Growth Frameworks
Jobs To Be Done

How to Use Jobs to Be Done to Drive Business Growth

Qualitative Exploration

How to Use Jobs to Be Done to Drive Business Growth

Introduction

When customers choose one product over another, their decision is often less about features or price – and more about what they’re trying to accomplish. That’s where the Jobs to Be Done (JTBD) framework comes in. It helps businesses stop thinking in terms of demographics or generic needs and start focusing on the progress people want to make in their lives. Whether someone is buying meal kits for convenience, switching banks for peace of mind, or subscribing to a wellness app for motivation, each choice reflects an underlying job they need to get done. Understanding those jobs can be a game-changer for businesses looking to grow in customer-centered ways.
This blog post breaks down how to use the Jobs to Be Done framework to fuel business growth. It's written as a beginner-friendly guide for business leaders, marketers, product teams, and anyone tasked with understanding customers better. If you’re responsible for aligning solutions with your audience's real-world challenges – whether that’s launching a new product, fine-tuning a service, or adapting your messaging – this is for you. We'll start with the basics of JTBD: what it is, why it matters, and how it shifts the way we look at customer insight. Then we’ll walk through how you can uncover those jobs using effective market research techniques. Along the way, you'll learn how this approach can inform product innovation, sharpen your business strategy, and help you make smarter, evidence-based decisions. If you’ve ever asked, “What do my customers actually need?” or “Why do they really choose us – or not?” – understanding Jobs to Be Done is a powerful place to start. This post will guide you through it.
This blog post breaks down how to use the Jobs to Be Done framework to fuel business growth. It's written as a beginner-friendly guide for business leaders, marketers, product teams, and anyone tasked with understanding customers better. If you’re responsible for aligning solutions with your audience's real-world challenges – whether that’s launching a new product, fine-tuning a service, or adapting your messaging – this is for you. We'll start with the basics of JTBD: what it is, why it matters, and how it shifts the way we look at customer insight. Then we’ll walk through how you can uncover those jobs using effective market research techniques. Along the way, you'll learn how this approach can inform product innovation, sharpen your business strategy, and help you make smarter, evidence-based decisions. If you’ve ever asked, “What do my customers actually need?” or “Why do they really choose us – or not?” – understanding Jobs to Be Done is a powerful place to start. This post will guide you through it.

What Is Jobs to Be Done and Why Does It Matter?

Jobs to Be Done (JTBD) is more than just a business buzzword – it’s a practical way of understanding why customers make the choices they do. At its core, the JTBD framework is based on a simple idea: people “hire” products or services to help them make progress in a particular situation. That “job” could be functional (like getting from one place to another), emotional (like feeling secure or confident), or social (like looking competent in front of others).

Instead of asking, “What do customers want?” JTBD asks, “What job are they trying to get done in their lives – and how can we help them do it better?” Shifting your perspective in this way means you're not just improving a product, you're solving a real, underlying need.

Why Jobs to Be Done Matters

In today’s competitive landscape, customer preferences change fast – but their core needs tend to stay the same. By digging into those deeper needs, businesses can:

  • Build products that solve real-life problems, leading to stronger product-market fit
  • Differentiate from competitors by targeting unmet or underserved jobs
  • Design marketing messages that resonate emotionally and practically
  • Focus innovation efforts on what truly drives customer behavior

Think of JTBD as a guide for smarter innovation and clearer customer understanding. It doesn’t replace traditional market research – it enhances it by uncovering the “why” behind customer behavior.

A Simple Example

Imagine a new parent browsing for baby strollers. They aren’t just looking for something to carry their child – their job might be “navigate narrow store aisles easily” or “feel prepared and capable while out alone.” Recognizing these real jobs changes how the product is designed, positioned, or improved.

By focusing on the job rather than just the customer persona or usage stats, businesses can see new possibilities for product development, messaging, or even entirely new services. That’s why Jobs to Be Done is gaining traction across industries – including tech, healthcare, financial services, and consumer goods.

Ultimately, JTBD gives you a clearer lens through which to view your customer – leading to insights that fuel business growth. It empowers companies to design offerings that customers don’t just like, but rely on.

How to Identify Customers' 'Jobs' with Market Research

Understanding what job a customer is trying to get done starts with asking the right questions – and listening closely. Market research plays a key role here. It enables businesses to move beyond surface-level answers and uncover the motivations, struggles, and goals that drive decision-making. With the right research methods, teams can reveal hidden insights that spark meaningful innovation and customer-centric strategies.

What Makes a 'Job' in JTBD?

Not every customer need is a job. In the Jobs to Be Done framework, a job is defined by the progress someone is trying to achieve in a particular circumstance. For example, someone might say they want “a faster checkout process,” but their underlying job could be “feel in control during a busy lunch hour.” This deeper understanding directs more thoughtful solutions.

