The Jobs To Be Done (JTBD) framework is a way of understanding customer behavior by focusing on the outcomes people are trying to achieve when they choose a product or service. Rather than concentrating solely on surface-level preferences or demographic categories, JTBD digs deeper into the functional, emotional, and social motivations that lead to real-world decisions.

Put simply, people “hire” products and services to help them complete specific jobs in their lives. Whether it’s choosing a protein bar for a quick breakfast, downloading an app to stay organized, or buying new software for a start-up team, every purchase is driven by a goal the customer is trying to accomplish.

Jobs To Be Done in Simple Terms

Imagine someone buying a drill. They don’t actually want a drill – they want a hole in the wall. The job is to hang a picture. Maybe even beyond that, they want their living space to feel more like home. JTBD looks at that higher-level motivation, not just the product use.

This perspective can reveal unique insights that traditional product research might miss. Instead of asking what features people prefer, JTBD asks: What progress are people trying to make in their lives, and how can we help them make it?

How the JTBD Framework Works

At its core, JTBD research identifies and maps out jobs that customers are trying to complete. These jobs often fall into three categories:

• Functional Jobs – Practical tasks like cooking dinner, booking travel, or organizing files.
• Emotional Jobs – Personal feelings such as reducing stress, feeling confident, or gaining peace of mind.
• Social Jobs – How a person wants to be perceived by others, like appearing trendy, responsible, or knowledgeable.

By understanding these needs in context, businesses can gain deeper customer insights and design products that truly align with what people are trying to achieve. This type of behavioral research helps move beyond surface data into the “why” behind consumer behavior.

JTBD vs. Traditional Demographics and Personas

Traditional market segmentation often relies on demographics or static personas. While these can be helpful, they don’t always explain why someone buys one solution over another. JTBD adds that layer of intention by focusing on the struggles and goals that drive purchasing decisions. For example, instead of targeting a product to "millennial parents," JTBD might explore the job of "keeping kids entertained in a meaningful way during commutes."

By applying JTBD thinking, companies can generate clearer, more actionable product development insights – and design solutions that directly meet customer needs in their own words.

This makes JTBD a valuable tool within any business’s market research basics toolkit. It complements other qualitative and quantitative methods by helping teams frame research around desired outcomes, uncover unmet needs, and design with purpose.

It’s one thing to gather consumer data. It’s another to take that information and translate it into products, services, and messaging that customers genuinely value. That’s where the Jobs To Be Done (JTBD) framework shines – it makes research findings more actionable by linking customer motivations directly to your business strategy.

Understanding the real reasons why people choose (or reject) your product isn’t just helpful – it’s critical for business growth. JTBD helps connect those dots by revealing the unmet needs and hiring criteria that often go unnoticed in traditional market research.

JTBD Helps You Innovate with Purpose

One of the key benefits of JTBD is its ability to guide purposeful innovation. Instead of brainstorming ideas in a vacuum, teams use customer jobs as a launchpad for creating more relevant, helpful solutions.

Here’s how JTBD helps with product innovation:

• It roots ideas in real customer struggles, not internal assumptions
• It identifies underserved or high-potential opportunity areas
• It helps teams prioritize features that directly map to what users are trying to achieve

For example, let’s say a bank wants to improve its mobile app. Instead of asking customers which features they want next, a JTBD approach might explore goals like “getting money into savings automatically without stress.” With that in mind, the product team might build a smart automation feature or redesign the interface to nudge helpful behaviors. That’s building from the job out – and it often results in solutions that are more intuitive and impactful.

Driving Growth by Aligning with Customer Needs

JTBD isn’t just for product teams. Marketers, strategists, and executive leaders can all use the framework to support smarter decision-making. By framing conversations around customer jobs rather than personas or channels, teams can:

• Develop more targeted messages that speak to real needs
• Uncover new market segments or underserved use cases
• Support strategic pivots by identifying fast-changing consumer behavior

This centered and empathetic approach often creates a ripple effect across departments. Everyone has a clearer understanding of the customer, and product, marketing, sales, and CX are better aligned on how to meet customer expectations – both today and in the future.

Real-World Business Impact

Consider companies that have embraced JTBD in recent years: Product-led start-ups, agile marketing teams, and even Fortune 500 companies turn to JTBD to sharpen focus and increase relevance. It helps reduce failed launches and boosts ROI by guiding teams toward features, messages, and strategies that truly matter.

In summary, applying JTBD leads to:

• Stronger product-market fit
• Faster innovation cycles
• Increased customer retention and loyalty

In a world where customer expectations are evolving quickly, JTBD equips business leaders with a clear way to stay in sync with what people really need – and drive business growth in the right direction.

Understanding a theory is one thing – seeing it in action is another. The Jobs To Be Done (JTBD) framework shines brightest when applied to real-world business scenarios, helping leaders uncover new growth opportunities and make consumer behavior more understandable. Here are a few practical examples of how organizations have successfully used JTBD thinking to transform their product development and innovation strategy.

