The Jobs to Be Done theory is based on a simple, but powerful, idea: people don’t just buy products; they hire them to do a job in their lives. Whether someone chooses a meal delivery service, downloads a budgeting app, or books a fitness class – each decision is made in service of achieving a goal or solving a problem.

Traditional market research often focuses on who the customer is: age, gender, occupation, habits. JTBD takes a different angle by focusing on what customers are trying to accomplish. This shift in perspective can uncover insights that more surface-level research might miss.

Moving from Demographics to Motivation

Imagine two people who both buy the same standing desk. One uses it to relieve back pain from long hours of sitting. The other wants a space where they can switch between tasks quickly in a busy home office. Demographically, they might look similar – but their motivations, or their "jobs," are entirely different. JTBD helps clarify these differences and unlock richer consumer insights.

How Market Researchers Use JTBD

By using the Jobs to Be Done framework, market researchers can get beyond surface-level preferences and start identifying:

• What specific outcomes users are striving for
• The struggles or barriers they face in achieving these outcomes
• The emotional and functional factors behind purchasing decisions
• Unmet needs that offer opportunities for innovation or improvement

This focus on context and motivation empowers businesses to develop solutions that better align with customer needs – not just what they say they want, but what would actually make their day-to-day lives easier, better, or more successful.

From Insight to Product Development

When applied correctly, JTBD often leads to more customer-driven product development. Instead of creating features based solely on competitor benchmarks or internal ideas, brands use real-world insight to guide design decisions. This approach reduces risk, improves relevance, and gives every team – from marketing to design – a unified view of what matters most to customers.

At SIVO Insights, we use JTBD alongside other research strategies to build a full picture of human behavior. Because when businesses understand what 'jobs' their products are really doing for people, they can create more value – and generate stronger business growth in return.

Think about the last time you chose a new coffee shop. Was it just because of the flavor, price, or convenience? Or were you subconsciously 'hiring' that coffee shop for a job – a quiet place to focus between meetings, a friendly space to catch up with a friend, or simply a reliable jolt of caffeine before your commute?

This is the heart of the Jobs to Be Done theory in action. Customers don’t make choices randomly. They choose solutions that help them solve a problem or fulfill a desire – even if they don’t always articulate it that way.

The “Hire” and “Fire” Concept

In JTBD thinking, consumers hire a product or service to help them make progress in their lives. If that product no longer meets their need or another option comes along that does a better job, they may fire the old solution.

Understanding this mental model creates incredible value for businesses, because it helps explain not just what customers use, but why they switch, stay loyal, or abandon options altogether.

JTBD Examples in Business

Let’s look at a couple of simplified, beginner-friendly Jobs to Be Done examples:

• A smoothie brand isn't just competing with other smoothies. A customer might hire it as a healthy breakfast replacement on rushed mornings. So it's actually competing with cereal, protein bars, or skipping breakfast entirely.
• A budgeting app might be hired by users who feel financially overwhelmed. The core job isn’t just “track spending,” but to feel in control and reduce stress around money.

These examples show how JTBD connects practical needs with emotional ones – making it easier to design messaging, features, and product experiences that resonate.

Benefits of Using JTBD in Market Research

When integrated into your consumer insights strategy, the JTBD lens can:

• Clarify what drives buyer behavior
• Reveal unmet or underserved needs in the market
• Guide smarter segmentation based on goals rather than just demographics
• Shape product roadmaps that are more rooted in real-life usage

This people-first mindset supports everything from branding and customer experience to long-term innovation planning. It helps teams think beyond features and focus on outcomes – a crucial step for business growth in competitive markets.

At SIVO, we believe that tools like JTBD are most effective when used alongside other methodologies that capture the full complexity of human decision-making. By combining the emotional landscape of buyer motivation with quantitative validation, we help brands see the full picture – and build with both empathy and evidence.

Traditional market research and the Jobs to Be Done (JTBD) framework both aim to understand consumers, but they approach that goal from different angles. Understanding the distinction helps businesses choose the right approach for the right challenge.

In traditional market research, the focus is often on identifying who the customer is – their demographics, preferences, perceptions, or satisfaction levels. This may involve interpreting surface-level behaviors, purchase patterns, or brand awareness through tools like focus groups, surveys, and segmentation studies.

JTBD, on the other hand, starts from a different premise. It doesn’t focus strictly on who the customer is or what they like. Instead, it asks: “What job is the customer trying to get done, and what solution are they hiring to do it?”

