Traditional brand positioning has long relied on identifying a brand’s attributes, crafting a clever tagline, and inserting it into the competitive landscape. While this method can sometimes spark clarity and differentiation, it often assumes customers will respond to messaging simply because it sounds good – not because it solves a real problem.

Here’s the issue: most traditional branding strategies begin with the company. The question becomes “Who are we as a brand?” or “How do we sound distinct from our competitors?” While important, this perspective risks missing the actual reasons customers interact with your brand in the first place.

What causes misalignment in brand positioning?

Many brands fall into one of the following traps that lead to disconnect:

• Guessing customer motivations: Relying on internal opinions or surface-level customer data without truly understanding behavioral context.
• Overemphasis on features: Talking more about what the product does than what the customer is trying to accomplish.
• Focusing on demographics over intent: Assuming that age, gender, or income tells the full story of why someone buys.
• Reading too much into competitor positioning: Shaping your message only in reaction to others, rather than grounded in your customer’s needs.

When brand messaging misses the mark in this way, it often results in ineffective campaigns, confused customers, or wasted ad spend – even if the product itself performs well.

Where market research fits in

Marketing research and consumer insights are critical for avoiding these missteps. But the type of research matters. While traditional studies can tell you who your customers are, understanding why they engage with your brand – their underlying needs and motivations – requires a more human-centric approach. That’s where Jobs to Be Done comes in.

Instead of focusing on what brands want to say, JTBD reveals what customers are trying to achieve – helping you align brand positioning with actual customer intent. As we head into 2025, where consumer expectations continue to evolve rapidly, that alignment can make the difference between brand relevance and brand noise.

So how exactly does Jobs to Be Done work? Let’s break it down.

Jobs to Be Done (JTBD) is a strategic framework that focuses on the underlying needs or "jobs" your customers are trying to accomplish when they choose a product or service. It's not about demographics or even preferences – it’s about the task your customer is hiring your brand to complete in their life.

Think of it this way: When a customer chooses your brand, they’re not just buying a product – they’re solving a problem, achieving a goal, or improving a moment. They’re “hiring” your brand to do a job for them. Understanding that job is the cornerstone of creating messaging that actually resonates.

How JTBD reframes brand strategy

Instead of asking: “How do we want our brand to be perceived?” JTBD asks: “What situation is the customer in, what outcome are they seeking, and why would they choose us to help them get there?”

Here's how using Jobs to Be Done can strengthen your brand positioning:

• Relevance: By aligning your message with actual jobs customers need done, you build more authentic, customer-centric positioning.
• Clarity: JTBD helps cut through noise by focusing on decision-making moments instead of vague personality traits.
• Differentiation: While competitors may talk about features, you can own the emotional and functional "job" your brand is best suited to solve.

For example, a streaming platform might position itself as a fun entertainment source. But through a JTBD lens, they may discover certain users “hire” the platform to relax after work, or to bond with their children on weekends. That positioning is more personal – and more actionable – than saying simply, "We have great shows."

Why it matters for branding in 2025

Customer needs are evolving in complex directions. People expect brands not just to meet their expectations but to understand them. The JTBD framework provides a practical way to adapt brand strategy to these shifting dynamics. It gives insight into:

• How to align brand messaging with customer needs
• What to emphasize in your brand story and product positioning
• Where your brand fits into the customer journey, emotionally and practically

JTBD also complements traditional market research methods. At SIVO Insights, we often pair Jobs to Be Done with qualitative or quantitative research to uncover the full journey behind decision-making. Our goal is to make complex customer insights simple – and immediately useful for refining your branding strategy.

In the following sections, we’ll explore how to apply Jobs to Be Done thinking to your brand, from uncovering the right jobs through market research to embedding them in your messaging and positioning strategies.

One of the most powerful benefits of the Jobs to Be Done (JTBD) framework is its unique ability to connect brand messaging directly to what customers are actually trying to accomplish. Instead of focusing on product features or taglines alone, JTBD helps brands shape their narrative around real-life struggles, goals, and contexts. This leads to more relevant, authentic, and effective brand positioning.

1. Rooting Brand Promise in Real-World Needs

With JTBD, brands get to the heart of why customers hire their product or service. Are they trying to save time? Feel more confident? Simplify a frustrating process? By starting with this intent, your branding strategy moves beyond assumptions and hunches. Your brand promise becomes a reflection of what really matters to your audience – making it more credible and compelling.

2. Creating Messaging That Reflects Where Customers Are

Traditional brand positioning often speaks from the company's point of view. JTBD flips that perspective. It asks: what is the customer experiencing, and how does your brand fit into that journey? This insight drives storytelling that feels personal and timely – messaging that meets customers where they are, both emotionally and practically.

