Jobs to Be Done (JTBD)
Focuses innovation on the tasks and contexts for which customers hire solutions.
PURPOSE
Companies frequently focus on product features during innovation instead of the tasks customers actually want to accomplish. Jobs to Be Done directs attention to the functional, emotional, and social progress customers seek. It opens up innovation opportunities that remain invisible with traditional market research because it reveals competition across industry boundaries.
HOW TO USE
Through qualitative interviews, the jobs, contexts, and decision criteria of customers are explored. The Switch Interview technique is used to analyze why customers switch from one solution to another. From the identified jobs, innovation approaches are derived that target unfulfilled or poorly fulfilled jobs.
WHAT IT IS
Jobs to Be Done (JTBD) is an innovation theory developed by Clayton Christensen and others that defines customer needs as tasks to be accomplished. It distinguishes functional, emotional, and social jobs and analyzes the entire decision context of the customer. The framework includes interview methods, analysis tools, and strategies for deriving innovation opportunities.
EXAMPLE
Example: Your beverage manufacturer wonders why a new premium smoothie is not selling despite great ingredients. You use Jobs to Be Done and discover that the target group's actual job is not 'drinking healthy' but 'quickly recharging energy at the office without sacrificing the lunch break' — suggesting different packaging and distribution channels.