Introduction
How Jobs to Be Done Helps Marketers Understand Customer Motivations
Why understanding motivation is at the heart of effective messaging
When crafting marketing messages, connecting with your audience begins with understanding what truly motivates them. JTBD marketing isn't just about identifying pain points – it's about identifying the exact situation, the desired goal, and the outcome a customer hopes to achieve. This makes your messaging more precise, more relevant, and more likely to prompt action. Traditional market research often focuses on who a customer is (age, gender, income), but Jobs to Be Done asks: What is the customer trying to accomplish? By shifting the focus from profiles to intent, JTBD opens the door to stronger messaging that captures attention and builds trust.Jobs to Be Done teaches us to think in context
Every purchase or action has a context behind it – it’s not random. Someone doesn’t simply buy a treadmill; they choose a way to stay active despite a busy work schedule or poor weather. That “job” might be staying healthy, reducing stress, improving sleep, or even building self-confidence. Here’s how JTBD helps marketers get to the why behind the buy:- Situational triggers: What event causes someone to start searching for a solution?
- Goals and desired outcomes: What result does the customer want to achieve?
- Emotional drivers: What fears, frustrations, or aspirations influence decision-making?
JTBD improves message testing and copy relevancy
Once you identify these core motivations, you can test headlines, email subject lines, or landing page messaging with more purpose. Instead of guessing what might resonate, JTBD gives you clues about the words and benefits customers are likely to care about. For example, if your research shows users are "hiring" your financial app to feel more in control of monthly spending, your copy could highlight clarity, simplicity, and peace of mind – rather than generic savings or budgeting language. This kind of message testing, grounded in customer behavior, leads to clearer insights and more useful feedback.Good messaging comes from clear understanding
At SIVO Insights, we often see businesses achieve better marketing outcomes when they embrace consumer motivation as a foundational element. When you know what customers are trying to accomplish, you can connect more easily and support their journey. JTBD helps you reframe your product or service not just as a solution – but as a tool to help someone accomplish something meaningful. It’s a subtle but powerful shift that transforms not only your messaging but your entire approach to customer connection.Using JTBD Insights to Craft Stronger Value Propositions
What makes a value proposition resonate
A strong value proposition clearly answers one key question: "Why should I choose this solution over another?" But too often, businesses build value props around features or generic benefits, without directly addressing what the customer truly needs. JTBD brings clarity to the value proposition development process. By grounding your messaging in real customer interviews or behavioral insights, you can articulate how your product or service helps people make progress in a specific context.Start with the job
Using Jobs to Be Done to improve copywriting and product messaging starts with identifying the job your customer is trying to get done. Not the surface-level task, but the broader goal or progress they seek. Let’s say you’re marketing a productivity app. The customer isn’t just trying to write a to-do list – their real job might be to stay focused at work, manage stress, or feel accomplished at the end of the day. This insight shifts your messaging from “Our app helps you stay organized” to something like “Feel more in control of your day – without the overwhelm.”Translate insights into messaging that connects
Once you've captured the job and understand the emotional and functional drivers behind it, you can craft a value proposition that reflects those needs back to the customer:- Functional benefit: What does your solution help them do better or faster?
- Emotional benefit: How does it help them feel more confident, secure, or empowered?
- Context fit: Why is your solution uniquely suited to their situation?
JTBD helps avoid generic messaging
Many value props get lost in vague promises: “More productive,” “Smarter decisions,” “Better results.” With JTBD, messaging is specific and rooted in actual conversations with customers. You start to see real quotes, real language, and the real reasons buyers act. This leads to messaging that’s not only clearer, but also shows deeper empathy. For example, at SIVO Insights, we use qualitative research and real-world interviews to surface key jobs customers are trying to accomplish in various industries. These serve as the foundation for clearer, more targeted value propositions across landing pages, emails, and product pages.Bringing research and copywriting closer together
Great copywriting frameworks are often enhanced by direct customer insight. When research and messaging work hand-in-hand, the results are stronger across the board – from early-stage value proposition development all the way through performance message testing. By using JTBD to shape your core messaging, you’re not just telling people what your product does – you’re showing them how it fits their lives. That makes for copy that connects, and messaging that performs.Improving Landing Page Copy with Real-World Customer Jobs
Landing pages play a pivotal role in turning web visitors into leads or customers. But too often, they focus on features instead of speaking directly to what customers are trying to accomplish. This is where the Jobs to Be Done (JTBD) framework becomes a powerful tool in optimizing landing page messaging.
Why JTBD Matters for Landing Pages
At its core, JTBD is about uncovering a customer’s desired outcome — the job they are hiring your product or service to do. Landing pages that reflect this thinking make a stronger, faster impact.
When you identify the real-world job your customer is trying to complete, your copy naturally shifts from being product-centric to people-centric. Instead of merely listing benefits or specs, you explain the problem you solve and show that you understand why the customer is there in the first place.
Example:
Let’s say you offer accounting software. A typical landing page might say:
“Powerful features. Affordable pricing. Automated reporting.”
But through a JTBD lens, after talking to small business owners, you find that many are thinking:
“I just need to keep track of expenses without spending hours each month.”
Now your landing page can say:
“Make expense tracking painless – so you can focus on growing your business, not reconciling spreadsheets.”
How to Use Customer Jobs to Guide Landing Page Copy
Follow these simple steps to start writing better landing page copy with JTBD:
- Identify key customer jobs: Use qualitative interviews to uncover the situations, motivations, and struggles behind why someone seeks your solution.
- Surface emotional and functional goals: These go beyond features. For example, “feeling in control of my finances” or “saving time on manual processes.”
