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iterative refinement prompting

A lot of people fall for this notion that AI is an easy path to generate answers.

Not necessarily. A good prompt engineer will rarely complete a task in one shot.

Good prompt engineers will master the art of systematically improving outputs through strategic follow up prompts on a Refinement Ladder as outlined:

  • LEVEL 1: Initial request (get baseline output)
  • LEVEL 2: Clarification (add specificity where needed)
  • LEVEL 3: Enhancement (improve quality dimensions)
  • LEVEL 4: Alternatives (explore different approaches)
  • LEVEL 5: Optimisation (fine tune for specific goals)
  • LEVEL 6: Validation (check for weaknesses)

Here’s how you can think about it.

Write the following prompt:

"Write a LinkedIn post about the importance of data analytics for small businesses"

And this is an example using Claude Sonnet 4.0:

Why Small Businesses Can't Afford to Ignore Data Analytics

Your gut instincts got you this far, but data will take you to the next level.

As a small business owner, you're making dozens of decisions daily—from pricing strategies to inventory management to marketing spend. What if you could make those decisions with confidence instead of crossing your fingers?

Here's what data analytics can unlock for your business:

Customer insights that reveal who's actually buying (spoiler: it might not be who you think). Seasonal patterns that help you stock up before demand spikes and avoid costly overstock. Marketing channels that actually drive sales versus those burning through your budget.

The best part? You don't need a data science degree or enterprise-level tools. Start simple with your existing systems—Google Analytics for website traffic, your POS system for sales patterns, even basic spreadsheet analysis of customer feedback.

Three quick wins to try this week:

  • Track which products have the highest profit margins, not just revenue
  • Identify your busiest hours to optimize staffing
  • Analyze which marketing messages get the most engagement

Small businesses that embrace data-driven decision making are 5x more likely to make faster decisions than their competition. In today's market, that speed advantage can make all the difference.

Your intuition is valuable, but intuition plus data is unstoppable.

What's one business decision you wish you had more data to support? Share below—let's help each other grow smarter.

#SmallBusiness #DataAnalytics #BusinessGrowth #Entrepreneurship

Here are the logic steps you’d go through to analyse it:

  1. Level 1: Initial request

    2. Rate initial quality (1-10): ___

    Note: What's good about it? What's missing?

  2. Level 2: Clarification

    3. Follow-up: "Make this more specific to restaurants and retail businesses struggling with inventory management"

    Rate refined quality (1-10): ___

    Improvement achieved: [Describe changes]

  3. Level 3: Enhancement

    4. Follow-up: "Add a specific example of a small restaurant that improved efficiency through data analytics"

    Rate enhanced quality (1-10): ___

    Added value: [Describe enhancement]

  4. Level 4: Alternatives

    5. Follow-up: "Create 2 alternative versions: one focusing on cost savings, one on competitive advantage"

    Rate alternatives (1-10): ___ and ___

    Best version: [Which and why?]

  5. Level 5: Optimization

    6. Follow-up: "Optimize the best version for maximum LinkedIn engagement - add a compelling hook and engagement question"

    Rate optimized quality (1-10): ___

    Final improvements: [Describe optimization]

  6. Level 6: Validation

    7. Follow-up: "What potential objections might small business owners have to this message? How could it be improved?"

    Use AI feedback to make final adjustments

    Final quality score (1-10): ___

Success target: Final output scores 9+ and represents significant improvement from initial version

Again - if you wish to, you can do this analysis with AI. E.g. Ask the AI to analyse the post, based on the criteria. Get the results, then say apply updates to the original.

Here’s what a revised post could look like after completing the analysis:

🚨 SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS: You're hemorrhaging money and don't even know it

I helped a restaurant owner discover she was losing $800/month to spoiled food. A boutique owner was sitting on $15K of dead inventory. Both thought they were "doing fine."

Your inventory is silently destroying your profits.

Small restaurants lose $2,000-5,000 monthly to poor inventory management. Retailers lose even more.

"But I don't have time for complicated analysis..."

Start with just 15 minutes weekly. Your POS system already captures everything you need.

Track these 3 simple numbers: - Your top 10 bestsellers (reorder before you run out) - Items that haven't sold in 30 days (stop reordering) - Your busiest days/hours (prep accordingly)

No fancy software needed. No data science degree required. Just your existing systems and 15 minutes of attention weekly.

Your gut instincts got you this far - now let data take you to the next level.

Conclusion

Save your improvement prompt to your prompt library and run it on important prompt outputs going forward. Take the time. You’ll be shocked to see how much better it is.