At its core, Jobs To Be Done (JTBD) is a way of understanding why people choose one solution over another. The central idea is this: customers don’t buy products or services just to own them – they “hire” them to get a specific job done in their lives. This job could be practical, emotional, or social in nature. Once you understand that job, you can design better experiences around solving it.

Unlike traditional market research approaches that often segment customers by demographics or preferences, JTBD zooms in on context and motivation. It asks, "What outcome is the customer trying to achieve?" For example, if someone buys a cordless drill, they don’t necessarily want a drill – they want a hole in the wall to hang a photo. The “job” is to improve their space, and the drill is just one tool they consider hiring to get it done.

What defines a Job to Be Done?

• It’s goal-oriented: People use products to accomplish something meaningful.
• It’s situational: Jobs exist within the larger context of the user's life, environment, and pressures.
• It guides behavior: JTBD thinking helps explain why customers switch from one solution to another (or stick with what they know).

JTBD is not about features – it’s about outcomes

Customers don’t obsess over product specs unless those features help them achieve a broader goal. A fitness app, for example, might have a sleek interface and rich data tracking, but if users don’t feel like it keeps them motivated or improves their health routines, they may abandon it. Through a JTBD lens, the success of that app depends on whether it supports the true job the user hired it for – maintaining long-term wellness, staying accountable, or managing health anxiety.

How JTBD fits into market research

JTBD doesn’t replace existing research practices like surveys or interviews – it enhances them. By reframing questions around customer needs, motivations, and progress, you get a clearer picture of what matters most. And once you identify those jobs, you can guide product development, customer experience, and marketing strategies in a far more targeted way.

For example, a fictional B2B software company might discover through JTBD that customers “hire” its platform to simplify team communication during rapid growth. Knowing this, the business could refine product messaging, prioritize features that enhance cross-team transparency, and create onboarding flows specifically for fast-scaling companies – all based on the core job, not just preferences or usage stats.

In short, JTBD helps reveal the why behind the what. And for organizations seeking meaningful consumer insights that drive innovation, that understanding is a powerful advantage.

Many businesses spend vast resources building products or launching campaigns, only to find them fall short in the market. A common reason? They’re addressing what customers say they want, but not what they actually need. The Jobs To Be Done framework turns that disconnect into an opportunity – by focusing on the real problems customers are trying to solve.

JTBD matters because it gives companies a structured way to turn customer needs into clear business value. It helps teams stop guessing and start aligning offerings around what actually drives customer choice. Whether you're launching a new service, improving a product, or repositioning your brand, understanding JTBD gives you an edge.

Key benefits of applying JTBD to your business

• Uncover hidden growth opportunities: By identifying unmet needs (or "jobs" that are underserved), JTBD shows where to innovate – not just improve.
• Inform smarter product development: Product teams can prioritize features that support the core job rather than chasing trends or competitor checklists.
• Improve go-to-market strategies: Marketing becomes more effective when messages align with customer motivations.
• Reduce risk of product failure: When your solution truly solves a problem, adoption becomes smoother and retention increases.

JTBD is a lens, not a checklist

What makes JTBD effective isn’t just the interviews or analysis behind it. It’s a mindset. One that invites you to constantly ask, What job is this trying to accomplish for our user or customer? This question can be applied across departments – from product design and sales to innovation strategy.

Example: From insights to action

Let’s say, for illustrative purposes, a fictional beverage company learns that customers are choosing its flavored water over energy drinks not just for taste or health, but because they want to stay hydrated without becoming overstimulated during work hours. The job isn’t “quench thirst” or “get energy” – it’s “stay mentally sharp without feeling jittery.”

That insight – revealed by JTBD-style research – becomes fuel for innovation. Knowing the job, the company might expand its low-caffeine line, adjust messaging to focus on focus vs. energy, or develop product formats better suited to desk use. These aren’t random ideas – they’re anchored in real customer motivation.

Align teams and drive shared focus

One of the biggest advantages of JTBD is that it helps create a common language across functions. Marketers, product owners, UX designers, and executives can all rally around the same job, leading to more focused collaboration and better outcomes. And because the framework is grounded in direct consumer insights, it allows different teams to interpret data in ways that are more actionable and aligned with actual user behavior.

Put simply, understanding customer needs through JTBD doesn’t just generate insights – it generates impact. And at a time when businesses are under pressure to innovate with purpose, JTBD offers a path forward that’s both grounded and growth-oriented.

Once you understand the basics of the Jobs To Be Done framework, the next step is applying it to your business strategy. JTBD isn’t just a theory; it’s a tool that can shape how you approach product development, marketing strategies, and business growth—all by focusing on your customers’ true motivations.

Start by Defining the Core Job

Every successful JTBD strategy begins with identifying the core job your product or service helps a customer complete. This job is not the product itself, but the desired outcome a customer is hiring the product to achieve. For example, someone buying noise-canceling headphones isn’t just buying electronics—they’re trying to focus, travel comfortably, or block out distractions.

