// Case study / Mixed-methods research
Telemetry locates. Method diagnoses.
Quantitative GA4 telemetry paired with Sense-Making-informed qualitative research at a national home services franchise: a method for diagnosing gap type, not just gap location.
What happened
A sequential method turned funnel evidence into design diagnosis.
At a 280+ location home services franchise, quantitative GA4 telemetry was paired with a UserZoom protocol that was roughly 90% Sense-Making-informed neutral questioning. The sequence was documented as: telemetry locates, Sense-Making diagnoses, design responds.
The research surfaced three different gap types the funnel could not see: a problematic gap in category consideration, a confusion gap at the promotion step, and a pre-arrival sense-making finding around upstream search behaviour.
Problem
Strong telemetry, blind to gap type.
The client had strong digital traffic but underperforming conversion in specific service categories. The telemetry was precise: it showed exactly where users dropped off. What it could not tell us was the nature of the gap users were experiencing at those moments.
Task
Diagnose whether the gap was barrier, decision, problematic, or confusion.
The research needed to distinguish between something blocking the user, a decision they could not make, a problem they could not name, or a vocabulary issue that made the bridge unclear. Each gap type requires a different design response.
Quant / GA4Locate
Event data, funnel analysis, A/B testing, and session behaviour identified where gaps appeared.
Qual / UserZoomDiagnose
Sense-Making-informed questions surfaced the type of gap users were trying to cross.
DesignRespond
The gap diagnosis decided whether to remove, clarify, reframe, or move upstream.
Questions were tied to specific moments: for example, the last time a user needed carpets cleaned.
The protocol asked what stopped users or what felt uncertain, not what information they theoretically wanted.
Questions did not imply that information, price, or promotion was the missing bridge.
The protocol asked what users were trying to do, not what content category they thought they needed.
Action
The UserZoom protocol was built to surface sense-making, not satisfaction.
Most commercial UX protocols ask task-completion or satisfaction questions. This one asked about situations, discontinuities, and what would have helped users move forward. Users were given minimal scaffolding so their sense-making behaviour could appear instead of being primed by the protocol.
Professional cleaning was categorised as a treat, not maintenance. The issue appeared before the funnel, at category consideration.
Users read Promo Code and Online Specials as categorically different things. A winning A/B variant was winning despite a vocabulary problem.
The decision journey began upstream of the homepage, shaping SEO and content strategy rather than only on-site conversion design.
The case later became the methodology piece behind my talk, Finding the Hypothesis When You Only Know the Question.
Design lesson
Optimising a bridge only works after you know what kind of gap it crosses.
A barrier gap needs removal. A confusion gap needs clarification. A problematic gap needs reframing earlier in the journey. The funnel can tell you where a gap appears; it cannot, by itself, name the bridge users need.
Author note
Stanley Steemer is named, proprietary details are generalised.
This research was conducted at Stanley Steemer and is described as a national home services franchise where appropriate. Specific proprietary metrics have been generalised. The Sense-Making framework applied here is documented in full at smm.fredericlabadie.com.