Jobs to Be Done (JTBD) is a business framework that helps you understand what motivates customers to take action. It shifts the focus from what people are buying to why they are buying it – the underlying “job” they are trying to get done in their lives. This could be anything from getting a good night’s sleep, to eating healthier, to saving time during a busy day.

At its core, JTBD looks at products and services through the lens of customer needs. Instead of thinking about demographics or product features first, it asks a simple but powerful question: What ‘job’ is the customer hiring our product or service to do?

Here’s a simple example: A person buys a cordless drill. What job are they really hiring it for? JTBD thinking might reveal that it’s not about owning tools – it’s about hanging shelves quickly so they can organize a cluttered room and feel productive over the weekend. The job is deeper than the drill itself.

This kind of thinking helps product teams, marketers, and business leaders realign their strategies around customer experiences, not just transactions. When you understand JTBD, you’re better prepared to uncover unmet needs, develop products that serve real purposes, and communicate value in a way that resonates with people.

The Two Key Elements of JTBD

• The Functional Job: What the customer is trying to get done practically (e.g., drill a hole, commute to work, file taxes).
• The Emotional Job: How the customer wants to feel while doing it (e.g., competent, stress-free, in control).

When companies understand both types of jobs, they can design solutions that don’t just perform a task – they fit meaningfully into the customer’s life.

So, what is the JTBD framework exactly? It’s a structured way of capturing and analyzing these insights. Whether through interviews, journey mapping, or qualitative market research, you’re identifying the pain points and desired outcomes that drive behavior. At a firm like SIVO Insights, this can mean turning rich, human-centered data into product innovation strategies that work.

In simple terms: JTBD helps teams think beyond the product and toward the person – which is key to innovation, differentiation, and long-term business growth.

Getting your team to understand Jobs to Be Done (JTBD) isn’t just a nice-to-have – it’s essential when you’re aiming for real customer-focus and business impact. Explaining JTBD clearly helps every department connect with what your customers truly need, aligning everyone around one shared vision: solving meaningful problems.

Whether you're working in product development, marketing, customer experience, or business strategy, JTBD gives your team a common language. It shifts the conversation from “How can we improve our product features?” to “What job is the customer actually trying to accomplish – and how can we help them do that better?”

Key Benefits of Explaining JTBD Across Teams

• Encourages cross-team collaboration: When designers, marketers, and sales teams align around the same customer jobs, it leads to stronger, more consistent outcomes.
• Improves product innovation: JTBD reveals not just current needs, but unmet or emerging needs – helping spark new ideas that are grounded in reality.
• Supports smarter decision-making: A clear JTBD understanding helps you validate what matters most to customers, not just what looks good internally.

Let’s say your company wants to reimagine its mobile app. If each team has a different view of the user – Marketing thinks it's about engagement, IT focuses on functionality, and Customer Service is concerned with complaints – you might end up solving three different problems. JTBD unites those goals by asking: What is the customer trying to do, and how can we make that easier or more enjoyable?

Here’s a fictional example: A meal delivery company notices customers often skip Monday deliveries. Instead of guessing why, the team uses JTBD research to discover the ‘job’ people are trying to do is regain control after an indulgent weekend. This insight leads to offering a new “reset” healthy menu that customers can opt into every Monday – a simple innovation born from clear team alignment around customer needs.

If your team understands the JTBD framework, you create a culture where customer insights aren't left behind. Instead, they become the blueprint for product roadmaps, communications strategies, and even internal goals. At SIVO, we often help cross-functional teams integrate customer insights in a way that bridges silos and supports big-picture business growth – JTBD is a key part of that toolkit.

When everyone knows what job the customer is trying to get done, and why it matters to them, it eliminates guesswork. Team collaboration improves. Innovation becomes targeted. And your business moves closer to delivering what people actually want – not just what’s possible to build.

Start with the Core JTBD Concept: People Hire Products to Get Jobs Done

When introducing the Jobs to Be Done framework to your team, keep it simple: Explain that customers don’t just buy products or services—they “hire” them to solve specific problems or fulfill needs in their lives. This job can be functional (like getting from point A to B), emotional (feeling secure), or social (fitting in with peers).

Rather than framing the conversation around product features or demographics, JTBD thinking shifts the focus to the customer’s situation and desired outcome. That’s where the real opportunity to innovate exists.

An Easy Way to Describe JTBD

Use a familiar analogy: Imagine someone buying a drill. They don’t really want the drill—they want a hole in the wall, and more importantly, they want to hang a picture to make their home feel more complete. In JTBD terms, the picture on the wall is the true “job” the customer wants done.

