1. Description
2. Benefits
3. Methodologies
4. Tools
Understanding what customers really want means shifting your perspective: instead of asking “What features should we build?” ask “What jobs are our customers hiring us to do — and how can we help them succeed better?”
- Customers don’t “buy products” — they “hire” them to get a job done in their lives. The Jobs to Be Done (JTBD) framework shifts the focus from product features to the underlying progress customers seek. By uncovering what customers truly want, companies can design solutions that fit real needs, not just assumptions.
2. Benefits
- Clarity on real demand: go beyond what customers say to uncover what they actually need.
- Innovation opportunities: discover unmet jobs and pain points competitors overlook.
- Better prioritization: focus product development on the jobs with the highest value.
- Customer alignment: design features, services, and messages that resonate deeply.
- Reduced risk: avoid building “nice-to-have” features that don’t solve meaningful problems.
3. Methodologies
- Jobs-to-Be-Done Interviews
- Explore situations where customers choose, switch, or abandon products.
- Ask about context, motivations, struggles, and outcomes.
- Job Mapping
- Break a job into steps: define, locate, prepare, execute, confirm, and finish.
- Helps identify where frustrations occur and where innovation can help.
- Outcome-Driven Innovation (ODI)
- Translate customer jobs into measurable outcomes.
- Prioritize opportunities where current solutions underperform.
- Personas with Jobs
- Connect personas not only to demographics, but to the jobs they are trying to achieve.
- Example: Busy Parent → job = “get healthy meals on the table fast.”
- JTBD + Journey Mapping
- Combine jobs with customer journeys to see when and how jobs appear in real contexts.
4. Tools
- JTBD Interview Guide → structured question set to uncover real customer jobs.
- Job Map Canvas → template to visualize each step of the customer job.
- Outcome Statement Template → define jobs in the form “When [situation], I want to [job], so I can [outcome].”
- Customer Journey + JTBD Overlay → connect jobs with touchpoints in the user journey.
- Prioritization Matrix (Excel) → evaluate jobs by importance vs satisfaction to find high-potential opportunities.
Understanding what customers really want means shifting your perspective: instead of asking “What features should we build?” ask “What jobs are our customers hiring us to do — and how can we help them succeed better?”
Privacy Policy
open innovation s.a.s. - P.IVA: 04288560289 - Via Marezzane 26a, 35027 Noventa Padovana (PD), Italy
Contact us, an innovation expert is available for you: i[email protected]
open innovation s.a.s. - P.IVA: 04288560289 - Via Marezzane 26a, 35027 Noventa Padovana (PD), Italy
Contact us, an innovation expert is available for you: i[email protected]