Introduction
What Is Jobs To Be Done (JTBD)? A Beginner-Friendly Explanation
Shifting the Focus: From Products to Progress
At its core, the Jobs To Be Done (JTBD) theory is about understanding the progress a customer is trying to make in a given situation – what they're truly trying to accomplish in their lives or business when they “hire” a product or service. It’s not about asking people what they want, but rather uncovering what they’re trying to get done. Think of it this way: People don’t buy a drill because they want a drill – they buy it because they need a hole in the wall. The real “job” is the hole, not the tool. JTBD invites businesses to look beyond features and purchase reasons and ask, "What job is the customer trying to get done?"Defining JTBD in Simple Terms
The basic premise of JTBD is:- Customers “hire” products and services to do specific jobs in their lives.
- These jobs often have emotional, social, and functional drivers.
- Understanding these drivers gives businesses powerful insight into unmet needs.
How the JTBD Framework Works
The JTBD framework involves asking questions and conducting research that digs deeper into motivation:- What pushed the customer to act (the trigger)?
- What progress were they hoping to make?
- Why did they choose THIS product over others?
- What might cause them to switch in the future?
Why Simple Matters
For any team new to market research or customer insight work, JTBD is a powerful entry point because it frames customer understanding in real-world, relatable terms. You don’t need a PhD in behavioral science – you just need curiosity about what motivates people and a willingness to listen beyond the obvious. At SIVO, we often use JTBD research to explore deeper customer needs for clients across industries. For example, a fictional startup selling plant-based meals may discover that customers aren’t just seeking healthy food – their real job might be “finding peace of mind about what I feed my family when I don’t have time to cook.” That insight helps build a stronger product fit and a clearer brand message. Understanding the JTBD method gives businesses a pathway to strategic clarity – and more importantly, a direct connection to the human needs that shape customer behavior.Why JTBD Matters: Connecting Customer Needs to Business Results
Turning Insight Into Action
Knowing that customers hire products to do a job is compelling, but the real power of the JTBD framework lies in what it enables businesses to do next. When you understand the jobs your customers are trying to solve, your ability to meet their needs moves from reactive to proactive – and that’s where measurable business growth begins. Whether you're refining a current offering or brainstorming a new one, JTBD acts as a compass for better decision-making. It shifts the focus from internal assumptions ("we think customers want X") to external truths ("customers struggle with Y, so they need Z").How JTBD Fuels Business Outcomes
Here are a few ways JTBD aligns directly with business strategy and performance:1. Smarter Product Development
When teams understand what their customers are trying to achieve, they can design products that solve real problems – not just add redundant features. JTBD highlights pain points and identifies what “success” looks like from the customer’s view. For instance, in a fictional example, a fitness app company discovers that users aren’t just tracking steps – they’re trying to “stay motivated during busy weeks.” That subtle shift inspires features focused on goal-setting, not just data.2. Better Market Research
Traditional market research often surfaces what customers say they want. JTBD research helps reveal what they actually need. It bridges the gap between behavior and insight by focusing on the context and forces driving each decision. This approach enables companies to:- Segment customers based on needs, not demographics
- Spot opportunities across verticals or life stages
- Stay ahead of shifting market dynamics
3. Competitive Differentiation
Businesses often compete on surface-level features or price. But solving a customer’s true job creates more lasting value. Products that deeply align with customer goals create brand loyalty – and make it harder for competitors to win customers away.4. Innovation Strategy That Works
Innovation can be risky, but the JTBD method increases its success rate by grounding ideas in real customer needs. With JTBD insights, teams generate features and concepts that are rooted in demand, not speculation.5. Sustainable Business Growth
When offerings are tightly aligned with critical “jobs,” customer satisfaction goes up – and so do long-term growth metrics. From entering new markets to improving customer retention, JTBD insights empower smarter moves at every stage of the business lifecycle.From Insight to Impact
For executive teams and decision-makers, JTBD provides a clear line from customer research to business success. It doesn’t require a new team or an overhaul of your entire strategy – it starts with asking different questions. At SIVO, we believe that understanding people is the key to unlocking growth. By partnering with clients to explore JTBD through qualitative interviews or full-scale research programs, we help translate insights into momentum. If you’re seeking a practical way to connect deeper customer needs to actionable outcomes, the Jobs To Be Done framework is a great place to begin. It’s not just about better products – it’s about building a business strategy rooted in what people actually want to accomplish.Real-World Examples: How Leading Companies Use JTBD to Grow
Real-World Examples: How Leading Companies Use JTBD to Grow
Applying the Jobs To Be Done (JTBD) framework gives businesses a new way to think about their products – not just as features or innovations, but as solutions to specific tasks that customers want to accomplish. By identifying these underlying needs, companies can guide their product development, improve customer satisfaction, and find new sources of business growth.
