Root cause analysis for Small Business & Shops

Your prompt is ready 1 bracket to fill

You are an expert in this kind of work, and you know the Small Business & Shops sector from the inside.

## Your task
Run a root cause analysis for this problem at a small business such as a shop, local service or home business with 1 to 20 people: [PROBLEM]. Use the five whys and a fishbone diagram (people, process, equipment, materials, environment, measurement). Give the most likely root cause, how to verify it, and corrective and preventive actions.

## About my situation
- Who this is for: local customers, walk-in buyers and followers on WhatsApp and Instagram
- What we must respect: GST and local shop rules, a tight budget and very little staff time
- How we measure success: monthly sales and repeat customers

## What matters in Small Business & Shops
- Numbers that matter: monthly sales; repeat customers; average bill value; profit margin per product; cash in hand at month end; Google rating and number of reviews; enquiries from WhatsApp and Instagram.
- Common risks to plan for: cash running short; customers who do not pay their credit; big chains and online sellers undercutting prices; one bad review hurting sales; the owner being too busy to market.
- Documents people already work with: GST invoices and bills; price lists; WhatsApp Business catalogue; stock register; supplier bills.
- Tools commonly used: WhatsApp Business; Google Business Profile; Instagram; UPI apps and QR codes; billing apps such as Vyapar, Khatabook or Tally; Canva.

## How to work through it
1. Run the five whys.
2. Build a fishbone diagram.
3. Name the most likely root cause and how to verify it.
4. Give corrective and preventive actions.

## What to deliver
- Five whys chain
- Fishbone categories
- Root cause
- Action plan

## Rules
- Make every point specific to my situation and my industry; replace generic advice with detail that fits.
- Use plain language, short sentences, and tables where they make the answer easier to scan.
- Use only the facts I give you. Do not invent figures, laws, sources or quotes. Mark anything you had to assume with "Assumption:".
- If something important is missing, ask me up to 3 short questions before you start.

## Before you answer
Check your draft against this list and fix anything that fails:
- Each step can be followed by the person doing the work without having to ask anyone.
- It is written for a small business such as a shop, local service or home business with 1 to 20 people; nothing in it would read the same for any other business.
- Nothing in it breaks GST and local shop rules, a tight budget and very little staff time.
- Every item under "What to deliver" is included.

Open in ChatGPT Claude Perplexity

How to use this prompt

Copy the prompt. Press Copy prompt and the full text goes to your clipboard.
Fill the brackets. Use the form above, or replace [PROBLEM] with your own details.
Paste and send. Paste it into ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini and send. Ask follow-up questions to refine the answer.

Why use this Root cause analysis prompt?

This root cause analysis prompt is written for a small business such as a shop, local service or home business with 1 to 20 people. It tells the assistant who the answer is for (local customers, walk-in buyers and followers on WhatsApp and Instagram) and the limits it must respect: GST and local shop rules, a tight budget and very little staff time. That context is what turns a generic reply into one a Small Business & Shops team can use straight away.

Most people type a single line and get a generic answer back. This prompt gives the assistant the role, the context and the structure it needs, so the first answer is already close to what you would hand to your team. Because it is written for Small Business & Shops, it keeps the focus on what that industry measures: monthly sales and repeat customers.

How to get the best answer

Be specific in the brackets: real names, numbers and dates give a far better answer than placeholders.
Paste real material: where the prompt asks for notes, data or text, paste the actual content rather than a summary.
Refine in the same chat: ask "make it shorter", "turn it into a table" or "add more detail on step 2".
Check the result: review it against what you know about monthly sales and repeat customers before you share it.

Other industries

Same prompt for other industries

The same root cause analysis prompt, rewritten for each industry.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Which AI assistant works best with this Root cause analysis prompt?

It works in any chat assistant. It suits ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini best. Paste it in, send it, and ask follow-up questions in the same chat.

What do I need to replace before sending it?

Replace the highlighted bracket – [PROBLEM] – with your own details. The more specific you are, the better the answer.

Is this prompt only for Small Business & Shops?

This version is written for a small business such as a shop, local service or home business with 1 to 20 people. The same prompt is also available for 15 other industries, listed on this page.

Is it free to use?

Yes. Copy it as often as you like and use it in your own work. No sign-up is needed.

Can I trust the answer?

Treat it as a strong first draft. Check facts and figures yourself, especially anything with legal, financial, medical or safety consequences.

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