Jobs to Be Done: Understand Why Customers Really Buy

Clayton Christensen told a story about milkshakes: McDonald's wanted to sell more milkshakes. They asked customers what they wanted – thicker shakes, more flavors, cheaper. Nothing worked.

Then they observed when customers bought milkshakes: Mornings, alone, for the commute. The "job" wasn't "delicious dessert," but "make boring commute more interesting."

The solution? Thicker straws would have been wrong. Instead: Longer-lasting shakes.

What Is Jobs to Be Done?

The Core Idea

TRADITIONAL VIEW:
"Customers buy products"

JTBD VIEW:
"Customers 'hire' products to get
a job done in their lives"

THE PARADIGM SHIFT:
- Not: What is my product?
- But: What job does my product do?

The Job Definition

A JOB IS:
- The progress a person wants to achieve
- In a specific context
- With functional AND emotional dimensions

EXAMPLE: Drill

SUPERFICIAL:
"Customer wants a drill"

JTBD LEVEL 1:
"Customer wants a hole in the wall"

JTBD LEVEL 2:
"Customer wants to hang a shelf"

JTBD LEVEL 3:
"Customer wants order in the living room"

JTBD LEVEL 4:
"Customer wants to feel comfortable at home"

The Job Anatomy

Functional Jobs

DEFINITION:
The practical task to be accomplished.

EXAMPLES:
- "I need to file my tax return"
- "I need to get from A to B"
- "I need to inform my team about project status"

CHARACTERISTICS:
- Measurable
- Objectively assessable
- Time-defined

Emotional Jobs

DEFINITION:
How I want to feel or how I want others to see me.

PERSONAL (how I want to feel):
- "I want to feel competent"
- "I want to be proud of my work"
- "I want to have control"

SOCIAL (how I want others to see me):
- "I want to appear professional"
- "I want to be seen as innovative"
- "I want recognition"

IMPORTANT:
Emotional jobs are often more important than functional!

The Job Context

CONTEXT DEFINES THE JOB:

SAME PERSON, DIFFERENT JOBS:
Coffee in the morning:
→ Job: "Wake up, start the day"
→ Solution: Fast, strong, practical

Coffee in the afternoon with friend:
→ Job: "Enjoy time with friend"
→ Solution: Cozy café, good taste

CONTEXT FACTORS:
- Where (physical location)
- When (time, situation)
- With whom (alone, with others)
- Why now (trigger)

Jobs to Be Done Framework

The Job Statement

FORMAT:
"When [SITUATION], I want to [MOTIVATION],
so that I [EXPECTED OUTCOME]."

EXAMPLE B2B SOFTWARE:
"When I need to create a monthly report,
I want to automatically merge data from
different sources,
so that I spend less time on manual work
and make no mistakes."

EXAMPLE B2C:
"When I want to relax after work in the evening,
I want to watch something that doesn't
challenge me too much,
so that I can switch off without
falling asleep."

The Forces of Progress

FOUR FORCES THAT INFLUENCE BEHAVIOR:

PROMOTING FORCES (→ Switch):
1. Push: Dissatisfaction with current situation
   "The current tool is so slow"

2. Pull: Attractiveness of new solution
   "The new software looks much better"

INHIBITING FORCES (→ Status Quo):
3. Anxiety: Fear of new solution
   "What if it doesn't work?"

4. Habit: Familiarity with current solution
   "I know my way around"

FOR SWITCH:
Push + Pull > Anxiety + Habit

The Switch Interview

GOAL:
Understand why someone switched from one
solution to another.

ASK FOR TIMELINE:
1. First thought: When did you first think
   you needed something different?

2. Passive search: Did you research alternatives?
   How long?

3. Active search: What made you start
   actively looking for a solution?

4. Decision: What was the deciding factor?

5. First use: How was the first day?

6. Ongoing: Do you still use it? Why/why not?

Jobs to Be Done in Practice

Conducting Job Discovery

STEP 1: CONDUCT INTERVIEWS
- With customers who recently purchased
- With customers who almost purchased
- With customers who went to competition
- 10-15 interviews per segment

STEP 2: IDENTIFY JOBS
- Timeline analysis
- Forces of Progress
- Capture context
- Emotional components

STEP 3: PRIORITIZE JOBS
- Importance for customers
- How well is the job currently fulfilled?
- Market size

STEP 4: FIND OPPORTUNITIES
- Underserved jobs
- Overserved jobs (simplification potential)
- New job combinations

The Opportunity Formula

OPPORTUNITY = IMPORTANCE + (IMPORTANCE - SATISFACTION)

INTERPRETATION:
- High importance, low satisfaction
  → Big opportunity

- High importance, high satisfaction
  → Differentiation difficult

- Low importance
  → No focus

EXAMPLE:
Job: "Communicate project progress to team"
Importance: 9/10
Satisfaction: 4/10
Opportunity: 9 + (9 - 4) = 14 → Very high!

JTBD for Different Areas

Product Development

INSTEAD OF: "What features do we build?"
ASK: "What job should the feature do?"