Here are a few simplified examples (fictional, for illustration) that show how the JTBD method can lead to innovation and success:
1. A Fitness App Company Unlocks New Growth Opportunities
Instead of just tracking downloads and subscriptions, one fitness app used JTBD research to understand the real reasons people were looking for at-home workouts. They discovered a surprising job: “Help me feel less isolated and more energized during the workday.”
This insight led the company to develop a new product feature – short, live midday fitness sessions with built-in social chat options. It wasn’t just another set of workouts; it directly addressed an emotional need. The outcome? Higher engagement, better retention, and a new messaging angle for acquiring similar users in other work-from-home markets.
2. A Beverage Brand Expands Its Audience
A beverage company had strong sales among afternoon snackers but was struggling to grow. JTBD research revealed a job that had nothing to do with snacking: “Keep me calm and collected during stressful meetings.”
With this insight, the brand rebranded one of its drinks as a “focus blend” and shifted marketing to professionals who needed a midday reset, unlocking a new use case and growing a new customer segment.
3. A Home Appliance Manufacturer Drives Product Redesign
JTBD helped a small appliance company rethink their rice cooker line. Customers weren’t just looking to “cook rice” – a closer look revealed the job: “Help me make a healthy, satisfying dinner with minimal cleanup.”
This prompted the company to add new features like automatic steam release and dishwasher-safe parts. Sales grew not because the product was more high-tech, but because it met a clearer, real-world customer need.
Across industries, JTBD insights can spark smarter decisions, whether you're launching a product, refining positioning, or discovering unmet customer needs. The key is always the same: focus on the job, not just the user persona or the product features. When you understand the job, growth naturally follows.
JTBD vs Other Research Methods: When and Why to Use It
JTBD vs Other Research Methods: When and Why to Use It
The Jobs To Be Done framework is one of many tools used in market research, but it stands out for its ability to uncover the deeper motivations behind customer behavior. So how does it compare to traditional research methods – and when is the right moment to use it?
How JTBD Is Different
While demographic data and buyer personas tell you who your customers are, JTBD tells you why they make the decisions they do. It shifts the focus from the customer to the circumstance, revealing what they’re trying to achieve and the obstacles they face.
Here’s what sets JTBD apart:
- Context-first approach: JTBD research explores the full environment around a decision – emotional, practical, and functional factors.
- Problem-centered: It doesn’t assume a solution. It starts with understanding the “job,” then seeks the best product fit.
- Outcome-driven: JTBD helps define success from the user’s perspective – something a product or service must enable.
When Is JTBD Most Useful?
JTBD shines when your team is trying to:
- Design or redesign a product based on real customer behavior
- Uncover unmet needs that aren’t visible in usage data
- Explore new markets or segments with clarity
- Move beyond surface-level feedback to deeper motivations
For example, in early-stage product development, JTBD can help validate whether you're solving a compelling job before building anything. For mature products, it can surface adjacent jobs your offering might fulfill to expand growth.
