The Jobs To Be Done (JTBD) framework is a market research method that helps businesses understand why people buy products or services. Instead of focusing only on demographics or broad personas, JTBD dives into the context and motivations behind customer choices. It asks: What job is the customer trying to get done in their life, and why did they choose this product or service to do it?

For example, someone doesn’t buy a fitness app just to have an app – they may be trying to reclaim their health after a stressful year, create a routine they can stick to, or simply feel more in control of their day. These are the “jobs” they’re hiring the product to help them with.

But discovering those jobs isn’t always straightforward. Consumers may not articulate their needs directly, or they might not even be fully aware of them. That’s where empathy in business comes in. When researchers approach customer conversations with empathy, they go beyond surface-level answers and listen for emotional triggers, context, and deeper meaning.

Empathy helps us see customers not as data points but as people navigating complex lives. It’s the key to unlocking honest insights and building truly human-centered research. By practicing empathy throughout the JTBD process, we gain a clearer view of the real problems customers face – which leads to more relevant solutions.
Here’s why empathy particularly complements the JTBD framework:

 
• It uncovers emotion-driven motivation: Empathy allows researchers to read between the lines and reveal emotional jobs like wanting to feel safe, confident, or valued – all of which influence purchasing decisions.
 
• It clarifies decision-making context: When you listen with empathy, you pick up on lifestyle details that shape a user’s choices, such as schedules, stressors, or past experiences that affect the job they're trying to complete.
 
• It opens space for unexpected insights: An empathetic approach creates trust, helping consumers feel heard. That trust can lead them to share deeper stories that more rigid interviews may miss.

In short, JTBD defines the functional side of what people need to get done, while empathy fills in the emotional and situational details. Combining both leads to a holistic understanding of customer behavior — and lays the groundwork for effective product innovation, smarter marketing strategies, and better customer engagement.

Not all customer needs are obvious. Consumers rarely express their true motivations in plain terms – they often describe surface-level preferences (“I like this brand,” “It’s convenient”) without digging into what's really driving their decision. This is where an empathetic approach can uncover unmet or hidden needs that data alone won’t reveal.

Empathy-driven research is about leaning in and listening carefully. Instead of jumping to conclusions or assuming you know what users want, you give space for people to explain their choices in their own words. You ask questions not just about what customers do, but how they feel when they do it – and why.

Let’s say a user switches from cooking at home to ordering meal delivery services. At first glance, the reason might be convenience. But through an empathetic lens, we might learn that a deeper job they’re trying to fulfill is reclaiming an hour of peace after a chaotic workday or reducing guilt about not making time for family dinners – subtle, emotional drivers that are easy to miss.

When applied to customer behavior research methods like in-depth interviews, shop-alongs, or ethnographic studies, empathy allows researchers to gently dig past surface answers. This helps teams:

Identify Hidden Jobs and Emotional Goals

Understanding user needs in market research isn’t just about features – it's about emotion. What tensions exist in your customer’s life? What job are they trying to complete to feel satisfied, empowered, or understood?

Spot Gaps Between What Customers Say and Do

People often say one thing but act differently. By observing with empathy, researchers can detect where customer behaviors don’t line up with stated intentions – and ask why.

Create Richer Personas and Customer Journeys

Empathy helps build more dimensional profiles of your users by capturing not just what they want, but what they need in various moments of their journey – especially in moments of friction or decision-making.

Reveal Actionable Insights for Product Innovation

Insights driven by empathy lead to more informed product decisions. When businesses design solutions based on both functional jobs and emotional context, they naturally develop offerings that fit into the customer’s life more meaningfully.
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In a fictional example, consider a company designing a wearable sleep tracker. Traditional consumer research might focus on tracking accuracy or app integration. But by incorporating empathy, they uncover an unexpected insight: users want to feel reassured before bed, not just record their sleep. This leads to the addition of calming nighttime routines in the app – a simple yet powerful feature informed by human insight in product strategy.

By focusing on the full emotional arc of the customer experience, empathy strengthens your market research methods and connects your team to the real “why” behind user actions. In turn, this drives better ideas, more relevant solutions, and ultimately, meaningful business growth.

Empathy in Jobs To Be Done (JTBD) research goes beyond collecting responses – it means deeply listening to people to understand their true struggles, motivations, and decision-making moments. While data can show what’s happening, empathy reveals why it’s happening. To illustrate this, let’s walk through a few fictional but realistic examples where empathy played a crucial role in consumer research.

Example: Understanding the ‘Job’ Behind a Quick Dinner Solution

Consider a food brand aiming to launch a ready-made dinner product. Instead of simply surveying preferences, a JTBD research study uncovered that busy parents weren’t just looking for food – they were hiring a product to solve the evening chaos. Through in-depth interviews, researchers discovered that these parents felt guilty about not spending “uninterrupted time” with their kids due to hectic schedules. The emotional weight behind meal choices was far more complex than expected.

