior outside of the established funnel. You may discover that another action is critical for conversion and should be added to a funnel. Or you may find that a button or call-to-action is drawing users away from the funnel and needs to be removed. 

There are a lot of possibilities and you can explore them all with the Mixpanel analytics platform.

Another advantage of Mixpanel funnels is the ability to identify and create cohorts. Creating a cohort off of a funnel allows you to take a closer look at a particular group of users, such as those that drop off at a specific point. A cohort can be created regardless of whether users complete the funnel steps.

To create a cohort simply select a step in the funnel or a bar on the Time to Convert Chart and click the “create cohort” button. It’s so easy the name and description of the cohort is automatically generated. Click the save button and you’re done. Now you can select the cohort from your Cohort List to dig into detailed user analytics. 

The longer you use Mixpanel funnels the more intel you’ll gather. Funnel reports show completion rates over time. They compare conversions and drop offs within the current time period to a previous time period. 

Tracking funnel data over time will also tell you if seasonality is a factor. Many businesses have low and high seasons, but this isn’t always obvious when you’re just starting out. But even if traffic slows down during part of the year your conversion rate should stay the same if your funnels are optimized.