Complementing JTBD with Other Tools
The JTBD method doesn’t replace all other research approaches. Instead, it complements them. Quantitative surveys might identify a trend in declining usage; JTBD can explain the “why” driving that behavior. Likewise, persona development provides broad overviews, while JTBD digs into specific moments of decision-making.
At SIVO, we often blend frameworks – including JTBD, ethnography, and surveys – to match the decision at hand. The goal isn’t choosing one tool over another, but using the right mix to get closer to the truth of what people need, and why they act.
Ultimately, JTBD adds depth to your consumer understanding – identifying insights that can power innovation, differentiation, and strategy with confidence.
Getting Started with JTBD: How SIVO Can Help You Find the Right Answers
Getting Started with JTBD: How SIVO Can Help You Find the Right Answers
If you're new to the Jobs To Be Done framework, the idea can seem simple – but implementing it well takes expertise. How do you surface the right “jobs”? How do you distinguish between functional tasks and emotional drivers? How do the resulting insights translate to product decisions, messaging, or growth strategy?
That’s where SIVO comes in. Our team helps businesses unlock richer consumer insights by tailoring research methods – including JTBD – to your unique goals. Whether you’re developing a new product, exploring market expansion, or rethinking brand strategy, we bring structure and clarity to your decisions through custom research design.
What Our JTBD Approach Includes
Here’s how we typically support our clients using JTBD:
- Discovery: We begin with stakeholder alignment and define what decisions you're trying to make. This ensures you're asking the right questions from the start.
- Contextual Interviews: We talk to real customers in specific situations – not just about what they did, but why they did it. We explore triggers, desired outcomes, and constraints.
- Job Mapping: From our conversations, we organize jobs into clear categories (core jobs, related jobs, emotional jobs), helping you see patterns and opportunities.
- Strategic Activation: We turn those JTBD insights into actionable opportunities – from product refinement to go-to-market strategies.
Why Partner With SIVO?
At SIVO, we believe in making the complex simple. Our JTBD research is never just about collecting quotes – it’s about delivering insights that spark action and align with your business strategy. We know every organization is at a different stage, and we meet you where you are.
We also bring flexibility. You can run a standalone JTBD insight project or combine it with other services in our full-stack research offering (including segmentation, UX testing, or behavioral analytics). You can even tap into SIVO's On Demand Talent bench if you need extra bandwidth or a JTBD-aligned expert embedded in your team.
In a world where customer needs shift fast, clarity is your competitive edge. Using the JTBD framework with an experienced research partner like SIVO helps you deliver better solutions, faster and with more confidence.
Summary
The Jobs To Be Done (JTBD) framework offers a refreshing way to connect with your customers – not just by who they are, but by what they’re trying to accomplish. As we've explored, JTBD helps businesses uncover deeper customer needs, align innovation strategy, and drive measurable product development and business growth. It guides you out of assumptions and toward insight-grounded decisions.
From understanding the core concept to seeing how leading companies use JTBD for market expansion or competitive advantage, it’s clear this method goes beyond trend-spotting. It empowers teams to build solutions that matter – because they're tied to real human jobs.
Whether you’re just beginning your market research journey or looking to sharpen your customer insight capabilities, JTBD can be a foundational part of your toolkit. And with a thoughtful research partner like SIVO, you can translate those insights into action with greater speed and alignment.
Summary
The Jobs To Be Done (JTBD) framework offers a refreshing way to connect with your customers – not just by who they are, but by what they’re trying to accomplish. As we've explored, JTBD helps businesses uncover deeper customer needs, align innovation strategy, and drive measurable product development and business growth. It guides you out of assumptions and toward insight-grounded decisions.
From understanding the core concept to seeing how leading companies use JTBD for market expansion or competitive advantage, it’s clear this method goes beyond trend-spotting. It empowers teams to build solutions that matter – because they're tied to real human jobs.
Whether you’re just beginning your market research journey or looking to sharpen your customer insight capabilities, JTBD can be a foundational part of your toolkit. And with a thoughtful research partner like SIVO, you can translate those insights into action with greater speed and alignment.
