Welcome to the world of Jobs-to-be-Done (JTBD), the framework that’s less about who your customers are and more about what they’re trying to accomplish. It’s a subtle but seismic shift. People don’t buy a drill because they want a quarter-inch drill bit; they buy it because they want a quarter-inch hole in their wall to hang a picture of their dog (who also loves brunch). The drill is hired for the “hole-making” job.
JTBD forces you to see your product not as a collection of features, but as a service hired to help a user make progress in a specific context. It’s the ultimate “it’s not me, it’s you” for product development, but in a good way.
Uncovering the “Job” – Your JTBD Template Questions:
Instead of a rigid template, ask these investigative questions during user interviews:
- The Struggle: “Tell me about the last time you were trying to [achieve a goal, e.g., create an invoice]. What was frustrating about it?”
- The Switch: “What did you switch from to start using [your product/a competitor]?” (You’re looking for the “hiring” moment).
- The Workaround: “Before you found a solution, what were you cobbling together to get the job done?” (Think duct tape and spreadsheets).
- The Desired Outcome: “What would a perfect outcome look like for you in that situation?”
Real-Life Example: The Commuter’s Milkshake
The OG case study for JTBD comes from Clayton Christensen, who was asked to improve milkshake sales for a fast-food chain. The marketing team was stumped, having tried everything from new flavors to different sizes based on customer profiles.
Christensen’s team spent a day just observing. They discovered a surprising insight: nearly half the milkshakes were sold before 8:30 AM to commuters. They weren’t hiring the milkshake for a sweet treat; they were hiring it to do a job:
“Keep me occupied and full during my long, boring commute.”
Why was the milkshake perfect for this job? It was thick, took a long time to drink through a thin straw, could be held with one hand, and was more satisfying than a messy bagel or a quickly-devoured banana. The competitor wasn’t another milkshake; it was a bagel, a snickers bar, or just plain boredom. Armed with this knowledge, the chain made the milkshake thicker (longer job duration) and moved the dispenser for quicker grab-and-go service, leading to a surge in sales.
So, stop obsessing over your product’s resume of features and figure out the job it was hired to do. You’ll be promoting it in no time.