- Speak their language: Use customer phrases directly in your headlines, subheads, and calls to action for maximum relevance and clarity.
- Frame your value proposition: As help in achieving their goal – not just using your tool.
Done right, this approach leads to clearer messaging, higher engagement, and more conversions, because the copy now reflects the outcome your customer is actually seeking.
How to Apply JTBD in Your Message Testing and Campaigns
Once you uncover customer motivations through Jobs to Be Done research, the next step is applying those insights into your real-world message testing and campaigns. This allows you to validate which messages connect most effectively – before you commit to a full-scale launch.
Start with a JTBD-Inspired Hypothesis
Begin by taking one or more core customer jobs and translating them into possible value messaging. For example, if your research shows customers are “trying to feel more confident when choosing a service provider,” then a few message variations could be:
- “Expert-backed services to guide your decisions with confidence.”
- “Get trustworthy help when it matters most.”
- “Make confident choices with personalized support.”
These messages are all attempts to reflect the same job, but emphasized through different angles or phrasings.
Test What Resonates
Place your JTBD-inspired messaging in different campaign formats such as:
- Paid ad headline variations
- Email subject lines
- Product descriptions or hero web copy
- Call-to-action button text
Then measure traditional metrics like click-through rates, engagement levels, and conversions – but also qualitative signals like user feedback or emotional tone during live testing sessions.
Message testing gives you a feedback loop. You can refine based on what worked, and reframe messaging for segments with distinct consumer motivations.
JTBD Across the Funnel
Another helpful part of using JTBD marketing insights is that they can guide messaging at every touchpoint:
- Top-of-funnel ads: Capture attention by naming a common struggle or goal.
- Mid-funnel email or landing pages: Elaborate on how your solution solves the job.
- Bottom-of-funnel decisions: Reinforce trust and the emotional outcome of choosing your product.
Ultimately, message testing rooted in JTBD creates more personalized, compelling, and high-performance copy that aligns closely with what people are already trying to accomplish. When powered by market research, this approach takes the guesswork out of campaign development and ensures your messaging strategy speaks directly to real needs.
Real-World Examples of Jobs to Be Done in Marketing Copy
Sometimes the best way to understand how to improve copywriting with JTBD is to see it in action. Below are real-world examples of how marketers have used JTBD thinking to shape stronger messaging – based on authentic customer needs and behaviors.
Example 1: Fitness Tracker – Focusing on Motivation, Not Just Technology
After interviewing customers, a wearable tech company found that many people weren’t just buying fitness trackers for steps – they were hiring the product to “stay motivated” and “feel proud of staying active.”
Instead of marketing product specs, the brand shifted its campaign copy to:
“Your daily dose of confidence – track every step toward a healthier you.”
This simple shift, grounded in emotional customer insights, led to stronger engagement and more app conversions.
Example 2: Online Learning Platform – Reducing Anxiety Around Career Growth
An ed-tech provider discovered users signed up because they felt at risk of falling behind at work. The customer’s job? “Feel confident I'm keeping up with my industry.”
The marketing team replaced feature-heavy phrases like “12 weekly modules taught by experts” with job-based messages:
“Stay ahead. Learn what top professionals are mastering today.”
This led to marked increases in ad performance and user sign-ups.
Example 3: Financial Software – Helping People Feel in Control
Market research showed users didn’t just want ‘automated budgets’ – they were hiring financial tools to “feel in control of where their money is going.” Armed with this knowledge, marketers updated homepage copy from product-heavy terms to language rooted in JTBD:
“See exactly where your money’s going – and stay in control, stress-free.”
By tapping into the emotional and functional value customers wanted, conversion rates on landing pages improved significantly.
What These Examples Show
Each of these companies used the JTBD copywriting framework to identify a deeper reason a customer sought out their solution – then adjusted their value proposition and language to match that motivation. Rather than guessing what would work, the message emerged directly from real people.
Whether you're shaping a new campaign or reworking existing copy, looking for the underlying job your customer is trying to complete can unlock clarity and connection at every stage of your messaging strategy.
Summary
Understanding the Jobs to Be Done framework offers marketers and copywriters a fresh, customer-first approach to writing copy that connects. By identifying what people are really trying to achieve, JTBD helps reveal core consumer motivations that fuel more precise, engaging messaging.
In this post, we explored how JTBD strengthens every stage of your communications – from shaping clear value propositions to improving landing page messaging, bulletproofing message testing, and grounding campaigns in authentic human goals. Highlighting real-world jobs to be done examples for marketers, we see how copy backed by market research leads to meaningful improvements in engagement and conversion.
At SIVO Insights, we believe the most effective messaging starts by truly understanding your audience. With JTBD as part of your copywriting frameworks, you can better connect with your customers – not just tell them what you offer, but show how you help them succeed.
Summary
Understanding the Jobs to Be Done framework offers marketers and copywriters a fresh, customer-first approach to writing copy that connects. By identifying what people are really trying to achieve, JTBD helps reveal core consumer motivations that fuel more precise, engaging messaging.
In this post, we explored how JTBD strengthens every stage of your communications – from shaping clear value propositions to improving landing page messaging, bulletproofing message testing, and grounding campaigns in authentic human goals. Highlighting real-world jobs to be done examples for marketers, we see how copy backed by market research leads to meaningful improvements in engagement and conversion.
At SIVO Insights, we believe the most effective messaging starts by truly understanding your audience. With JTBD as part of your copywriting frameworks, you can better connect with your customers – not just tell them what you offer, but show how you help them succeed.
