Asking good questions
Simple habits that get you clear, accurate answers from Claude.
Ask a specific question and include the dates and format you need.
Five habits that help
1. Say the time period. "Last 30 days", "this month so far", "September compared with August". Include dates so the assistant uses the period you need.
2. Say what you will do with the answer. "I am planning a win-back campaign" or "I need three bullet points for Monday's meeting" helps Claude pick the right numbers and the right format.
3. Ask for a format. A table, a short list, a one-paragraph summary, or a chart. Claude can also turn results into a spreadsheet you can download.
4. Ask follow-ups. You do not need the perfect question up front. "Now only the ones who bought more than twice", "who are the top five?", "why did that drop?" all work.
5. Ask how it got the number. "How did you work that out?" or "Where does that number come from?" Claude will tell you which report it used and what period it covered. This is worth doing before you share a number widely.
Before and after
| Instead of | Try |
|---|---|
| "Customers" | "Who are my top 20 customers by total spend? Show name, email, orders and last order date." |
| "How are we doing?" | "How did recovered sales and recovery rate do in the last 30 days compared with the 30 days before?" |
| "What's wrong?" | "What are the most common reasons customers didn't finish checkout? Give me the top five." |
| "Make a campaign" | "Draft an abandoned checkout campaign: wait 30 minutes, then a friendly text with free shipping." |
When an answer looks off
- Check the period. Ask Claude which dates it used.
- Check which customers are counted. Customer totals include orders available in VYG. Ask which dates the data covers. For all-time figures straight from Shopify, ask: "Check this against Shopify directly."
- Ask again more narrowly. A very broad question may only return the first page of results. Ask for "all of them" or "the next page" if a list looks short.
Things Claude cannot do here
- Turn a campaign on without your explicit agreement. Claude reviews it with you first; you can also turn it on in the vyg.ai app.
- Look up data from services you have not connected to VYG.
For Shopify changes, check Shopify tools for available actions and required permissions.