Using Market Research to Discover Customer Jobs

To uncover customer jobs effectively, market research should focus on context and intent, not just preferences. Here are a few approaches often used in a JTBD-informed research process:

  • Customer Interviews: In-depth conversations help reveal the real stories behind a purchase or habit. These should explore how decisions unfolded, what alternatives were considered, and what pain points arose.
  • Surveys with Scenario Questions: Open-ended survey questions can capture how users think and feel in specific moments – offering clues to functional and emotional jobs.
  • Journey Mapping: Visualizing the customer’s path before, during, and after a purchase helps highlight moments of friction or unmet need.
  • Ethnographic Observation: Watching customers in their natural environment (virtual or real-world) can uncover contextual needs they may not articulate.

What’s key is blending methods that capture both what people do and why they do it. This is where consumer insights are most valuable – they bring the human side to data-driven research, which is essential for accurate and useful JTBD exploration.

Applying What You Learn

Once you've gathered insights, look for patterns in goals, pain points, and desired outcomes. Group similar jobs together and consider which ones your business can best address – or where gaps in the market might exist. These insights often drive new product ideas, repositioning strategies, or service enhancements.

For example, a fictional healthy snack brand might learn that its customers aren’t just buying for hunger, but to “feel healthy when they don’t have time to prepare a meal.” This job reframes not only product design (individual, easy-to-carry packs) but also messaging and channels.

Ultimately, using Jobs to Be Done within your market research approach sharpens how you think about customer needs. It’s not just about satisfaction – it’s about making sure what you offer helps people live, work, or feel better in the ways that matter most to them. That’s the foundation of business growth.

Real-World Examples: Jobs to Be Done in Action

Understanding the Jobs to Be Done (JTBD) framework becomes much easier when you see it in action. While JTBD is often discussed in theory, it truly shines when applied to real-world business challenges. The examples below (fictional but illustrative) show how companies can use JTBD to uncover unmet customer needs, develop more targeted offerings, and power long-term business growth.

Example 1: A productivity app rethinks its core 'job'

Imagine a tech startup that develops a productivity app designed to help people manage daily to-do lists. Despite good reviews, the app’s user engagement is low. Using the JTBD approach, the company realizes customers aren’t just looking to track tasks – they’re hiring the app to feel more in control of their day.

This subtle but powerful insight leads to several product updates: better morning planning features, progress animations to visualize momentum, and personalized prompts to celebrate task completion. These changes align with the emotional and functional job users were trying to get done, not just the surface-level features.

Example 2: A food manufacturer identifies weekday dinner challenges

A food brand developing ready-made meals notices some products’ sales lag despite premium ingredients and attractive packaging. After conducting JTBD-led consumer insights research, they discover one major weekday dinner job: “Help me get a healthy meal on the table in under 30 minutes with minimal cleanup.”

The insight sparks a product innovation focus on faster cook times, all-in-one packaging, and better labeling that reduces decision fatigue in the grocery aisle. By solving this specific customer problem, the brand gains traction and expands into new product lines that meet related weekday dinner jobs.

Why these examples matter

These scenarios demonstrate the power of the JTBD framework to go beyond assumptions. Rather than focusing only on product features or direct customer feedback, JTBD asks: What are people really trying to accomplish in their lives, and how can your offering help them do it better?

  • Improved product innovation: JTBD reveals gaps between what exists and what customers actually want.
  • Stronger customer connection: Solutions that match deeper needs are more likely to drive loyalty.
  • Clarity in messaging and positioning: When you understand the 'job,' marketing becomes clearer and more relevant.

Whether your business is B2B or B2C, discovering the underlying jobs your customers are trying to get done can inform better products, services, and strategies that accelerate growth.

When to Use Jobs to Be Done in Your Business Strategy

The Jobs to Be Done framework is versatile, but it’s particularly powerful during key moments of strategic decision-making. If you’re wondering when to integrate JTBD into your business strategy, the answer is: anytime you need deeper customer understanding to inform growth decisions.

Here are a few high-impact moments to consider JTBD:

1. Before launching a new product or service

Often, teams base new ideas on internal brainstorming or anecdotal insights. JTBD research flips this by starting with what customers actually need to accomplish. It helps you design with purpose – creating solutions aligned with real-world goals rather than assumptions.

Using JTBD for product development means you're not just reacting to trends; you're solving meaningful problems. This approach reduces risk and boosts relevance.

2. During product refinement or optimization

If a product isn't performing as expected, understanding the underlying job it’s intended to do can yield valuable clues. Are users hiring the product for a different reason than you intended? Are there pain points in how it helps them achieve their goal?

JTBD research methods can uncover blind spots and help you reprioritize features based on job progress, not just usage stats.

3. When exploring new markets or customer segments

Expanding into new markets works best when you grasp the specific jobs of potential customers. JTBD frameworks uncover needs that might not be obvious at first glance, including emotional or social motivators.

This makes JTBD particularly useful in cross-cultural research or when adapting to emerging needs in underexplored audiences.

