The Jobs To Be Done (JTBD) framework is a way of understanding consumer behavior by focusing on the progress people are trying to make in a given situation. Instead of viewing customers as passive buyers of products or services, JTBD sees them as individuals actively trying to solve a problem or complete a “job.” When people choose one product over another, they are essentially hiring it to get something done in their lives.

Think of it like this: No one wakes up wanting to buy a drill. What they actually want is a hole in the wall – and maybe even more than that, they want to hang a frame or mount a shelf. The drill is just a means to that end. Understanding the broader “job” behind the purchase helps businesses connect more deeply with real customer needs.

Key Ideas Behind JTBD

• A “job” is the progress a customer is trying to make in a particular context.
• Customers choose products that best help them complete that job.
• The same product can be hired for different jobs by different people.
• The focus is on situations, goals, and motivations – not just demographics.

This approach shifts the focus from who your customer is to why they behave the way they do. For example, a fictional meal delivery company might find that some customers use the service to save time during a busy week (Job: “make healthy dinners with no stress”), while others rely on it for variety and surprise (Job: “try new meals without planning or shopping”). Even though the product is the same, the reasons behind purchase – the jobs – are different, and that shapes how you should design, market, and position your product.

JTBD vs. Traditional Methods

Traditional customer research often zeroes in on demographics or firmographics: age, income, profession, region. While those details are useful, they rarely tell you the full story. JTBD goes beyond the surface to look at specific customer needs and motivations – uncovering insights that actually drive behavior.

At SIVO Insights, we see JTBD as a foundational tool within the broader world of market research. Its strength lies in how it reveals unmet needs and untapped opportunities – allowing organizations to innovate with intention. Pairing JTBD research with well-run qualitative or quantitative studies leads to clearer answers to questions like, “Where should we go next?” or “What will our customers truly value?”

Whether you're launching new products or simply trying to better understand your audience, JTBD provides a powerful lens for making decisions driven by real, human-centered insight.

Business leaders today are under constant pressure to innovate, grow, and stay ahead of evolving customer expectations. In this environment, understanding why customers behave the way they do is mission-critical. That's exactly what the JTBD framework brings to the table – a clearer look at customer motivation that leads to better decision-making across departments.

A Tool for Smarter Business Strategy

JTBD helps leaders uncover the true drivers of consumer choice, which is vital for building a winning business strategy. Instead of guessing what features to add or what marketing campaign to run, JTBD gives you a blueprint for understanding what customers are trying to achieve – and how you can help them do it better than the competition.

That means making more informed bets on everything from product development to customer experience to messaging. When you understand the job, you can design with precision and purpose.

Bridge Between Teams and Functions

One of the challenges many executives face is aligning different departments around a shared view of the customer. Marketing, product, sales, and design often work in parallel, but not always in harmony. JTBD creates a common language that brings everyone together around the most important question: "What job are we being hired to do?"

When teams are on the same page about customer needs, it fosters more effective collaboration, promotes cross-functional innovation, and ultimately leads to better outcomes for the business.

JTBD in Action – A Simple Example

Consider a (fictional) smart home device company that focuses on tech-savvy millennials. They might assume their customers care most about app integration or futuristic features. But through JTBD-driven consumer insights, they could discover that many buyers are mid-career parents hiring the product to “create a calmer bedtime routine” – not just automate lights.

That insight could shape how they improve the product, adjust market messaging, and even partner with third-party services. Without understanding the job, they might have missed a major growth opportunity hiding in plain sight.

Key Benefits of JTBD for Business Leaders

• Informs customer-first product innovation
• Strengthens your long-term business growth strategy
• Improves alignment across teams
• Reveals whitespace for new offerings or services
• Turns vague customer needs into actionable insight

At SIVO Insights, we help companies connect JTBD thinking with custom market research to uncover these opportunities in a real-world context. By grounding decisions in how your customers think, feel, and behave, you’re setting your business up for deeper relevance and sustainable growth.

In short, JTBD isn't just a framework. It’s a mindset – one that helps business leaders make smarter, customer-driven choices in a complex world.

At its core, the Jobs To Be Done (JTBD) framework is about understanding why customers make decisions – not just what they buy, but what they’re trying to accomplish. This shift from focusing on demographics or product features to zeroing in on customer motivation helps businesses identify the real reasons customers choose one product or service over another.

Beyond Demographics and Surface Needs

Traditional market research often categorizes customers based on age, income, or behaviors. While helpful, this approach can miss the deeper 'why' behind purchases. JTBD cuts through the noise by asking: What job is the customer hiring this product or service to do?

For example, someone buying noise-canceling headphones might not just want good audio quality. Their real 'job' could be creating a quiet, focused workspace at home. That motivation gives you much more insight into how to position, design, or improve your offering.

