Jobs To Be Done is a framework for customer needs. It was coined by the late Clayton Christensen from HBS and can be used to help your business be customer-centric.
Honestly, there are plenty of articles on the web that do a better job of describing Jobs To Be Done, so this is just a short little post about it and how I use it for marketing.
What is Jobs To Be Done (JTBD)?
The Christensen Institute defines it as “a framework for better understanding customer behavior.” Now, what does that mean? Customers don’t buy the thing, they buy the thing for what it solves. What’s the thing?
Examples include:
- You don’t buy a lawnmower, you buy a machine that will help you keep your lawn beautiful.
- You don’t buy the wheels and board of a skateboard, you buy the cool things you’ll be able to do with the skateboard.
Of course, you may be selling lawnmowers or skateboards, but how does that help you in the future?
You use JTBD to innovate
Understanding and knowing JTBD for your business helps ensure that what you’re building is leading to that thing the customer is trying to get done. If it veers off track, then maybe you should consider not making it, but why buy that product?
How do you use this in marketing?
I use it with every persona that I target. It helps create messaging that resonates with the persona. A CMO may not be looking for a marketing technology, they are looking for a way to transform their business.
Yes, cheesy I know, but knowing what motivates someone to buy is helpful. It helps keep everyone on track in not going into a “feature sell” rather, selling your solution that IS a solution and gets who you are going after to where they want to be.
Resources
- “The Customer-Centered Innovation Map” in HBR, May 2008
- “Know Your Customers’ “Jobs to Be Done”” in HBR, September 2016
- “What is Jobs to be Done (JTBD)?” on JTBD.info
Header Photo by Jazmin Quaynor on Unsplash