Key Differences Between JTBD and Traditional Research:

• Focus: Traditional research centers on attributes, attitudes, and behaviors. JTBD uncovers the deeper motivations behind those behaviors – the progress a person hopes to make in life.
• Goal: Traditional methods often aim to predict or describe customer behavior. JTBD seeks to explain the why behind customer decisions by identifying underlying jobs and unmet needs.
• Timeframe: Traditional research might capture a current snapshot; JTBD explores the context around a decision – past frustrations, trigger points, and what “success” looks like to the user afterward.
• Data Collection: While JTBD can leverage similar methodologies (like interviews or surveys), its lens is more observational and empathetic, focusing on stories and causal reasoning rather than just preferences.

For example, instead of asking “How likely are you to recommend this phone?” JTBD would explore: “What led you to choose this phone over others?”, “What were you hoping it would help you solve in daily life?”, or “What would make you switch?”

Ultimately, both traditional research and Jobs to Be Done have their strengths. But JTBD reveals layers of customer motivation that are often missed – offering valuable insights for customer-centric innovation, product development, and strategic growth.

Understanding the Jobs to Be Done framework becomes more powerful when you see it in action. Across industries, organizations apply JTBD to uncover hidden customer needs, improve experiences, and develop offerings that truly resonate. Let’s look at several real-world examples that show how JTBD informs product and service innovation.

1. Streaming Services: Hiring for Relaxation and Escape

Consumers don’t simply subscribe to a streaming platform because of the catalog or price alone. They’re often hiring the service to unwind after work, bond with their family, or escape a stressful week. Netflix and similar platforms that understand these “emotional jobs” prioritize recommendations, easy UI, and comfort-driven content to deliver on these needs – going beyond entertainment features alone.

2. Ride-Sharing: Hiring for Control Over Commutes

When someone hires a rideshare app like Uber or Lyft, they aren’t just buying a ride – they’re solving jobs such as saving time, avoiding parking hassles, or staying safe after a night out. Understanding these motivations has led to innovations like rider tracking, carpooling features, or driver ratings that address both functional and emotional decision factors.

3. Baby Monitors: Hiring for Peace of Mind

Technically, baby monitors are about watching over an infant, but the deeper job parents “hire” the product to do is to gain peace of mind and reduce worry. This reveals why features like temperature sensors, two-way audio, or video clarity matter more than just price. It’s about supporting emotional reassurance – not just surveillance.

4. Meal Delivery Kits: Hiring for Time Recovery and Skill-Building

Services like HelloFresh or Blue Apron help customers accomplish multiple jobs: saving time during weeknights, learning to cook without pressure, or providing healthy meals to a family. Innovation opportunities often exist around extending those jobs (e.g., offering beginner-friendly menu plans or prep-saving add-ons).

Using the JTBD framework in market research helps businesses identify these layered motivations that traditional segmentation may overlook. It highlights functional, emotional, and social jobs – all of which influence buying decisions and product satisfaction.

When these hidden jobs are mapped out and prioritized, brands can build more successful, human-centered products that customers truly want to “hire.”

The Jobs to Be Done framework is a valuable addition to your research toolkit – especially when your goal is to uncover why customers make certain choices and how to design products or services that fit into real-life needs. But when is JTBD the right approach to integrate into your research strategy?

Best Situations for Using JTBD

Consider applying JTBD when you are:

• Launching a new product or service: JTBD helps identify unmet consumer needs and motivations, guiding development toward what actually matters in the customer’s life.
• Experiencing declining engagement: If users are dropping off or switching to competitors, JTBD can help you understand what “job” your product is failing to complete, pointing to areas of improvement.
• Looking to differentiate in a crowded market: Rather than chasing features, JTBD helps pinpoint ways your brand can uniquely solve a customer’s problem – making your offering more valuable.
• Exploring adjacent markets or use cases: JTBD unlocks insights around how your product might be “hired” in different contexts by different people – revealing hidden growth opportunities.
• Redesigning customer journeys: JTBD gives depth to your customer journey mapping by showing what customers aim to achieve at each step (not just what actions they take).

Pairing JTBD with Other Research Methods

While JTBD introduces a distinctive way of thinking, it works best as part of a holistic consumer insights strategy. It can be applied within qualitative interviews, survey design, ethnographic work, and even AI-enhanced data analysis. At SIVO, we often integrate JTBD questioning into full-service custom research studies – helping brands bridge attitudinal insights with real-life motivations.

In other words, JTBD doesn’t replace foundational research – it enhances it. And when used strategically, it uncovers the “why” that unlocks meaningful business growth.

If your current research gives you the “what” but not the “why,” incorporating the Jobs to Be Done framework may be the next step in deepening your understanding of customer motivation.