What is Jobs-to-be-Done (JTBD) framework?
Definition: Jobs-to-be-Done is a framework or a way of thinking about product development and innovation from the customer's perspective and underlying needs.
According to the JTBD framework, customers buy products to perform a specific task or address a specific problem or need. Customers don’t buy a product or service because of its features but to achieve a desired outcome.
The JTBD framework helps companies understand customers underlying needs and address them more efficiently with their products or service.
Core principles of Jobs-to-be-Done theory
The 6 core principles of the jobs-to-be-done theory are:
- Customers will buy your product or service not per se, but as a tool to get a job done.
- Every JTBD is functional, social, and emotional, meaning that customers don’t only buy the product/service because of its functionality but because of other components as well.
- A JTBD endures the passage of time while products and services change.
- A JTBD is independent of any solution, product, or service. There can be different solutions to one JTBD.
- A JTBD is the focal point of the analysis because customers don’t know what they need ( in terms of solutions and products), but they know what they want to achieve as an outcome.
- Customers seek solutions that will help them do the JTBD faster, more effectively, or cheaper.
Benefits and drawbacks of Jobs-to-be-Done
The benefits of JTBD
- Innovation & New opportunities
By understanding and implementing the JTBD framework, a company can find undiscovered and unresolved customer needs, thus creating a useful feature or product.
- Customer-centric design & solution
By learning more about their customer’s JTBD, the company focuses more on the customer's desired outcome than the feature itself, leading to products that meet customer needs.
- Targeted messaging
In marketing, companies can use the JTBD framework to create messages and campaigns that resonate with their customers. By understanding and communicating the needs and outcomes customers desire, the message will reach the target audience faster.
- Differentiation
Again, in a marketing campaign, companies can use the JTBD framework to differentiate their product from others on the market.
The drawbacks of JTBD
- Limited perspective
A drawback of the JTBD model is that it mainly focuses on the customer’s perspective. Even though that’s a great starting point, the framework dims the importance of other aspects, such as industry trends, internal limitations, and inflation.
- Complex
Implementing the JTBD framework can be time and resource-consuming. Not all companies have the resources to conduct customer interviews, in-depth research, data collecting, etc.