Case 1: Quick-Service Restaurants – Competing with Convenience, Not Just Taste

A well-known fast-food chain was struggling to increase milkshake sales despite customer requests for new flavors. Instead of focusing solely on taste or calorie count, they used JTBD research to understand the full context: why were people buying milkshakes in the first place?

Through in-depth interviews and observation, they discovered a surprising consumer need. Many customers were buying milkshakes in the morning to make long, dull commutes feel more enjoyable. Milkshakes were “hired” for their convenience, ability to stave off hunger, and ease of consumption while driving. This insight shifted the company's strategy from developing new flavors to improving packaging and drive-thru speed.

Case 2: Streaming Services – Entertainment that Fills Emotional Gaps

One streaming platform used the JTBD framework to dig deeper into customer decisions about what to watch. They found that viewers weren’t just seeking entertainment – they wanted to relax after work, feel connected to others, or even replace social interaction. By segmenting user motivations according to these hidden jobs, the company refined content recommendations, improved satisfaction, and boosted retention.

Case 3: Home Improvement Retail – Empowering DIYers

A home improvement brand discovered through behavioral research that customers visiting their stores weren’t always shopping for tools – they were “hiring” the brand to build confidence. Shoppers wanted to feel capable of completing a home project themselves. Understanding this emotional job led to the introduction of DIY workshops and better in-store guidance, which drove both product sales and customer loyalty.

These stories highlight how JTBD helps uncover the real reason people choose, stick with, or switch away from a product – not just based on features but because of the job they want done in their lives. By using JTBD examples for business leaders like these, companies can uncover powerful product development insights and align better with customer needs.

One of the most powerful aspects of the Jobs To Be Done framework is its ability to peel back the layers of decisions and clarify what truly drives consumer behavior. In contrast to traditional demographics-based segmentation, JTBD research focuses on why people make the choices they do – what they are trying to accomplish and what barriers they face along the way.

A Human-Centered Lens on Consumer Behavior

At its core, JTBD explores context: the situation a customer is in, their desired outcome, and the forces influencing their decisions. It combines qualitative techniques like ethnographic interviews, journey mapping, and observational research with quantitative tools to reveal deeper behaviors and unmet needs.

For example, a product isn’t just selected for its features – it’s chosen to solve a problem in a specific moment. A financial planning app might be selected not just to track expenses, but to reduce anxiety, enforce discipline, or get a fresh financial start. These emotional and functional drivers are essential to understanding customer needs with JTBD.

What JTBD Research Helps Reveal:

• Functional motivations: What tasks or outcomes customers are trying to achieve
• Emotional drivers: How customers want to feel during or after completing the job
• Barriers and anxieties: Concerns or obstacles that get in the way of progress
• Alternative solutions: What consumers “hire” today – even if imperfect – to get the job done

Using the JTBD framework, businesses can move beyond guessing and start gathering actionable consumer and customer insights that truly reflect real-world decision-making. When paired with other market research basics like behavioral segmentation and attitudinal studies, JTBD adds a powerful layer of meaning.

JTBD doesn’t look at customers as static consumers, but as dynamic people navigating life’s tasks. That shift can unlock innovation strategy that aligns product design and messaging directly with what people care about most.

Whether launching a new product or optimizing an existing one, JTBD research provides unmatched clarity on why customer decisions are made – and how to align your solutions with those goals.

If you're new to JTBD, you may wonder whether this approach fits your goals. The good news: the Jobs To Be Done framework is flexible and scalable, making it a valuable tool across industries – from tech and healthcare to CPG, retail, and services. Still, like any business method, success depends on understanding when and how to use it effectively.

Signs JTBD Could Be a Smart Starting Point

JTBD is especially impactful when you're facing questions like:

• “Why are customers switching to a competitor?”
• “How can we identify unmet customer needs before launching a new product?”
• “What should guide our innovation strategy across teams?”
• “How do we connect emotionally with buyers in saturated markets?”

Because this framework uncovers the deeper context behind purchase decisions, it's ideal for decision-makers looking to unlock sustainable business growth and better product development insights.

JTBD Works Best When Paired With the Right Expertise

While you can begin informally – say, by conducting customer interviews – gaining real insight often requires skilled facilitation and behavioral research design. The jobs customers are trying to get done are often hidden in their routines and unspoken goals. That's where skilled moderators and research partners like SIVO Insights come in, offering end-to-end consumer intelligence that accurately maps out the customer's journey and reveals the jobs behind their choices.

Getting Started With Confidence

To apply JTBD effectively in your organization, consider these first steps:

1. Identify the key business challenge you’re solving: Launching a new product? Repositioning a brand? Enhancing UX?

2. Look at existing data for signs of friction or switching – they're clues to unmet jobs.

3. Engage customers in context-rich conversations that uncover the “why” behind their actions.

4. Partner with a team experienced in JTBD theory who can guide the research design and synthesis process.

With the right approach, JTBD offers fresh clarity on consumer behavior, enabling smarter product decisions and more confident strategic moves.