EXAMPLE:
Feature request: "Push Notifications"

TRADITIONAL:
"Competition has it, we build it"

JTBD APPROACH:
- What job should notifications fulfill?
- "User doesn't want to miss important updates"
- But also: "User doesn't want to be disturbed"
→ Better: Smart notifications based on context

Marketing

INSTEAD OF: "What features do we advertise?"
ASK: "What job do we promise to do?"

EXAMPLE: Project management tool

FEATURE MARKETING:
"Gantt charts, Kanban boards,
time tracking, reports"

JOB MARKETING:
"So you always know where your project stands –
without spending hours in status meetings."

→ Speaks to the job, not the feature

Competitive Analysis

TRADITIONAL:
"Who sells similar products?"

JTBD PERSPECTIVE:
"Who fulfills the same job?"

EXAMPLE: Netflix

TRADITIONAL COMPETITION:
- Amazon Prime Video
- Disney+
- HBO Max

JTBD COMPETITION (Job: "Relax in the evening"):
- YouTube
- TikTok
- Video games
- A book
- Sleep (!)

→ Real competition is broader

Avoiding Common Mistakes

Mistake 1: Confusing Jobs with Solutions

WRONG:
"The job is: Check emails"

RIGHT:
"The job is: Stay informed"
Emails are a solution, not the job.

QUESTION:
"What would I lose if this solution
didn't exist tomorrow?"
→ THAT is the actual job

Mistake 2: Too Superficial Jobs

WRONG:
"The job is: Get from A to B"

BETTER:
"The job is: Arrive at the meeting
on time and relaxed,
so I appear professional"

TECHNIQUE:
Ask "Why?" 5 times to get to the deeper job

Mistake 3: Ignoring Context

WRONG:
"Our customers want X"

RIGHT:
"When our customers are in situation Y,
they want X, because Z"

EXAMPLE:
- Not: "Customers want fast delivery"
- But: "When customers need a gift on short notice,
  they want same-day delivery,
  so they don't show up empty-handed"

Mistake 4: Only Functional Jobs

WRONG:
Only consider practical utility

RIGHT:
Also emotional and social jobs

EXAMPLE: Business suit

FUNCTIONAL:
"Covers the body, keeps warm"

EMOTIONAL (Personal):
"I feel confident"

EMOTIONAL (Social):
"I'm perceived as competent"

→ Emotional jobs explain premium prices

JTBD Interview Guide

Preparation

RIGHT INTERVIEW PARTNERS:
- Recently purchased (3-6 months)
- Can remember the process
- Were involved in the decision

SETTING:
- 45-60 minutes time
- Quiet environment
- Get permission to record

Question Framework

FIRST THOUGHTS:
"When did you first think you needed
[product/solution]?"
"What was the trigger?"

UNDERSTAND SITUATION:
"How did you solve the problem before?"
"What didn't work?"

SEARCH:
"How did you search for alternatives?"
"What was important to you in the search?"

DECISION:
"Why did you choose X?"
"Were there concerns?"
"What could have stopped you?"

EMOTIONS:
"How did you feel when...?"
"What do you hope to get from it?"

JTBD Canvas

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                    JOB STATEMENT                     │
│ "When [SITUATION], I want [MOTIVATION],             │
│  so that [EXPECTED OUTCOME]"                        │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
        │
        ▼
┌───────────────────┬─────────────────────────────────┐
│ FUNCTIONAL JOB    │ EMOTIONAL JOB                   │
│                   │ Personal:                        │
│ What should be    │ How do I want to feel?          │
│ achieved          │                                 │
│ concretely?       │ Social:                          │
│                   │ How do I want to be seen?       │
└───────────────────┴─────────────────────────────────┘
        │
        ▼
┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│              FORCES OF PROGRESS                    │
│                                                    │
│ PUSH:          │ PULL:                            │
│ What annoys    │ What attracts to                 │
│ about current  │ new solution?                    │
│ solution?      │                                  │
│                │                                  │
│ ANXIETY:       │ HABIT:                           │
│ What causes    │ What keeps with                  │
│ fear about     │ current solution?                │
│ new solution?  │                                  │
└───────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
        │
        ▼
┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│              COMPETITION FOR THE JOB               │
│                                                    │
│ What other solutions fulfill this job?            │
│ (including non-obvious ones)                      │
└───────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Conclusion: From Feature Thinking to Job Thinking

Jobs to Be Done changes how you think about customers, products, and markets.

Core Principles:

1. Jobs, not Demographics: People buy for jobs, not because of age or income
2. Context is Everything: The same person has different jobs depending on situation
3. Emotions Count: Functional jobs explain purchase, emotional jobs explain price
4. Competition is Broader: Your real competition is anyone who fulfills the same job
5. Progress, not Product: Customers want progress in their lives, not your product

The Strategic Question:

What job does your product really do? And: What job COULD it do that you don't see yet?

Want to understand how to connect pricing strategies with JTBD? Our guide on Pricing Psychology for SaaS shows how to align prices with perceived value.