The Jobs to Be Done framework helps us understand the real reasons people choose – or don’t choose – products and services. Instead of focusing on what people buy, JTBD asks: Why do people buy? What progress are they trying to make in their lives? This approach shifts the lens from features and categories to motivations and outcomes, giving businesses a clearer understanding of customer drivers.

At the core of this framework are three distinct categories of consumer jobs:

1. Functional Jobs

These are the practical, utility-driven reasons behind a product choice. Functional jobs address what the user wants to accomplish quickly, easily, or effectively. For example, someone buys a vacuum cleaner to clean their home, or uses an app to track expenses. It’s about getting a task done.

2. Emotional Jobs

Emotional jobs focus on how the customer feels before, during, or after using a product. These jobs are about reducing anxiety, providing comfort, building confidence, or sparking joy. For instance, choosing a skincare brand that makes you feel confident, or buying premium luggage because it eases travel stress, are both emotional drivers.

3. Social Jobs

Social jobs relate to how people want to be perceived by others. These are driven by identity, status, or group belonging. Buying an eco-friendly water bottle to align with sustainability values, or choosing a luxury brand to signal success, are examples of social motivations.

Understanding these three types helps businesses better segment customer needs, uncover opportunities, and design stronger brand and product strategies. When people “hire” a product, they’re often doing so for more than one reason – sometimes all three types of jobs are at play.

• Functional jobs = Task-based and utility-focused
• Emotional jobs = Feelings and personal comfort
• Social jobs = Identity and interpersonal image

By mapping out these jobs through real-world examples and customer conversations, teams can gain actionable insights into customer decision-making. The goal isn’t just to categorize needs, but to understand and respond to them – helping you serve the whole person, not just the buyer.

Functional jobs are the most straightforward aspect of the Jobs to Be Done framework. They represent the practical task or outcome a consumer is trying to complete when they select a product or service. In many cases, this is the primary reason customers make a purchase – they have something to do, and they need help doing it better, faster, or easier.

Think about the products or tools you use daily. A coffee maker helps brew your morning cup. A spreadsheet organizes data for a presentation. A ride-share app gets you from point A to point B. Each of these is designed to fulfill a specific function – solving real-world problems that people encounter every day.

Examples of Functional Jobs

To make this concept more tangible, here are several examples of functional jobs consumers “hire” products for:

• A meal delivery service to save time on cooking during busy workweeks
• A noise-canceling headset to improve focus in loud environments
• A budgeting app to track bills and avoid overspending
• A stain remover to eliminate tough marks on clothes

In each of these cases, the purchase is motivated by a clear, task-oriented need. The decision is often driven by performance – how well a product gets the job done – and reliability. Features and usability also play a key role, especially when comparing alternatives.

Why Functional Jobs Matter in Product Strategy

Understanding these core tasks helps businesses design and market solutions that align closely with what users are actually trying to accomplish. Rather than guessing what’s important, teams can map specific functional needs and work backwards to create fit-for-purpose experiences.

It also helps avoid the common trap of feature overkill. A product loaded with capabilities but failing on its core job can fall short in the eyes of the buyer. For example, a smartphone might offer advanced camera features, but if it can’t reliably handle basic battery life, it fails the consumer’s primary job.

Identifying Functional Customer Needs through JTBD

To uncover the functional jobs behind product choices, consider these questions:

• What task is the customer trying to complete?
• What’s getting in their way?
• How does the product simplify or speed up the task?
• What would they use instead if your product didn’t exist?

When we understand these answers through JTBD research – like interviews, observational studies, or surveys – we gain clarity on why customers buy and how to serve them more effectively.

At SIVO Insights, we often begin with these functional motivations to help clients identify improvement areas, reshape positioning, or find whitespace for innovation. But it’s just the starting point. As we’ll see next, many product decisions also involve emotional and social jobs that add depth to customers’ true motivations.

Beyond solving a problem or completing a task, many products fulfill an emotional need. These are known as emotional jobs – the deeply personal motivations influencing why consumers buy. Unlike functional jobs, which relate to practical results, emotional jobs are tied to the way people want to feel, avoid feeling, or be perceived internally.

