A working business also does not always expect success - the demand for the product falls, there is no sales, etc. Many factors can lead to closure. But enough unpleasant thoughts. Today we’ll talk about a method that helps to cope with an important task that directly affects success - to understand what your client wants?
Meet the "Jobs To Be Done" theory - it allows you to dig deep into the minds of consumers and understand what drives them when making a purchase. As a result, you have a product that solves the problem of its owner, and not just stuffed with different "cool" functionality.
The theory is based on a simple idea - the consumer hires the product for work, and does not just buy it.... That is, the product must cope with the tasks that the buyer sets for him. And JTBD just helps to understand what these tasks are.
Also, one of the founders of the theory, Clayton Christens and his followers believe that in a global sense, anyone wants to be the best version of himself and the product should help in this.
That is, the girl buys a washing vacuum cleaner not only to keep the house clean. She wants to feel good in a clean apartment or for her husband’s mother to consider her an excellent hostess.
We can say that JTBD is an extended description of a person or a portrait of a consumer. The theory is looking for user insights and tasks. In contrast to the method of "describing persons", which studies how the user uses the product, describes its characteristics, etc. Returning to the example above: JTBD helps to find out that our customer’s mother-in-law considers her a poor housewife or that a girl feels uncomfortable in a dusty apartment. This knowledge can greatly help in marketing or when creating a new vacuum cleaner.
Who Can JTBD Help?
The theory has no restrictions on the areas of application. You can be a marketer, developer, freelance SMM specialist - use JTBD to create a product / service that solves the consumer's needs. For example, you are a smr. Ask the client why he decided to contact a specialist? Let's say - so as not to waste your time on this. That is, the client wants to spend time on something else, more important, so he feels better. That is, you need to build the process of your SMM services so that the client is minimally involved, but gets a good result. The marketer theory of “hiring a product for work” provides a huge field of opportunity. Even after a couple of interviews, it can turn out that your product perfectly meets the needs of consumers. But you do not broadcast this in advertising communication, so sales are falling.
Let's go back to my favorite vacuum cleaner - the girl wants to feel like a good housewife in the eyes of her mother-in-law and your product helps in this. But in your ad, you focus on 10 types of attachments, product power levels, and so on. You can shift the focus and say that all these advantages will help you quickly clean the apartment before the mother-in-law arrives. And now you have already solved the client's problem.
Together with the team, you can change the positioning or vector of the company’s development. "Tweak" the product or find out that the client does not need a feature that you wanted to spend a couple of million on.
JTBD tools and approaches
The main tool of the JTBD method is consumer interviews. Of course, before him it is necessary to decide on the purpose of research and formulate hypotheses from which we will build on.
The goals are pretty simple - you are selling slab furniture. For some reason, tables are the least bought. The goal is to find out why.
Job story
The Job Story method will help form a hypothesis for research. It was invented by Intercom, so all the details are in their book. In an abridged version, a job story is a proposal based on the principle: When ___, I want ____ to ____
Here the emphasis is not only on what the user wants to (feel calmer), but also when he wants it (during exams) .
Here is an example of a hypothesis for Yana, who wants to be less anxious during the session:
When the exam period comes, I want to feel calm so that I can focus on studying the materials and not on anxious thoughts.
Interview
During the interview, you will get a lot of consumer insights. In addition to answering the main goal of the study, they will help to identify three more important things:
- unobvious competitors
- motivating consumers,
- which way you can develop.
Find unobvious competitors
We have already found out that the desire to purchase a product arises from users when it is necessary to solve a problem. And this task can be very different from the process of using the product. For this reason, not the most obvious ones break into the world of familiar competitors. For example, you are the owner of a coffee shop. In terms of the desire to “drink coffee,” your obvious competitors are similar coffee shops, restaurants, etc. Coworking may not be obvious. Since both to you and to them freelancers can come to work. But in coworking, sockets are more conveniently located, although there is a less cozy atmosphere. You, as the owner, can add more outlets to small tables and solve the problem of potential customers.
