{"id":5628,"date":"2020-10-09T13:53:00","date_gmt":"2020-10-09T13:53:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/azoora.com\/blog\/?p=5628"},"modified":"2020-10-04T14:06:18","modified_gmt":"2020-10-04T14:06:18","slug":"innovate-with-purpose-an-overview-of-the-jobs-to-be-done-framework","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/azoora.com\/blog\/information\/innovate-with-purpose-an-overview-of-the-jobs-to-be-done-framework\/","title":{"rendered":"Innovate with Purpose: An Overview of the Jobs to Be Done Framework"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

There\u2019s much to be said about the importance of strategy, but clever tactics, advanced technology, and talented personnel have their limits. Companies succeed because they offer products that people find irresistible. What compels customers to buy? The Jobs to Be Done framework helps organizations identify the unmet desires that motivate all purchases.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

No one wakes up thinking \u201cI want to buy a task management system,\u201d or \u201cI need to hire a user experience consultancy.\u201d What people really want are the outcomes that products promise. That\u2019s the secret to selling anything.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

People want results. They envision how products will improve their lives, search for perfect solutions, and purchase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If products don\u2019t make promises, customers are confused, and buying decisions are compromised. In the\u00a0Jobs to Be Done\u00a0framework,\u00a0jobs<\/em>\u00a0are fundamental tasks that people hope to accomplish when they buy something.\u00a0All customers have\u00a0jobs<\/em>\u00a0and want to hire the best products to help<\/strong>, but few customers take the time to clarify the underlying desires that make\u00a0jobs<\/em>\u00a0meaningful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For instance, most people would say that they buy a lawnmower to \u201ccut the grass.\u201d True, but if a lawnmower company examined the higher purpose of grass cutting, it might discover that the real job<\/em> is to \u201ckeep the grass low and beautiful at all times.\u201d Utility (cut the grass) is subordinate to the ideal outcome (low and beautiful).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Herein lies the power of the Jobs to Be Done framework. It confronts organizations and\u00a0designers\u00a0with the outcomes that customers are truly after.\u00a0Customers don\u2019t buy products and services.<\/strong>\u00a0They hire solutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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1. Identify Jobs Customers Want to Accomplish<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Theodore Levitt<\/a>, the father of modern marketing, is famous for saying, \u201cPeople don\u2019t want to buy a quarter-inch drill. They want a quarter-inch hole!\u201d The first step of the Jobs to Be Done (JtBD) framework is to identify the jobs<\/em> that customers actually want to do, even those they aren\u2019t able to articulate. Look for jobs<\/em> with piecemeal solutions or no solutions at all, as these are ripe for innovation.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Clayton Christensen<\/a>, creator of JtBD, claimed that all products, even the seemingly insignificant, are hired to fulfill jobs<\/em>. He made his point with milkshakes.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once, Christensen\u2019s team was commissioned by a fast food chain to research people\u2019s milkshake buying habits. Despite the chain\u2019s extensive market research and advertising efforts, shake sales slumped. Flavor variations and lower prices didn\u2019t help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After observing and interviewing customers who bought milkshakes, Christensen and his team made an interesting discovery.\u00a0People hired milkshakes to break up the boredom of their morning commutes<\/strong>, not because they were cheap or chocolatey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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If we look to other successful products, the same logic applies:<\/p>\n\n\n\n