The Jobs to Be Done (JTBD) framework is a way of looking at customer behavior based on the idea that people “hire” products and services to get a specific job done in their lives. These jobs aren't about the product itself – they are about the progress a person is trying to make in a given situation.

Rather than viewing consumer behavior in terms of age, income, or product category, JTBD asks: What is the customer trying to accomplish? What problem are they solving? What obstacles are they facing?

Key Principles of JTBD

• Focuses on goals, not products: Customers don’t want a drill; they want a hole in the wall. JTBD uncovers the goal behind the purchase.
• Context matters: Understanding when, where, and why a job arises is key to spotting unmet customer needs.
• Motivation drives behavior: It highlights not just what customers are doing, but why they’re doing it.

How Does It Work?

Imagine a simple scenario: someone regularly buys smoothies in the morning. A surface-level assumption might be that they enjoy the taste. But dig deeper with JTBD, and you might find they’re hiring the smoothie to "get a quick, healthy meal on the go" – because their mornings are rushed, and they need something filling they can drink in the car. In this case, the "job" isn’t about flavor – it's about convenience and nutrition without slowing down.

This mindset shift gives businesses a clearer lens to innovate. Instead of competing only on flavor or price, a company might improve portability, offer energy-boosting recipes, or design packaging that works better in a car cupholder – directly addressing the actual job to be done.

JTBD vs Traditional Market Research

Traditional market research often focuses on customer segments or what customers say they like. JTBD dives deeper into behavior by looking at circumstances, goals, and tradeoffs people make. It works well alongside other research methods and brings a human-first, outcome-driven perspective to the table.

At SIVO Insights, we view JTBD as one part of a complete Customer Insights approach – one that focuses on understanding human motivation and simplifying complexity to fuel business growth. It’s not a replacement for other tools, but a strategic complement that reveals unmet needs in a structured way.

For business leaders and decision-makers, the JTBD framework offers a way to cut through assumptions and truly understand what drives customer choices. By focusing on the real-life problems customers face – and the progress they seek – leaders can build better products, sharper marketing strategies, and stronger competitive advantages.

Benefits of JTBD for Business Strategy

When used thoughtfully, Jobs to Be Done aligns product innovation and customer experience with actual needs, instead of surface preferences. Here’s how JTBD supports broader business goals:

• Customer-centric decision-making: JTBD helps prioritize what matters most to customers, not just what’s trendy or assumed.
• Clarity in product development: By identifying specific jobs, teams can design features and functions that serve a real purpose – not just add complexity.
• Improved marketing strategy: Messaging can be crafted around the job a customer is trying to get done, increasing relevance and engagement.
• Better identification of customer pain points: The JTBD lens uncovers unmet needs that traditional segmentation may overlook.
• Informed innovation roadmap: JTBD helps prioritize features or services based on the value they bring to the customer’s outcome.

Fictional Example: A Lawn Care Company

Let’s say a company offers lawn care services. Using JTBD research, they discover that homeowners aren’t just hiring them to “cut grass.” The real job might be to “maintain a respectable-looking yard without spending weekends working outdoors.” Suddenly, the service is about saving time and helping customers feel confident in their home’s appearance – not just lawn maintenance. This subtle yet powerful shift can lead to tailored services like weekend-free scheduling, satisfaction guarantees, or smart lawn monitoring – things that directly solve the customer’s core job.

Why It Works for Leaders

Business leaders often look for strategies that reduce guesswork while focusing efforts. JTBD offers exactly that – a research-based method for understanding customer behavior and consumer insights that support product innovation.

It can be especially useful when making strategic decisions such as:

• Designing or refreshing product offerings
• Refining a customer experience or user journey
• Identifying gaps or new growth areas in competitive markets
• Reframing brand messaging to connect emotionally and functionally

At its core, JTBD brings a more grounded, human view of markets. Paired with strong market research – like the tailored solutions offered by SIVO Insights – it gives businesses a clearer picture of what opportunities truly matter, and how to stay focused on what customers want most: making progress.

One of the most powerful benefits of the Jobs to Be Done (JTBD) framework is its ability to uncover real customer needs – not just what people say they want, but what they actually strive to accomplish in their everyday lives. This distinction matters. Customers don't buy products or services; they "hire" them to complete a specific job.

The Difference Between Wants and Jobs

Traditional market research often focuses on demographics or preferences, but these don’t always reveal why someone chooses one solution over another. JTBD flips the focus toward motivation. It aims to answer: What job is the customer trying to get done?

Understanding this can clarify:

• What triggers a customer to start looking for a solution
• Why they might switch from a competitor
• What outcome they truly care about

JTBD Reveals Customer Pain Points

When applied correctly, JTBD helps businesses identify specific pain points that traditional surveys or surface-level interviews might miss. These pain points are often tied to emotional, social, or functional elements of the experience.