Linking Motivation to Growth Opportunities

Understanding customer motivation through JTBD opens doors to develop solutions that customers actively seek. It reveals unmet needs – the missing pieces in a customer’s journey – guiding product innovation and marketing strategy.

JTBD helps businesses:

• Identify emotional, social, and functional drivers behind purchases
• Uncover customer pain points throughout their journey
• Reframe competition – competitors aren’t just identical products but anything that helps do the same 'job'

When you know what someone is truly trying to achieve, you can design better products, target messages more precisely, and deliver customer experiences that align with real needs. That’s where market research and consumer insights powered by JTBD become transformational.

JTBD in Action: A Quick Glance

Let’s say a health app finds that users aren’t opening the app as often as expected. Rather than guessing, a JTBD approach would explore the customer's goal: maybe users want to “stay mentally focused throughout the workday.” That insight might direct the brand to add meditation reminders or lunchtime stretch videos – features aligned with the actual job to be done, not just health tracking.

This depth of motivation is what allows customer-centric businesses to lead in competitive markets. JTBD does not replace traditional consumer insights; it enhances them, creating context that helps businesses make smarter, more strategic decisions.

Understanding the theory behind the JTBD framework is one thing – seeing how it comes to life in the real world is another. Below are fictional but practical scenarios that highlight how companies can use Jobs To Be Done thinking to uncover deeper customer needs and drive business strategy.

Example 1: A Coffee Chain Competing with the Office

A large coffee franchise noticed morning foot traffic had slowed. Traditional solutions pointed to new local coffee competitors. But digging deeper using JTBD insights revealed something more powerful: customers weren't just buying coffee – they were “creating a small break to mentally prepare for the day.”

Armed with this insight, the company updated its locations to feature quiet corners, calming music, and self-check kiosks for a faster experience. Sales rebounded, not because the coffee changed, but because the brand delivered on the customer’s actual job.

Example 2: Electric Vehicles and Peace of Mind

In the electric car market, consumers weren’t only buying for sustainability or cost savings – their real 'job' was “feeling safe and in control of a long-distance journey.” A JTBD lens revealed that range anxiety and lack of charger access were top concerns.

One fictional manufacturer used this to create user-friendly charging networks, real-time range tracking, and support hotlines. This shift didn’t just meet needs – it earned loyalty by solving the broader 'job to be done.'

Example 3: Online Learning for Working Parents

An education platform assumed its core offering was “learning new skills.” But through applying JTBD thinking, it learned that working parents were actually hiring it to “grow professionally without sacrificing family time.”

This insight drove the design of shorter lessons, flexible scheduling, and progress snapshots that could be shared with employers. The platform's relevance and market share grew by aligning with a more meaningful customer outcome.

These cases illustrate how looking beyond product features and into the context of human goals can unlock powerful ideas. Whether it's in marketing strategy, service design, or product innovation, JTBD sharpens your understanding of what truly drives customers and where value lies.

Getting started with the Jobs To Be Done framework doesn’t require a complete overhaul of how you do market research or develop strategy. Instead, it’s about shifting your perspective – from what your products are to what your customers are trying to do.

Step 1: Ask the Right Questions

Reframe research or strategy conversations by focusing on intent. Skip “What product do you want?” and instead explore questions like:

• What were you hoping to achieve when you bought this?
• What triggered you to look for a solution?
• What problems were you facing?
• What would success look like for you?

These questions uncover not just preferences but motivations – ideal fuel for product teams, brand messaging, and customer experience design.

Step 2: Identify Key Jobs Through Conversations

Talking directly with customers is where insight lives. Whether through interviews, surveys, or observational research, listen critically for recurring goals and language. A series of simple, well-run discussions can reveal powerful patterns that help define real jobs to be done.

Step 3: Map Jobs to Your Offerings

Once you’ve identified core jobs, examine where your current product or service delivers – and where it falls short. Are there friction points in the journey? Are you under-serving a high-value goal? This step helps you turn insight into action by aligning your business offering with real-world needs.

Step 4: Collaborate Across Teams

JTBD works best as a cross-functional tool. Share findings with product teams, marketers, and customer service leads to create alignment across your strategy. This collaborative approach ensures your entire organization understands what customers are trying to accomplish and how your business can help.

A Partner Can Help Make it Real

While you can certainly begin applying JTBD principles internally, working with an experienced consumer insights firm can add depth and clarity. SIVO Insights helps brands take the complexity out of understanding customer behaviors and turn it into actionable strategy.

If you're looking to make JTBD part of your overall business strategy, consider how it can complement your ongoing market research or guide your product development roadmap. The result? Solutions that meet real needs – not just assumptions.