The Jobs To Be Done (JTBD) framework is a customer-centered approach that helps businesses understand the real motivation behind why people buy or use a product. At its core, JTBD suggests that people don’t simply buy products or services – they “hire” them to get specific jobs done in their lives. This job could be functional, emotional, or even social in nature.

Think of it this way: a person doesn’t buy a drill for the sake of owning a tool. They buy it because they need to hang a shelf – and ultimately, they want an organized space. The ‘job’ here goes beyond the tool itself. JTBD looks at that comprehensive goal the customer is trying to accomplish and uses it to frame product design, messaging, and market research strategies.

Understanding JTBD in Practice

Traditional consumer research often focuses on identifying target audiences by demographics – age, income, lifestyle. JTBD goes deeper by identifying the progress a customer is trying to make in a given situation. It focuses on the context, the struggle, and the outcome the user is hoping to achieve.

For example, a fictional food delivery app might learn through JTBD research that customers aren’t just ordering dinner – they’re hiring the service to save time, reduce stress after work, and avoid planning meals. This lens can inform everything from app features to marketing to loyalty strategies.

Core Components of the JTBD Framework

• Job Statements: Describe what the user is trying to achieve (e.g., "I want to feed my family quickly on busy weeknights").
• Job Context: The specific situation or environment surrounding the need.
• Success Criteria: How the user defines a successful outcome.

Why JTBD Matters

By understanding the underlying jobs customers are trying to accomplish, companies can innovate more effectively, create products that fit real needs, and improve customer experiences in meaningful ways. The JTBD framework goes beyond features and functions – it gets to the heart of why people choose one solution over another.

Ultimately, Jobs To Be Done offers a clearer picture of customer behavior – and a pathway to design solutions people actually want to use. For teams looking to fuel insight-driven product innovation or align business strategy with what users truly need, JTBD is a valuable and highly actionable research approach.

Applying the Jobs To Be Done framework can lead to powerful outcomes for organizations looking to grow, innovate, or reconnect with their customers. By seeing the world through the lens of real user needs and motivations, companies uncover deeper insights that directly inform strategy, product development, and customer experience.

1. Clearer Customer Insights

Unlike surface-level data points or traditional market segmentations, JTBD delivers context-rich, actionable insights. It helps you answer tough questions like “What problem is our product really solving?”, “What alternatives are customers using?” or “Why aren’t people switching to our solution?”

Understanding customer behavior through a JTBD lens can sharpen your understanding of unmet needs, which inspires smarter solutions.

2. More Relevant Product Innovation

With JTBD, product teams can design offerings that align closely with real user goals. Instead of guessing what features might resonate, or chasing trends, teams unlock opportunities based on what people actually want to accomplish.

This focus leads to innovation with purpose – solutions that stick because they serve a clear, meaningful job.

3. Better Market Positioning

Knowing the "job" your customer wants done allows for stronger and clearer messaging. When your product's value matches the user’s intent, it’s easier to communicate what makes you unique and why customers should choose you over the competition.

4. Informed Business Strategy

Whether identifying new customer segments or building a roadmap for the next three years, the JTBD framework provides a common language for cross-functional teams to make aligned decisions. It roots strategic planning in actual user motivations, rather than assumptions or internal bias.

5. Efficient Resource Allocation

JTBD insights help teams focus their time, budget, and creative energy on the initiatives that will drive real progress for customers – and by extension, real returns for the business.

Key Advantages at a Glance

• Uncovers customer motivations often missed by surveys or traditional segmentation models
• Improves product-market fit by focusing on real-world use cases
• Identifies white space opportunities for growth and innovation
• Guides brand messaging and positioning that resonates

Ultimately, using JTBD for business growth means rooting your decisions in a deeper understanding of what your customers are trying to accomplish – and how you can help them do it better than anyone else. Whether you're in marketing, product design, or strategic planning, this method turns customer insights into practical direction, fueling thoughtful innovation and long-term value.

Understanding the Boundaries of the JTBD Framework

While the Jobs To Be Done (JTBD) framework offers a powerful lens through which to understand customer motivation and drive product innovation, it’s important to recognize that, like any strategic tool, it has limitations.

JTBD Doesn't Replace All Market Research Methods

JTBD is incredibly useful for uncovering deeper user needs, but it’s not a one-size-fits-all solution. For example, JTBD may not fully address price sensitivity, brand perception, or emotional brand loyalty – areas where other market research methods like segmentation studies or usage and attitude research may be more effective. JTBD is most useful when you're trying to reframe your understanding of user behavior through the purpose or outcome they’re trying to achieve.

It Can Be Subject to Interpretation

Identifying the "job" someone is hiring a product or service to do often requires interpretation. Because this process involves subjective insights from interviews and observations, it relies heavily on the skill of moderators and analysts. Different teams may identify different “jobs” depending on how questions are asked or what audiences are observed.

