Many businesses focus on products and features, but the most successful organizations focus on why people hire their products. This insight is captured in the Jobs To Be Done (JTBD) framework, a powerful lens for understanding customer motivation and designing solutions that truly resonate.
Clayton Christensen, a pioneer of the framework, emphasized that people “hire” products and services to make progress in specific circumstances. JTBD shifts the question from “Who is my customer?” to “What is my customer trying to accomplish?”
The core idea of JTBD
At its heart, JTBD is about progress, not products. Customers don’t buy a drill because they want a drill; they buy it to make a hole. This subtle distinction transforms product thinking from features to outcomes.
A job is defined as:
- A task the customer wants to accomplish (functional, social, or emotional).
- The context in which the task arises.
- The desired outcome that signals success.
Functional, emotional, and social jobs
Functional Jobs
- Practical tasks or objectives.
- Example: A parent wants to keep their child entertained during a long car trip.
Emotional Jobs
- Internal desires or feelings the customer wants to achieve.
- Example: A consumer wants to feel competent using a new software tool.
Social Jobs
- How customers want to be perceived by others.
- Example: Wearing a brand of clothing to project status or professionalism.
Successful JTBD analysis considers all three dimensions, since people rarely act purely functionally.
The job statement
A useful way to articulate JTBD is:
“When [situation/context], I want to [motivation/desired outcome], so I can [benefit/desired result].”
Example:
“When I travel for work, I want to quickly access my documents on any device, so I can feel prepared and professional without wasting time.”
This statement clarifies the circumstance, goal, and benefit, making it actionable for product design, marketing, and sales.
Why JTBD matters
- Customer-centered innovation – Focus on the job, not the product, enables solutions that truly matter.
- Segmentation based on needs – Group customers by their jobs, not demographics, for more precise targeting.
- Prioritization – Identify which jobs are most critical or underserved to guide investment.
- Avoids feature traps – Instead of adding features that don’t align with real jobs, businesses can innovate around meaningful progress.
Examples of Jobs To Be Done
a) Netflix
- Job: Provide entertainment that is easy to access anytime, anywhere, for relaxation and enjoyment.
- Functional: Watch TV shows and movies.
- Emotional: Feel entertained and relaxed.
- Social: Share recommendations with friends.
b) Airbnb
- Job: Find a comfortable, unique place to stay while traveling, without the hassles of hotels.
- Functional: Secure lodging.
- Emotional: Feel at home.
- Social: Impress friends or colleagues with choice of accommodation.
c) Tesla
- Job: Travel efficiently while minimizing environmental impact, with convenience and prestige.
- Functional: Transportation.
- Emotional: Sense of security and responsibility.
- Social: Status, innovation alignment.
These examples show how JTBD goes beyond product attributes to why the customer truly hires the solution.
Uncovering jobs
Effective JTBD analysis requires research that goes beyond surveys:
- Observation – Watch customers in real-life situations to see unmet needs.
- Interviews – Ask about struggles, workarounds, and emotional experiences.
- Customer journey mapping – Identify moments of friction or dissatisfaction.
- Outcome-driven innovation – Quantify desired outcomes and prioritize high-impact jobs.
The goal is to identify underserved jobs where customers are struggling or seeking a better way.
JTBD and Innovation
Understanding JTBD can transform how organizations innovate:
- Product redesign – Ensure solutions fit the job perfectly.
- Service improvement – Adjust support and delivery to enhance customer success.
- New business models – Develop offerings around unmet jobs, not just existing features.
For instance, Uber didn’t just create a taxi app — it reimagined the job of “getting from A to B reliably and quickly,” which was previously underserved by traditional taxis.
JTBD vs. Personas
JTBD is complementary to personas but fundamentally different:
- Personas describe who the customer is (demographics, behaviors, attitudes).
- JTBD describes what the customer is trying to achieve (tasks, goals, progress).
Focusing solely on personas can lead to feature-centric solutions, while JTBD ensures solutions are goal-centric and outcome-oriented.
JTBD in marketing and sales
Understanding the job allows marketing messages to be precise:
- Speak to the desired outcome, not the product features.
- Address emotional and social dimensions of the job.
- Tailor campaigns to the circumstances in which the job arises.
Sales teams also benefit: they can frame the product as a tool to achieve progress, improving conversion and satisfaction.
Measuring success of JTBD
Jobs should be measurable by:
- Adoption rates – Are customers actually hiring the product?
- Satisfaction and engagement – Are outcomes being achieved?
- Retention and loyalty – Are customers repeatedly using the solution for the same job?
- Net Promoter Score (NPS) – Are they recommending it because it helps them achieve meaningful progress?
Tracking these metrics ensures alignment between product development and real customer needs.
Pitfalls to avoid
- Assuming the product defines the job – Start with the customer’s goal, not your solution.
- Ignoring emotional and social aspects – Jobs are multidimensional.
- Overgeneralizing – Each job is context-dependent; one size rarely fits all.
- Focusing only on the obvious – Dig deeper into hidden pains and unmet needs.
JTBD in scaling and growth
A deep understanding of JTBD enables growth:
- Expand offerings that serve multiple related jobs.
- Enter new markets with insight into similar jobs in different contexts.
- Create ecosystems of products/services designed around clusters of jobs.
By solving real progress problems consistently, businesses build loyal customer bases and sustainable competitive advantage.
Understanding the job
The Jobs To Be Done framework transforms the way businesses understand their customers. It moves attention away from products and features, toward customer motivation, context, and desired outcomes.
By discovering and prioritizing the jobs customers are trying to accomplish, organizations can:
- Innovate meaningfully
- Align marketing and product development
- Build loyalty through true relevance
Ultimately, JTBD reminds us that the most successful solutions are not those that are built first, but those that customers hire to make progress in their lives.
Understanding the job is the first step toward creating solutions that matter — and creating businesses that thrive.
DREIESKIVA|Roald Kvam 
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