Going deeper into the study of user tasks, you can find things deeper. For example, student Yana feels very anxious about her exams. She chooses a calmer article from a huge number of ways:
- buy motherwort,
- start doing yoga or meditation
- consult a psychologist.
Each option, in addition to being able to solve the problem, has other + and - for Yana. JTBD interviews will help you figure out these + and - alternative ways and understand. how important they are to a girl. For example, yoga will help not only calm down, but also be slimmer. Although it costs more than motherwort. And a session with a psychologist will help solve other important problems. Knowing all this, you can make the “work” of competitors less attractive in the eyes of Yana, or change the positioning of your product so that the “work” does not compete.
Understand consumer motivation
In general, the whole theory of Jobs To Be Done is built on this. We do not consider the process of using the product, but the moment when the need arose for it. That is, what led to the thought of buying.
To do this, in the interview process you need to identify 4 factors that act on the buyer at the time of the decision to purchase. What are these factors:
- dissatisfaction with the current situation,
- attractiveness of a new solution,
- anxiety and fear of change,
- attachment to what is already there.
Example:
Anton wants to buy a new training application. He does not like that in the old one there is only one trainer (1 factor), and in the new one there are different trainers and free selection of food (2 factor). But he worries that he will not like / fail the exercises in the new application (factor 3), yet in the old one he already tried everything and worked out the technique (factor 4).
It is important to remember that it is the person who made the purchase decision that needs to be interviewed. Not a child who rides a bike, but the parents who bought it. And do not forget about emotional factors during the decision (whether you were happy / upset).
Determination of the vector of further development
Finding out in which direction the company should develop will help to compare the proposed job story and the real one. Intercom has a great example of this.
One of their products is a map that shows customers where their users are focused. It was very popular and the question arose of how to develop it further.
JTBD research showed that most often the card was used at exhibitions / presentations and in social networks - to impress users or investors. Then it was decided to make the map more beautiful, but less accurate, and add the ability to share on social networks. In terms of accuracy, the map has become worse, but the “work” for user tasks has improved.
Key points of the JTBD interview
We remember that the main purpose of the interview is to find out why the user “hired the product for the job”. To do this, you need to understand the following things:
- desires (what the client wants to get in the future)
- catalysts (what influenced the emergence of desires)
- restrictions (barriers to the realization of desires)
- a set of solutions (options that can solve the problem)
Example:
Anton began to actively engage in sports (catalyst) in order to lose weight and tighten the body (desire). But the quarantine started and the gym was closed (restriction), so I need to find a solution for my sports - online training, an application (a set of solutions).
The following question options will help to clarify all of the above:
Catalysts
- When did you first start looking for something to solve your problem?
- Where have you been?
- Have you been with someone? What did they say?
- What made you think about it?
Moment of purchase
- When did you purchase the product?
- Where have you been?
- What time of day was it? (day / night?)
- Was anyone else with you at the time?
- How did you purchase the product?
Searching of decisions
- Tell me how you searched for a product to solve your problem.
- What solutions have you tried / haven't tried? Why?
Emotions
We remind you that the emotional aspect strongly influences the moment of making a decision. You can ask the following questions:
- What was the conversation like when you talked about buying a product with your <spouse / friend / parents>?
- Before you purchased, did you imagine what the product would look like? Where were you when you thought about it?
- Have you had any concerns about your purchase?
- Have you heard something about a product that made you nervous? What was it? Why did it make you nervous?
Let's summarize
JTBD is a method for figuring out what tasks your product will solve for a client. That is why the user decides to "hire a product for work."
It is based on a study of consumer desires, catalysts, and the constraints that led to the purchase. This helps to identify insights to improve the product or change its positioning, as well as identify non-obvious competitors.
JTBD's main tool is user interviews. But before conducting it, it is necessary to identify the purpose of the study and make several hypotheses for the job story.
Job story is how a consumer “hired” a product for a job. It is built according to the scheme: When __, I want __ to __
The main advantage of the Jobs To Be Done approach is that it focuses not on the product, but on solving the problems of its users. This helps to transfer tasks from the "to do" mode to the "done" status.