Requires Careful Framing and Scoping

Defining a job too broadly can result in vague insights, while defining it too narrowly may miss key opportunities. For instance, framing the job as “quench thirst” could lead to hundreds of generic beverage competitors, while “help me stay awake and alert while working” reveals something more actionable for a coffee brand. Thus, clarity in scoping the research is essential.

Potential Challenges with Stakeholder Buy-In

Because JTBD thinking may uncover insights that challenge existing assumptions or suggest unexpected opportunities, the framework sometimes meets resistance from internal teams. This is especially the case when it shifts focus away from traditional product or demographic-driven strategies to behavior and intent-driven models.

• JTBD is best used alongside other methods to build a full picture of the market landscape and consumer behavior.
• It requires thoughtful facilitation to generate valid insights and avoid overgeneralization.
• Stakeholder alignment upfront increases the success and actionability of JTBD-driven research.

When applied in the right context, JTBD is an invaluable tool. But its effectiveness depends on how well it’s designed, interpreted, and integrated with broader research and business strategy efforts.

Identifying the Right Time to Apply JTBD

Knowing when to use the Jobs To Be Done framework can make the difference between generating broad ideas and identifying meaningful, actionable customer insights. JTBD is most useful when understanding why people make certain choices matters as much as the choices themselves.

Key Business Scenarios That Benefit from JTBD

JTBD shines in situations where deeper customer motivation needs to be uncovered. This includes product design decisions, uncovering new market opportunities, and determining how to reposition an existing offering. It’s grounded in the idea that people don't just buy products – they "hire" them to do a job. This shift in perspective can lead to innovative solutions and more relevant product development.

Here are some moments where JTBD can be the right fit:

• New Product Development: Use JTBD to identify what outcomes customers are trying to achieve but aren’t currently satisfied with. This fuels more targeted product innovation.
• Product Repositioning or Renovation: When you want to breathe life into an existing offering, JTBD can expose overlooked user needs that your product can better fulfill.
• Customer Retention Strategy: JTBD helps you understand not just what draws people in, but what motivates them to stay. This is critical for improving experiences and building loyalty.
• Market Expansion: If you’re entering new demographics or geographic areas, JTBD research can reveal how the same job is expressed in different cultural or contextual ways.

Jobs to Be Done in Action – A Fictional Example

Imagine a fictional office supply brand experiencing flat sales in its notebook category. Traditional research shows declining usage, but after conducting JTBD interviews, the company learns that workers are now “hiring” digital tools to organize thoughts and tasks efficiently. Yet, there's still a desire for physical tools that support focus and reduce distraction. This opens the door for product innovation – creating hybrid analog-digital journaling solutions – informed directly by JTBD insights.

Not Every Problem Needs JTBD

There are business questions where other methods may be more efficient – such as tracking brand awareness or testing messaging. JTBD is most valuable when the goal is to reveal the motivations driving adoption or churn, rather than what’s simply trending or preferred.

In summary, JTBD is ideal when your challenge revolves around understanding customer intent, unmet needs, or opportunities for product innovation. It excels at shaping human-centered business strategy.

Bringing Clarity to Complexity Through Expert JTBD Research

At SIVO Insights, we specialize in helping organizations connect with the people they serve by understanding their real motivations and needs. When it comes to the Jobs To Be Done framework, we bring deep expertise in applying it thoughtfully and strategically – not as a stand-alone tool, but as part of a broader approach to market research and product innovation.

Tailored Research, Grounded in Human Insight

Understanding what job your customers are hiring your product or service to do can be game-changing. But getting there requires more than just asking – it involves listening deeply, interpreting patterns, and guiding teams toward actionable outcomes. That’s where our experience and people-first methodology come in.

Our JTBD-based research often includes:

• In-depth Qualitative Interviews: Carefully designed conversations that surface unmet needs, emotional drivers, and decision-making context.
• Behavioral Analysis: Going beyond the spoken word, we observe how people actually interact with your products or alternatives to reveal hidden jobs and barriers.
• JTBD Mapping: Organizing product opportunities around identified jobs – both functional and emotional – to empower cross-functional teams with clearer priorities.

Flexible Frameworks, Agile Teams

JTBD is just one lens. At SIVO, we often combine it with complementary tools in our full-service research toolkit – from quantitative validations to segmentation and journey mapping. Whether through a focused Consumer Insights initiative or extended support via On Demand Talent, we help you apply JTBD in a way that fits your unique business environment.

We’ve guided fictional scenarios such as a CPG brand seeking to innovate their household cleaning line or a financial service provider looking to attract younger users. In each case, JTBD revealed unmet needs and unique customer jobs, resulting in more customer-aligned solutions and strategies.

Insight That Inspires Action

Our goal is never insights for insights’ sake. Every JTBD engagement is designed to inform real decisions – whether you're launching something new or trying to better serve existing customers. By simplifying complexity, we help your team move from insight to impact with confidence.

When used strategically with the right partner, the Jobs To Be Done framework becomes more than a set of interviews – it becomes a clear roadmap to business growth.