When Coffee and Kale Compete

1. Jobs to be Done (JTBD) theory focuses on customer progress, not product attributes

"Customers don't want your product or what it does; they want help making themselves better."

Progress over features. JTBD theory shifts the focus from product attributes to customer progress. Instead of asking "What features should we add?", innovators should ask "How can we help customers make progress in their lives?" This perspective helps create products that truly resonate with customers' desires for self-improvement.

Emotional motivation. Understanding the emotional drivers behind customer progress is crucial. For example, Charles Revson of Revlon famously said, "In the factory, we make cosmetics. In the drugstore, we sell hope." This illustrates how products are merely vehicles for delivering emotional progress to customers.

Avoid feature obsession. Many companies fall into the trap of continually adding features without considering whether they truly help customers progress. By focusing on JTBD, innovators can create more impactful products that customers actually want and will pay for.

2. Customers hire products to transform their life-situations

"A Job to be Done is the process a consumer goes through whenever she aims to transform her existing life-situation into a preferred one, but cannot because there are constraints that stop her."

Transformation focus. JTBD theory views customers as seeking transformation rather than simply buying products. They "hire" products to help them overcome constraints and achieve a desired life-situation.

Identifying JTBD. To uncover a customer's JTBD, ask:

• What struggle are they facing?
• How do they envision their life improving?
• What solutions have they already tried?
• What anxieties or habits are holding them back?

Example: Parents buying Honest Company products aren't just purchasing diapers or cleaning supplies. They're hiring these products to transform their situation from stressed and uncertain about their children's safety to confident and enjoying parenthood.

3. Competition is defined by customers' desire for progress, not product categories

"Competition is defined in the minds of customers, and they use progress as their criterion."

Redefining competition. JTBD theory expands the view of competition beyond traditional product categories. Products that seem unrelated can compete for the same job if they help customers make similar progress.

Examples of unexpected competition:

• Conferences vs. online expert calls (Clarity)
• Theater vs. video games (Form Theatricals)
• Grocery delivery vs. meal planning services (YourGrocer)

Implications for innovation. By understanding how customers define competition, innovators can:

• Identify unexpected threats and opportunities
• Create more compelling value propositions
• Develop products that truly stand out in customers' minds

4. Push and pull forces generate demand, while anxiety and inertia reduce it

"The forces of progress are the emotional forces that generate and shape customers' demand for a product."

Four forces of progress:

1. Push: Dissatisfaction with current situation
2. Pull: Attraction to a better life
3. Anxiety: Concerns about new solution
4. Inertia: Habit and comfort with status quo

Balancing forces. Successful innovations must generate enough push and pull to overcome anxiety and inertia. Understanding these forces helps innovators:

• Create more compelling marketing messages
• Identify and address customer hesitations
• Design products that reduce switching friction

Example: Clarity succeeded by addressing the push (entrepreneur's motivation slump) and pull (advice from respected experts) while minimizing anxiety (clear pricing, call preparation guidance) and inertia (on-demand availability).

5. Innovation success comes from understanding the system of progress

"Innovation success comes from studying those interdependencies and understanding how they work together to help customers realize progress."

Systems thinking. JTBD theory views customer progress as part of a larger system involving customers, producers, products, and market forces. Understanding this system is crucial for sustainable innovation.

Key system components:

• Customer's desire for progress
• Search and selection of solutions
• Use of chosen solution
• Realization of progress (or lack thereof)

Continuous cycle. As customers make progress, new aspirations and struggles emerge, creating opportunities for further innovation. Successful companies create product ecosystems that support customers through multiple cycles of progress.

6. Customers can't articulate their future needs; innovators must envision progress

"It isn't the consumer's job to know what they want."

Limitations of customer input. Customers are experts in their current struggles but often can't envision radically new solutions. Innovators must go beyond simply asking customers what they want.

Innovator's role:

• Understand customers' current struggles and desired progress
• Envision new ways to help customers make that progress
• Create solutions customers may not have imagined

Examples:

• Henry Ford: "If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses."
• Steve Jobs: Created products like the iPhone that customers didn't know they needed

7. Deliver ongoing customer progress through complementary product systems

"Think of your business as delivering a combination of products that work together to forward the system of progress."

Beyond single products. Successful companies create ecosystems of complementary products that support customers through multiple stages of progress.

Examples:

• Apple: iPhone + App Store + Services
• Honest Company: Various household and childcare products
• Ash Maurya's Lean Stack: Lean Canvas + Validation Plan + Experiment Report

Benefits:

• Increased customer retention
• Higher lifetime value
• Reduced vulnerability to competition

8. Describe JTBD as the transformation from current to desired life-situation

"Free me from the stress I deal with when figuring out what products won't harm my children, so I can have more time to enjoy being a parent."

Two-part structure:

1. Current struggle or constraint
2. Desired outcome or progress

Effective JTBD descriptions:

• Focus on transformation, not product features
• Highlight emotional and functional progress
• Apply to multiple potential solutions

Testing JTBD descriptions:

• Does it describe the solution(s) it replaced?
• Does it avoid mentioning specific products or technologies?
• Can it apply to future, yet-to-be-invented solutions?

Last updated: September 10, 2024