You can say to your team:

• “Think of our product as the tool.”
• “The customer has a goal – that’s their job to be done.”
• “Our success depends on how well we help them complete that job.”

Break It Into 3 Simple Questions

Guide your team by asking:

1. What is the customer trying to accomplish?
2. Why is this important to them?
3. How are they currently trying to do it – and where do those solutions fall short?

These questions help teams step into the customer’s shoes and uncover unmet needs. That’s a powerful way to shape product innovation and business strategy grounded in real customer insights.

Define the Language Together

It can also help to align on shared JTBD vocabulary early. Use terms like:

• “The Job”: The goal the customer wants to achieve
• “The Struggle”: The pain or problem they face in trying to accomplish it
• “The Hire”: The solution they use (what they “hire” to get the job done)

When everyone on your team understands these building blocks, JTBD becomes a common language that supports better collaboration and sharper focus on customer needs.

Understanding JTBD Through Practical Examples

Jobs to Be Done becomes easier to grasp when you show your team how it works in real-world business scenarios. Here are four fictional examples across different industries that illustrate how JTBD helps uncover what customers truly need – and how businesses can respond with smarter product development and customer-centered solutions.

1. Breakfast on the Go – Food & Beverage

A fictional coffee chain noticed drops in morning foot traffic. Traditional surveys didn’t reveal much, so they explored the JTBD framework. It turned out the real job customers needed was a quick and energizing breakfast they could consume on the commute – not just coffee. With this insight, the chain launched easy-to-carry breakfast wraps and mobile ordering for faster pickup. Sales rebounded, and customer satisfaction increased.

2. Choosing a Gym – Health & Wellness

A fitness startup assumed users joined for workouts. But their JTBD research showed the primary job wasn’t “get fit” – it was feel re-energized and reduce stress after work. The company responded by adding evening yoga sessions, guided meditation, and community-building events. Usage increased, along with stronger retention.

3. Buying Software – B2B Tech

A fictional SaaS company thought clients were hiring their workflow tool to improve organization. JTBD analysis revealed something deeper: Users were overwhelmed with endless meetings and wanted to feel in control and accomplish daily goals faster. This insight shifted the product roadmap toward decluttering dashboards and improving time-tracking features, driving greater adoption.

4. Choosing a Backpack – Retail

A backpack brand believed performance features (waterproofing, compartments) were most important. But their JTBD research uncovered that college students were hiring backpacks to feel confident and organized moving between life and school. The brand invested in sleeker designs, interior organization, and personalized color options – all in response to that underlying emotional and functional job.

Each example shows how JTBD moves beyond surface-level assumptions and focuses on the outcomes people truly seek. These customer insights shape smarter product innovation, stronger market research, and ultimately drive business growth.

Turning JTBD Learning Into Action

Once your team understands the basics of Jobs to Be Done, the next step is building momentum across your organization. Gaining buy-in doesn’t require major restructuring – it starts with clear communication, small actions, and real wins that connect back to customer needs.

1. Link JTBD to Your Business Strategy

Help your team see how JTBD supports existing priorities: accelerating product innovation, improving customer insights, or guiding better decisions with market research. When stakeholders understand how this framework helps achieve goals they already care about, they’re more willing to use it.

2. Start Small, Learn Quickly

You don’t need to overhaul every project to integrate JTBD. Start by applying it to one initiative – maybe a new product design or service update. Frame the project around customer jobs, then observe how this lens shifts team thinking. Share early observations and successes with leadership and cross-functional teams.

For example, try this approach:

• Choose one customer segment
• Conduct a few interviews or insights sprints focused on “What job are they really trying to get done?”
• Translate findings into a simple job statement the team can rally around

3. Make JTBD Part of Team Collaboration

Use it in workshops, brainstorming sessions, or strategy meetings. Framing discussions around customer jobs helps free teams from internal biases and keeps decisions centered on real-world needs, not assumptions. It’s especially helpful when cross-functional teams come together – giving everyone a shared lens through which to solve problems.

4. Build Confidence with Ongoing Training

To keep JTBD thinking top of mind, consider internal lunch-and-learns, toolkit development, or partnering with a consumer insights expert to guide skill-building. Many teams benefit from working with a JTBD research partner to conduct foundational studies and train teams along the way.

JTBD doesn’t replace your current tools – rather, it complements them by creating a clearer line of sight between customer struggles and your business strategy. Aligning teams this way leads to more impactful innovations and helps organizations grow based on what people truly need.