Segment by Customer Motivation, Not Demographics

Traditional market research often focuses on demographics like age or income. JTBD shifts the lens to the customer’s intent. Why does someone seek out a solution? What problem are they trying to solve? This approach provides deeper consumer insights that reveal overlooked growth opportunities.

Align Teams Around Jobs, Not Features

The JTBD framework gives cross-functional teams—from design to sales—a shared understanding of what really matters to the customer. When teams unify around jobs instead of product features, decisions stay focused on solving actual user problems, not just adding functionality.

Use Jobs To Prioritize Innovations

Once you’ve identified core and related jobs, you can prioritize innovation efforts based on:

• How underserved a job is by current solutions
• How frequently or urgently it occurs
• How important it is in the customer's life or workflow

This helps you invest in new features, services, or offerings that meet unmet customer needs, driving loyalty and market differentiation.

Embed JTBD in Your Customer Research Process

Finally, JTBD should become part of your ongoing customer research. Use interviews, surveys, and observational studies to keep uncovering the evolving jobs your customers want done. Over time, this forms a data-driven foundation for long-term business growth and customer satisfaction.

When grounded in JTBD thinking, your business strategy becomes less about pushing products and more about helping people achieve what matters most to them. That shift changes everything – in the best way.

Seeing how Jobs To Be Done plays out in the real world helps bring the framework to life. Across industries, companies use JTBD insights to reframe their approach, unlocking fresh paths to innovation and stronger customer experiences.

Example 1: A Coffee Chain Focuses on the Morning Routine

A fictional national coffee chain wanted to increase weekday sales. Traditional analysis focused on product preferences and pricing, but a JTBD-inspired study revealed that commuters didn’t just want coffee – they were hiring the store to “kickstart the day with reliable energy and a moment of calm.”

In response, the brand adjusted store layouts to reduce wait times and introduced a pre-order app. These changes weren’t about selling more coffee; they were about helping customers complete their morning routine job better.

Example 2: A Fitness App Solves for Confidence, Not Just Workouts

A fictional fitness app developer assumed users wanted routines and calorie tracking. But digging into the jobs to be done revealed a deeper goal: users wanted “to feel confident showing up in new settings,” like a wedding or job interview.

By redesigning the app to focus on personal milestones and goal-based journeys (not just metrics), they increased engagement and improved retention. This is a clear case of switching from product features to emotional customer motivations.

Example 3: An Insurance Company Addresses Peace of Mind

In a hypothetical example, a regional insurance firm found customers weren’t just buying policies; they were hiring their provider “to protect the things they love and remove financial fear.” This insight led to communications that emphasized peace of mind, not contract terms. Customer satisfaction increased, and inbound inquiries rose as messaging better addressed real-world concerns.

Why These Examples Matter

Stories like these show that applying JTBD to product development or service design can let you:

• See your solutions through your customers' eyes
• Uncover unmet needs or pain points
• Build lasting loyalty by solving the job, not just selling features

These examples are fictional but representative of how the JTBD framework works across different categories. Whether you’re a brand leader, startup founder, or product marketer, JTBD opens the door to smarter innovation grounded in authentic customer needs.

Now that you know what the Jobs To Be Done framework is and how businesses apply it, your next step is making it real for your team. You don’t need to revamp everything overnight—small changes can begin to shift your customer understanding in big ways.

1. Start with a Specific Problem or Product

Choose a product, service, or customer journey that feels unclear or underperforming. Use it as a starting point to explore the job your customer is trying to get done. JTBD works best when grounded in a real challenge that needs better insight.

2. Conduct Customer Interviews with the Right Questions

Instead of asking what customers like or dislike, ask:

• “What was going on in your life when you decided to find this solution?”
• “What were you hoping to achieve?”
• “What obstacles did you face along the way?”

These questions reveal customer behavior triggers and motivations—the heart of JTBD thinking.

3. Map the Job, Not the Journey

Rather than starting with the touchpoints (ads, clicks, conversions), map out the complete job a customer is trying to accomplish. This includes emotional and social elements – not just functional ones. For example, the job “manage family meals during a busy week” combines convenience goals with guilt reduction and family bonding.

4. Involve Teams Across the Business

Bring in voices from product, sales, marketing, and support. The more teams understand the job the customer is hiring you for, the more cohesive – and impactful – your strategies and offerings become.

5. Test, Learn, and Iterate

Apply early findings in simple ways—like reframing a marketing message or adjusting product language—and see how customers respond. JTBD is a flexible tool that gets stronger with refinement. There’s no single perfect approach; it’s about fitting the framework to your unique business strategy and customer context.

At its core, JTBD is about empathy and curiosity. If you continually ask: “What job is this person trying to get done?”—you’re already on the path to consumer-led innovation.