This human-centered research insight shifted the product strategy. The company focused on packaging that included conversation starters and activities while food heated, turning dinner prep into family connection time – a deeply emotional win beyond nutrition or convenience.

Example: Redefining Outdoor Gear Based on Emotional Needs

In another case, a brand wanted to redesign hiking backpacks. While initial assumptions focused on durability and storage, JTBD interviews revealed something unexpected: many novice hikers were using backpacks to feel more confident and blend in with experienced outdoor enthusiasts. Their real “job” was not about gear – it was about belonging and self-assurance on the trail.

With empathy guiding the process, the company addressed these emotional goals by introducing subtle, thoughtful features like built-in tips for first-time hikers and an inclusive marketing campaign. This product innovation stemmed directly from understanding user needs – not just functionally, but emotionally.

What These Stories Tell Us

Both examples illustrate a key principle: true customer insight doesn’t come from asking “what do you want?” but rather uncovering stories behind choices. Empathy helps researchers dig deeper into customer motivation, identify pain points, and craft solutions tailored to the full human experience.

• Empathy reveals why customers behave the way they do
• It turns abstract “needs” into tangible innovation opportunities
• It improves connection between brands and users on a deeper level

In short, when empathy guides JTBD research, businesses shift from making assumptions to making meaningful changes.

At its core, Jobs To Be Done research is a pathway to business growth. But when powered by empathy, it becomes even more impactful. Empathy doesn’t just enhance understanding – it drives clearer decisions, more relevant innovations, and stronger customer loyalty. When you see customers not as data points but as real people with real problems, your business strategies fundamentally improve.

Stronger Connection to User Needs

Empathy in business leads to solutions that genuinely resonate. By unearthing the human insight behind product choices – like the desire to feel confident, reduce stress, or save time – organizations create offerings that align with actual user needs. These are the kinds of products people remember, share, and return to.

Better Product-Market Fit Through Human Insight

Many companies struggle with product innovation because they operate from assumptions instead of grounded, qualitative insights. By applying empathy-infused JTBD research methods, businesses avoid common pitfalls like over-engineering or focusing on features no one asked for.

This approach helps teams frame customer behavior in emotional as well as practical terms – often the missing link in customer insights. When your product solves the full “job” – including the hidden emotional triggers – customer satisfaction, retention, and advocacy typically rise.

Faster, Smarter Innovation

With a clear understanding of what customers are truly trying to achieve, development cycles become more focused. Businesses stop chasing trends and start solving real problems. This clarity turns into more efficient product pipelines, lower risk investments, and better alignment across departments – from R&D to marketing.

Impact on Long-Term Business Growth

Empathy-aligned customer motivation is a powerful growth lever. Whether you’re refining your brand position, entering a new market, or launching a category-defining product, empathy ensures you take action that lands with meaning. Over time, this leads to:

• Increased customer loyalty from feeling understood
• Stronger brand reputation as a problem-solver
• Greater agility in adapting to shifting user needs

Ultimately, using Jobs To Be Done for business growth becomes far more effective when combined with a commitment to understanding people – not just demographics or usage patterns, but their lived experiences.

At SIVO Insights, we believe the most powerful market research methods begin with empathy. Our approach to Jobs To Be Done is rooted in real conversations with real people – uncovering what drives behavior, decision-making, and product engagement. By pairing technical expertise with a deep understanding of human stories, we help organizations translate customer motivation into actionable strategies for innovation and business growth.

Our Human-Centered JTBD Approach

Every JTBD project we conduct is tailored to the business question at hand. Whether you’re launching a new product, repositioning an existing one, or exploring a new audience, we customize the research plan to meet your goals. What stays consistent is our emphasis on:

• In-depth interviews designed to uncover emotional drivers
• Thoughtfully-crafted research questions that go beyond surface-level feedback
• Strategic synthesis that connects customer stories to business impact

We explore not just what customers do, but what they’re feeling before, during, and after making a decision. This creates a clearer link between user needs and the reasons they “hire” a product or service.

Balancing Empathy with Analytical Rigor

Our team at SIVO blends qualitative insight with quantitative validation. That means we don’t rely on empathy alone – we use it as the lens that makes numbers meaningful. This dual approach ensures that gut-level understanding is supported by scalable, actionable data.

We also believe in the power of pairing technology and tools – such as AI-assisted analysis – with the nuance only people can bring. Observations, facial expressions, and moments of silence all matter. That’s how true behavioral truths emerge.

Cross-Industry Expertise, Human Focus

SIVO’s researchers have worked across industries – from retail and food to finance and health. No matter the category, our process is grounded in clarity, respect for humans, and a commitment to making the complex simple. Because we know: when research connects with people, strategy connects with markets.

Whether you need a stand-alone JTBD project or want to augment your team with On Demand Talent for continuous input, our flexible model is designed to scale with your needs.

Understanding customer behavior doesn’t have to be guesswork. With SIVO, it becomes a disciplined, empathetic path to smarter decisions.