Frequently Asked Questions

A "Job" has three key dimensions: functional, emotional, and social. The functional aspect relates to the practical task the customer aims to complete. The emotional dimension considers the feelings customers seek to experience while accomplishing the job. The social dimension pertains to how customers wish to be perceived by others when using a product or service to complete the "Job".

JTBD theory asserts that innovation should focus on enhancing how a job is done, rather than solely improving existing solutions. Customers may not always be able to envision the best possible solutions. Therefore, understanding the "Job" independent of current solutions allows for more creative and impactful innovation.

JTBD encourages businesses to view competition beyond similar products and services. Any solution, product, or even makeshift approach used to address the same "Job" or its steps is considered competition. This broader perspective helps companies anticipate and navigate potential disruptions.

CSS are specific criteria customers use to evaluate success at each stage of a "Job". They provide quantifiable metrics that help businesses understand how customers measure efficiency, predictability, and effectiveness when completing a "Job". Utilizing CSS enables companies to identify customer challenges, generate innovative solutions, and predict the success of new product ideas.

JTBD insights enable businesses to develop more effective marketing and product strategies. By understanding the "Job" and associated CSS, companies can:

Marketing: Tailor messaging and positioning to resonate with customers' underlying motivations and desired outcomes.

Product Development: Create products and services that directly address unmet customer needs and optimize existing offerings to better fulfill the "Job".

Customers often face challenges when they need to combine multiple products or services to complete a "Job". JTBD suggests that companies should strive to offer comprehensive solutions on a single platform, simplifying the customer experience and potentially outpacing competitors.

By redefining customer needs as measurable success metrics (CSS), JTBD allows companies to assess the potential effectiveness of new product concepts before development. This proactive evaluation significantly increases the likelihood of innovation success, reducing resource waste and fostering a more strategic approach to product development.