Introduction
Who Should Own Jobs to Be Done Research Findings?
Insights Teams: Natural Stewards of Research
If your company has a dedicated consumer insights or market research team, they’re usually best suited to take initial ownership. These teams understand how to interpret findings, manage research deliverables, and revisit findings as new questions arise. They can also provide critical context to new teams or stakeholders who may later engage with the research. However, their role shouldn’t be to guard the data – but to democratize it within your organization.Product or Marketing Owners: Driving Application
While insights professionals manage the findings, product managers or marketing leads often serve as day-to-day operators who use those JTBD insights to shape roadmaps, messages, and solutions. In this case, co-ownership is key. For example:- Marketing teams might use JTBD results to refine value propositions and campaigns.
- Product teams might revisit the research to guide feature development or user experience improvements.
Leadership: Setting the Expectation
Executive sponsors or business leaders should play a supporting role by reinforcing the value of JTBD insights. When leadership makes it clear that understanding customer needs is a strategic priority, it sends a strong message across the organization. Having a named owner or team assigned also prevents insights from getting buried once the project ends. A lack of clarity on ownership is a key reason why customer research often goes underused.Making Ownership Clear: A Simple Model
At SIVO, we often recommend a clear JTBD ownership structure:- Insights team: Curates and manages findings, supplies context, enables access
- Functional owners (Product/Marketing): Use insights to inform strategy and execution
- Leaders: Champion the use of customer understanding across the business
Where Should JTBD Insights Live in Your Organization?
A Centralized Repository Matters
A common mistake is leaving research reports scattered across personal folders, drive links, or email threads. Instead, create a centralized space accessible to your internal teams – whether that’s a formal consumer insights platform, shared drive, or even a dedicated internal wiki. This ensures JTBD outcomes are:- Easy to locate – even six months later
- Searchable by key themes, audiences, or business questions
- Visible to cross-functional teams (e.g., marketing, product, CX)
Link JTBD Insights to Daily Workflows
Another key factor is integrating research insights into the places your teams already work. For example:- Marketing teams may use campaign planning tools – link or summarize relevant JTBD learnings there.
- Product sprints can kick off with a quick reminder of JTBD outcomes relevant to the next release.
- Design and UX teams can keep a "voice of the customer" board that includes top Jobs-related learnings.
Organizing JTBD Results for Easy Access
Whether storing insights in Google Drive, SharePoint, or a specialized insights platform, structure is key. Try categorizing by:- Customer segments or personas
- “Jobs” and desired outcomes uncovered
- Business applications (e.g., campaign ideas, innovation targets)
Make JTBD Insights a Living Resource
Think of your JTBD insights not as static research deliverables, but as a dynamic reference library. Update it with new learnings, connect multiple studies, and revisit it often as your market evolves. Insights management isn’t just about storage – it's about creating long-term research value. At SIVO Insights, we help our clients not only gather data, but also build sustainable insight activation systems. Because when your customer research is visible, organized, and easy to engage with, it becomes a true driver of smarter decisions across teams.Keeping Jobs to Be Done Insights Alive and Useful
Jobs to Be Done (JTBD) insights are only as valuable as their visibility and use within an organization. Too often, post-research insights are tucked away in slide decks or folders, forgotten once the initial meetings wrap up. To avoid this common pitfall, it's important to create an intentional strategy for keeping these insights alive and part of your team's day-to-day thinking.
At its core, JTBD research uncovers the underlying motivations and needs driving customer behavior. These insights are not one-time-use answers – they are foundational truths that deserve a permanent seat at the decision-making table.
Make JTBD Insights Accessible and Centralized
One of the first steps in maintaining long-term value is proper storage. Ask yourself: Where should JTBD insights live in your organization? Storing research deliverables in shared knowledge management systems makes it easier for cross-functional teams to reference them when needed.
Consider using:
- A searchable internal insights library or dashboard
- Team collaboration tools like Notion, Microsoft Teams, or SharePoint with tagged content
- Cloud-based folders with consistent naming conventions for easy access
Revisit and Refresh Insights Regularly
The best way to keep customer research relevant over time is to schedule touchpoints to revisit it. Think of JTBD insights as a “living document” – something your team reflects on and builds upon as your market evolves. Quarterly or semi-annual refreshes allow internal teams to connect existing findings with real-world outcomes, identify gaps, or explore whether certain motivations are shifting.
Successful insights management is much like brand management – it takes intention and reinforcement over time. Assigning ownership, as discussed earlier in the post, ensures someone stays accountable for championing the research internally.
Embed JTBD Thinking Into Team Culture
JTBD insights thrive when they become part of daily conversations. This is easier to achieve when they’re embedded in onboarding materials, innovation processes, UX design workflows, and go-to-market strategies. Align your teams around shared language and customer needs so everyone is solving for the same jobs.