When companies understand emotional jobs, they connect with consumers on a more meaningful level. This emotional connection plays a huge role in consumer decision making and often influences product choice reasons even when competing offerings meet the same function.

How Emotional Jobs Shape Product Preferences

Emotional jobs can be driven by many kinds of personal feelings or expectations. These include:

• Desire for confidence – Choosing a skin care product that makes someone feel attractive or self-assured
• Need for comfort – Selecting a specific coffee brand that evokes security, nostalgia, or relaxation
• Avoidance of anxiety – Preferring a financial service that feels trustworthy and minimizes fear of making mistakes

In each case, a consumer is hiring the product not just for what it does, but for how it makes them feel.

Understanding Customer Motivation Using Emotional Perspective

Products that succeed emotionally resonate with personal identity, self-worth, and anticipated experience. As you explore types of consumer needs, emotional drivers are often uncovered through observation, interviews, and empathy-led research – techniques SIVO often blends in our qualitative research.

For example, when someone buys a luxury watch, the emotional job might involve feeling accomplished or proud, rather than just wanting to tell time. Similarly, a parent might choose a certain baby food brand simply because it makes them feel like a more caring, protective caregiver – even if all brands offer similar nutrition.

Identifying emotional jobs can be the difference between offering a good product and offering a product that becomes essential in someone’s life.

While emotional jobs are inwardly focused, social jobs are outward-facing. They reflect how consumers want to be seen by others through their product and brand choices. These types of jobs touch on social status, belonging, and image.

In the Jobs to Be Done framework, social jobs are an essential layer when seeking to understand consumer jobs and why consumers buy. Products often serve as signals – communicating taste, values, or lifestyle to peers, colleagues, or the broader community.

What Are Social Jobs in JTBD?

Social jobs revolve around a consumer’s desire to:

• Be accepted – Choosing brands or styles that help them fit into a group or cultural trend
• Stand out – Opting for products that show status, creativity, or leadership
• Be perceived positively – Picking products they believe make others see them as responsible, successful, stylish, or caring

For example, selecting a hybrid vehicle may not just be about fuel efficiency, but also about being seen as environmentally conscious. Wearing a premium fitness watch can communicate health dedication or tech-savviness. Even something as simple as reusing tote bags might be a social signal of sustainability.

How Customers Hire a Product or Service for Social Impact

Social image plays a larger role in customer motivation than many admit. Consumers often unconsciously ask: “What will people think if they see me with this?”

This is especially true for visible or shared products – such as cars, phones, fashion, or even what brand of foods someone buys to bring to events. A brand’s perceived values and image become part of what the consumer is choosing.

Understanding social jobs helps companies create products and messaging strategies that align with how people want to present themselves. When brands help consumers express identity or reinforce group inclusion, they become part of customers’ social fabric – and much harder to replace.

Sometimes the best way to understand how customers hire a product or service is to look at real-life, everyday behaviors. When we break down these actions using the Jobs to Be Done framework, we begin to see the layers of motivation – functional, emotional, and social – behind even simple choices.

Examples of Jobs to Be Done for Consumers

Morning Coffee:

Functional job: Wake up and boost energy

Emotional job: Feel comforted and ready to face the day

Social job: Signal hard work and productivity at the office

Streaming Subscription:

Functional job: Get access to entertainment content

Emotional job: Relax and feel in control of how time is spent

Social job: Keep up with popular shows to join conversations with peers

Athletic Shoes:

Functional job: Provide support and performance for workouts

Emotional job: Feel motivated and capable

Social job: Indicate health consciousness or trend awareness

Meal Kit Subscription:

Functional job: Prepare meals easily with less planning

Emotional job: Feel successful in cooking healthy meals at home

Social job: Share well-made dishes with others or feel “on top of it” as a parent or partner

These real-life jobs to be done examples show how much depth lies underneath even routine purchases. By identifying the combination of functional vs emotional vs social jobs, businesses can tailor their offerings, messaging, and experiences to meet the complete set of consumer jobs.

Whether you're developing a product, improving a service, or refining your branding, looking at consumer decision making using JTBD helps ensure you’re aligning with the full spectrum of customer motivations.