For instance, a customer might say they need a faster blender. But digging deeper through a JTBD lens, you might discover the real job is “make a healthy breakfast while getting kids ready for school.” The issue isn't just speed – it's noisiness, ease of cleanup, and one-handed operation. That unlocks totally different innovation possibilities.

JTBD Creates Customer-Centric Understanding

By aligning your business strategy with actual jobs customers are trying to perform, your team can:

• Design features and messaging that connect with real-world use cases
• Prioritize investments toward unmet or underserved jobs
• Develop products and services that are naturally differentiated, because they solve meaningful problems

This level of insight goes beyond standard metrics. It gives companies a clearer view of customer behavior and how that behavior evolves over time – a must-have for staying relevant in a shifting market.

JTBD is especially powerful when paired with qualitative research methods, like in-depth interviews or observational studies, which SIVO Insights leverages to help clients uncover these deeper layers. These techniques make it possible to hear, see, and interpret the real struggles people face, leading to authentic, actionable consumer insights.

To see the true value of the JTBD framework, let’s walk through a few fictional, yet realistic, examples that show how companies can use it to drive product innovation, shape their marketing strategy, and fuel business growth. These examples are crafted to illustrate the practical impact of JTBD across industries – no research background required.

Example 1: A Food Delivery App

A new meal delivery startup assumed their customers were hiring their service just for fast and convenient food. But through a JTBD-informed study, they uncovered a deeper job: "help me feel less guilty about ordering takeout." Many customers wanted healthier options, custom portion sizes, and nutrition transparency – more than just speed.

By redesigning the menu to include low-calorie meals and adding a "healthy choices" filter, the company not only retained more customers but grew revenue from a previously overlooked segment. JTBD helped reposition their value around emotional and functional aspects – not just convenience.

Example 2: A Home Fitness Brand

A fitness equipment brand believed its customers wanted effective workout gear. But digging into jobs revealed something else: users were hiring home gym products to "stay consistent with workouts when unmotivated by myself." The job wasn’t only about the gear – it was about routine reinforcement.

In response, the company launched new guided workout programs, simple progress tracking, and motivational push notifications. These customer-driven updates led to a jump in product usage and brand loyalty.

Example 3: A B2B SaaS Platform

An enterprise software provider, serving mid-sized organizations, used JTBD interviews with decision-makers to pinpoint the job of "help our teams adopt new tools without disrupting workflows." The biggest customer concern wasn’t feature depth but seamless onboarding.

Armed with this insight, the company shifted its product roadmap to focus on integration tutorials, change management support, and low-friction trials. That one insight reshaped their competitive advantage in a crowded market and gave their sales team a stronger story.

Recognizing Jobs Paves the Way for Growth

These jobs to be done examples for product development show that when you deeply understand what your customers are trying to accomplish, new opportunities emerge. Whether it’s launching new products, refining features, or shifting your messaging, JTBD aligns innovation with the customer’s reality – giving your business the edge to stay ahead.

If you’re ready to start applying the Jobs to Be Done approach, this simple cheat sheet lays the foundation. Designed for business leaders and teams of all experience levels, it helps bridge the gap between theory and execution – even if you don’t have a market research background.

JTBD Starter Questions to Guide Insights

Begin your discovery process with questions like:

• What situation causes your customer to begin looking for a solution?
• What are they trying to accomplish (emotionally, functionally, socially)?
• What else have they “hired” to do this job? What worked and what didn’t?
• What obstacles or frustrations do they face while doing this job?
• What outcome would make them say, “That solved my problem”?

How to Use JTBD in Your Business Strategy

Once you identify core customer jobs, you can integrate them across different areas of your business:

Product Development

Use jobs to focus your roadmap. Which features truly solve your customer's job? What solutions are missing from the market?

Marketing Strategy

Frame your messaging around outcomes and emotional drivers. Speak to the job, not just the product.

Innovation and Growth

Spot opportunities where traditional players overlook unmet jobs. This is where a JTBD framework can unlock competitive advantage.

A Few Tips to Get Started

You don’t need a complex setup to try JTBD thinking:

• Start with qualitative interviews – even a handful can offer clear insights
• Map out the key “jobs” across your customer journey
• Bring cross-functional teams together to brainstorm around those jobs
• Test job-based messaging or features with small segments

When paired with broader market research or customer insight initiatives – like those SIVO customizes for clients across industries – JTBD becomes not just a framework but a practical guide for innovation that evolves alongside your audience.

Whether you're launching a new offer, rethinking your business model, or fine-tuning marketing efforts, JTBD puts your customer's goals at the center. That clarity is vital for long-term relevance, impact, and growth.