How to Activate JTBD Outputs Across Teams
Turning research into action is one of the most important – yet overlooked – parts of the JTBD process. Once you understand the jobs your customers are trying to accomplish, your teams can start designing smarter solutions. But that only happens if research findings are activated across business functions in meaningful ways.
Translate JTBD Outcomes into Clear Business Opportunities
The best starting point is to map JTBD outcomes to real business decisions. Whether it's designing a product feature, launching a campaign, or improving customer service, research deliverables should fuel clear, aligned objectives. Customer insights move from abstract ideas to practical inputs when each department can see how they connect to their specific goals.
Collaborate Cross-Functionally
Insight activation is not a one-team job. Marketing, product development, UX, customer success, and leadership each have a role to play. Facilitated working sessions – sometimes called activation workshops – can help teams absorb the findings and define next steps together.
In these sessions, try to:
- Walk through different JTBD segments or personas
- Explore success criteria and pain points identified in the research
- Co-create a list of opportunity spaces or key initiatives
Build Processes That Keep Insights Front and Center
Make it standard practice for relevant project teams to consult JTBD findings before they begin ideating or building. Create templates or guidelines that prompt teams to reference the JTBD framework when outlining strategies or customer journeys. This ensures that your customer research continues to guide decisions even as business priorities evolve.
Monitor Progress Against JTBD Goals
Finally, link KPIs or success metrics to the customer jobs identified. By measuring how well your solutions fulfill those jobs, you close the loop between insights and outcomes. This creates a continuous feedback cycle, where teams can refine their approaches and build deeper empathy for the customer along the way.
SIVO’s Approach to Jobs to Be Done Ownership and Longevity
At SIVO Insights, we believe Jobs to Be Done research should lead to more than just a final report – it should become an ongoing strategic asset. That’s why our approach is rooted in research that stays useful, usable, and alive inside your business long after the project itself wraps up.
A Collaborative Model from Start to Finish
We view ourselves as partners in your insight journey, not just providers. From the beginning of any JTBD research engagement, we align with your internal teams to understand who will ultimately use the insights and how they will drive future decisions. Early collaboration ensures the outputs are designed to be shared across functions, not siloed with one stakeholder.
Tailored Deliverables That Drive Action
Our JTBD outcomes are structured for activation. While we tailor each project’s format to fit client needs, we focus on clarity, storytelling, and usability. We work to ensure your research deliverables don’t gather dust – instead, they pave the way for alignment, prioritization, and innovation across business units.
This may include:
- Strategic summary documents or toolkits for key stakeholders
- JTBD mapping visuals and journey frameworks
- Short videos or internal learning modules to socialize insights
Built-In Insight Ownership Plans
Our projects end with clear handoffs and internal guidance to maintain engagement. We often help identify internal JTBD champions who ensure findings are referenced during key planning moments or used to train new staff.
For clients who want deeper partnership, SIVO’s On Demand Talent (ODT) service extends the value of JTBD research. ODT provides seasoned insights professionals who can keep the momentum going – integrating findings into organizational initiatives or supporting ongoing insight management. This flexibility bridges the gap between project-based consumer insights and continuous insight leadership.
Creating a Culture Centered on the Customer
Our goal is to equip organizations to think empathetically, act strategically, and stay connected to what people truly need. With the right JTBD ownership plan, your customer research remains relevant – and powerful – for the long haul.
Summary
Understanding what happens to Jobs to Be Done insights after research is just as important as conducting the research itself. Assigning the right JTBD ownership, storing insights in accessible places, and embedding them into team culture allows your organization to maximize the value of your customer research. As we've explored, keeping JTBD insights alive requires ongoing attention, cross-functional activation, and thoughtful planning for long-term insight management. With the right structure and mindset, these insights will continue to fuel data-driven decisions, innovation, and customer empathy across your business.
At SIVO, we're passionate about turning research into real-world impact. Whether you're new to the JTBD framework or looking to deepen its integration across your organization, we’re here to help you unlock its full potential.
Summary
Understanding what happens to Jobs to Be Done insights after research is just as important as conducting the research itself. Assigning the right JTBD ownership, storing insights in accessible places, and embedding them into team culture allows your organization to maximize the value of your customer research. As we've explored, keeping JTBD insights alive requires ongoing attention, cross-functional activation, and thoughtful planning for long-term insight management. With the right structure and mindset, these insights will continue to fuel data-driven decisions, innovation, and customer empathy across your business.
At SIVO, we're passionate about turning research into real-world impact. Whether you're new to the JTBD framework or looking to deepen its integration across your organization, we’re here to help you unlock its full potential.