3. Differentiating Based on Customer Context, Not Just Features

It’s easy for competitors to match features; it’s harder to replicate a deep understanding of customer intent. JTBD allows your brand to stand out by communicating success through the lens of the customer’s life. You’re not just offering a tool – you're offering a way to get a job done better, faster, or more emotionally satisfying than the alternatives. This context-driven differentiation is invaluable in crowded markets.

• Example: Instead of saying “We’re the fastest internet provider,” a JTBD-informed brand might say “Get reliable connection when your big pitch is on the line.”
• Example: Rather than “We sell noise-cancelling headphones,” the message becomes “Focus deeply – whether you’re working, studying, or just needing peace.”

By aligning brand positioning with core customer needs through JTBD, companies build messaging with lasting resonance. It’s not about saying more – it’s about saying what matters most.

Understanding the JTBD framework is one thing – applying it to your brand strategy is where the magic happens. Here's a beginner-friendly guide to start infusing JTBD into your branding efforts with clear, actionable steps.

Step 1: Gather Research to Identify Customer Jobs

Start by talking to your customers – through interviews, surveys, or observational research – to uncover what they’re really trying to accomplish when they engage with your product or service. At SIVO, we help brands uncover these jobs using qualitative and quantitative market research methods, ensuring depth with scale.

Questions to explore might include:

• What was going on in your life when you decided to look for a solution?
• What outcome were you hoping for?
• What did you consider before choosing our brand?

Step 2: Categorize Jobs into Functional, Emotional, and Social

Jobs come in multiple layers. Functional jobs address practical goals, like saving time or improving convenience. Emotional jobs deal with how the user wants to feel – secure, proud, reassured. Social jobs touch on how they want to be perceived. A great branding strategy will acknowledge each layer, not just the surface.

Step 3: Map Your Brand Promise to Priority Jobs

Next, evaluate how well your current brand messaging reflects the top jobs your customer is hiring you to do. If there’s a disconnect – or if certain important jobs are overlooked – you have an opportunity to reposition your brand in a way that speaks more clearly and directly to your target audience.

Step 4: Translate Jobs into Messaging Themes

This is where insights become action. Use customer insights from the JTBD framework to inform high-level messaging pillars, campaign ideas, or product storytelling. Instead of focusing solely on what your company makes, highlight what your customer achieves when they “hire” your brand.

Step 5: Test and Iterate

Once you’ve revised your brand messaging to align with JTBD insights, test it. Does it resonate in qualitative feedback or consumer perception studies? Does it improve conversion performance? A data-driven branding strategy, fueled by continuous learning, leads to stronger long-term connections.

Applying JTBD insights helps brands be not only more strategic, but also more empathetic. It’s a way to make your marketing research pay off – turning real-life customer intent into branding decisions that perform.

Seeing how real brands use the JTBD framework to guide their positioning can bring these concepts to life. Below are a few examples – across industries – that illustrate how businesses are grounding their brand strategy in consumer insights and genuine customer needs.

1. Airbnb – More Than a Place to Stay

Airbnb isn’t just selling accommodations. They realized their customers are not hiring a room – they’re hiring an experience of feeling local, connected, or adventurous in a new city. By leaning into this job of “belonging anywhere,” Airbnb’s branding stands apart from traditional hotels. This reframing helped them carve out an emotional space not previously owned in the travel category.

2. Headspace – Hiring Peace of Mind

Instead of focusing on mindfulness techniques or app features, Headspace markets the emotional outcome of using their product – less stress, better sleep, a calmer day. Their branding reflects the job their users are trying to get done: feel more in control. Understanding emotional jobs has made their message simple and inviting, which supports strong product positioning in a crowded wellness space.

3. Peloton – Not Just Exercise, But Achievement

Peloton’s brand promise moves beyond “home fitness” to support a deeper job: helping people stay motivated and accountable to personal goals. Their use of community, live classes, and progress tracking echoes the emotional and social jobs their customers value. This insight allows Peloton’s branding to inspire rather than just inform.

4. B2B Example: Slack – Supporting Collaboration as a Job

In the B2B world, Slack doesn’t simply market itself as a messaging platform. It positions based on the job of “helping teams move faster” or “reducing communication friction.” Their branding reflects not just what the tool does, but what businesses are trying to achieve. That shift aligns their message with the actual intent behind adoption.

Each of these brands used the JTBD framework – either deliberately or in practice – to take their brand positioning to a deeper, more resonant level. Instead of chasing trends or mimicking competitors, they focused on solving a meaningful customer job. The results aren't just stronger messaging – they’re stronger emotional connections and better business performance. Whether you’re in consumer goods or SaaS, JTBD can help you deliver branding that’s not only differentiated but durable.