4. To align cross-functional teams

Siloed departments often speak different “languages.” JTBD offers a common understanding of customer needs that bridges teams – marketing, R&D, product, and leadership. It offers clarity, which drives collaboration rooted in purpose.

5. For long-term innovation planning

JTBD isn’t just for short-term tactics. It uncovers enduring needs that can shape roadmap planning for years ahead. If you’re setting a 3-to-5-year vision, understanding the jobs your category will need to fulfill helps you stay relevant and competitive.

Whether you're starting from scratch or re-evaluating your positioning, using Jobs to Be Done for business growth ensures decisions are rooted in real customer behaviors and motivations – not guesswork.

How SIVO Helps You Unlock Growth with JTBD

At SIVO Insights, we help you understand what truly drives your customers’ choices – not just what they purchase, but why. The JTBD framework is one of the powerful tools we use to uncover deep, actionable consumer insights that fuel smarter business growth.

Our approach: JTBD meets tailored research design

Every organization is unique, and so are your customers. That’s why we don’t apply a one-size-fits-all method. Our full-service custom market research combines the JTBD framework with the right mix of qualitative and quantitative techniques to reveal the hidden drivers behind behavior.

Our process helps you:

  • Identify customer jobs to be done: Through interviews, ethnographic research, and surveys, we surface core functional, emotional, and social needs customers aim to fulfill.
  • Clarify unmet needs and friction points: We go beyond surface-level insights to understand what’s not working – and where new opportunities lie.
  • Inform product innovation and messaging: By uncovering what people are really trying to get done, brands can align innovation, experience, and communication with true customer intent.

Flexibility through insights and talent

Organizations can engage SIVO in multiple ways. Whether you need end-to-end research support or a flexible expert through our On Demand Talent offering, our team plugs into your business with speed and care. JTBD thinking can be infused into a single project or embedded across your growth strategy over time.

Our researchers, strategists, and moderators bring years of experience across industries – from CPG and tech to health and financial services – so we understand how to tailor JTBD and other research methods to your specific goals.

Actionable insights. Real business impact.

At its core, Jobs to Be Done is about unlocking fresh perspectives. With SIVO, JTBD becomes more than a framework – it becomes a clear, research-backed strategy to stay ahead of changing needs, deepen your customer understanding, and drive innovation that lasts.

Summary

Understanding your customers isn’t about guesswork – it’s about uncovering what they’re really trying to achieve. The Jobs to Be Done (JTBD) framework helps businesses move beyond surface-level feedback into the core needs, motivations, and goals driving decisions.

In this beginner-friendly guide, we explored what JTBD means and why it matters for modern businesses. We looked at how market research tools – like qualitative interviews and ethnographic observation – make these jobs visible, and how discovering them leads to more targeted innovation, better messaging, and smarter strategy.

As seen in our real-world examples, even subtle shifts in understanding the customer’s “job” can lead to more successful offerings. JTBD works best when used thoughtfully – whether you’re launching a new product, assessing current offerings, or exploring new markets. It provides a lens for growth grounded in authentic customer needs.

At SIVO, we combine the JTBD framework with custom research design to help you connect with what people really want and need. Because when you deeply understand your customers, you create better solutions – and better outcomes.

Summary

Understanding your customers isn’t about guesswork – it’s about uncovering what they’re really trying to achieve. The Jobs to Be Done (JTBD) framework helps businesses move beyond surface-level feedback into the core needs, motivations, and goals driving decisions.

In this beginner-friendly guide, we explored what JTBD means and why it matters for modern businesses. We looked at how market research tools – like qualitative interviews and ethnographic observation – make these jobs visible, and how discovering them leads to more targeted innovation, better messaging, and smarter strategy.

As seen in our real-world examples, even subtle shifts in understanding the customer’s “job” can lead to more successful offerings. JTBD works best when used thoughtfully – whether you’re launching a new product, assessing current offerings, or exploring new markets. It provides a lens for growth grounded in authentic customer needs.

At SIVO, we combine the JTBD framework with custom research design to help you connect with what people really want and need. Because when you deeply understand your customers, you create better solutions – and better outcomes.

In this article

What Is Jobs to Be Done and Why Does It Matter?
How to Identify Customers' 'Jobs' with Market Research
Real-World Examples: Jobs to Be Done in Action
When to Use Jobs to Be Done in Your Business Strategy
How SIVO Helps You Unlock Growth with JTBD

In this article

What Is Jobs to Be Done and Why Does It Matter?
How to Identify Customers' 'Jobs' with Market Research
Real-World Examples: Jobs to Be Done in Action
When to Use Jobs to Be Done in Your Business Strategy
How SIVO Helps You Unlock Growth with JTBD

Last updated: Jun 04, 2025

Curious how JTBD insights can uncover new growth for your business?

Curious how JTBD insights can uncover new growth for your business?

Curious how JTBD insights can uncover new growth for your business?

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