🎯 Job-to-be-Done (JTBD)
Understanding what customers truly hire your product to do
Job-to-be-Done is a framework for understanding customer needs beyond features and demographics. It focuses on the progress customers want to make in their lives and the "job" they hire your product or service to do.
What is JTBD?
Traditional market research focuses on who customers are and what they buy. JTBD flips the question: Why did they buy it? What were they trying to achieve?
When customers "hire" a product, they're not buying features — they're buying progress. They have a job to be done, and they're looking for the right tool to help them do it.
💡 Classic Example: The Milkshake Study
A fast-food chain wanted to sell more milkshakes. They asked customers what would improve the product — thicker? Fruitier? Cheaper?
But when they asked why people bought milkshakes, they discovered something surprising: Most were purchased early in the morning by commuters who had a long, boring drive ahead. The milkshake wasn't competing with other desserts — it was competing with bananas, bagels, and boredom.
The job? "Keep me full and entertained during my commute."
Key Concepts
📋 Jobs
The progress customers want to make in a particular circumstance. Jobs are stable over time, even when solutions change.
- Functional: The practical task ("get from A to B")
- Emotional: How they want to feel ("feel confident in front of clients")
- Social: How they want to be perceived ("be seen as innovative")
🌍 Context
The circumstances that trigger the need. Same person, different context = different job.
Example: Buying coffee at 7am (wake up) vs 3pm (break from work) vs 8pm (social ritual)
✅ Outcomes
How customers measure success. What does "done" look like?
- Minimize time spent
- Maximize convenience
- Avoid embarrassment
- Ensure reliability
🚧 Constraints
What prevents customers from making progress? These are friction points and anxieties that must be addressed.
Session Structure
Phase 1: Define the Job
Identify the core job customers are hiring your product to do. Use the JTBD statement format:
"When [situation], I want to [motivation], so I can [outcome]."
Phase 2: Map the Customer Journey
Understand the full timeline from the moment they realize they have a job to the moment it's done.
- First thought (awareness of the job)
- Passive looking (low-commitment exploration)
- Active looking (serious evaluation)
- Deciding (the switch moment)
- Using (ongoing experience)
Phase 3: Identify Forces
What pushes customers toward change, and what holds them back?
- Push: Problems with current solution
- Pull: Attraction to new solution
- Anxiety: Fear of the new
- Habit: Comfort with the old
🎯 Session Outcomes
Participants will leave with:
- Clear understanding of customer jobs beyond features
- A job statement that drives product strategy
- Insight into switching moments and barriers
- Ideas for innovation based on unmet job needs