Job To Be Done (JTBD): what is it and how to apply this methodology in your company?

Have you ever stopped to think about what drives consumers to buy products and services? The overwhelming majority of people think that customers consume the products offered by companies, however, they buy the solutions that products bring.

Knowing what the real needs and expectations of consumers are is fundamental to the success of any institution and it is precisely in the midst of this scenario that a methodology that has been revolutionizing the market enters: the Job To Be Done.

If you are interested in knowing everything about this technique, in addition to learning the step by step to apply Job To Be Done in innovation processes, keep reading this article from the following topics:

• What is Job To Be Done?
• What are the benefits of Job To Be Done?
• The step by step to use Job To Be Done
• Practical Example: Mc Donald’s
• It's time to learn with us!

Here we go?

What is Job To Be Done?

Job To Be Done is a concept created by Clayton Christensen, a professor at Harvard Business School. It is a revolutionary method, which leads companies to the path of innovation and a vision beyond common ideas.

This tool assumes that there is no point in asking consumers what they want, as they will respond according to what the market already offers.

Furthermore, according to this theory, to create a successful product, the exclusive investment in the development of new technologies is not enough.

What are the benefits of Job To Be Done?

This methodology is capable of revealing what the real needs of customers are, in addition, it allows your company to understand what features your products or services offered.

In addition, it also allows companies to gain new market perspectives and create strategies based on the data collected.

As a result, people feel more confident buying your product, making it gain value and credibility in the market.

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The step by step to use Job To Be Done

Check now step by step to use Job To Be Done in your company!

1- Clearly define the product or service to be explored

The first step, and perhaps the most important, is to clearly define the products and/or services offered by your company.

At this stage of the process, it is necessary to seek innovative proposals, which aim to meet a clear need of your market niche.

Is the service you are offering a facilitator in people's lives? If yes, you are on the right path. If not, go back home.

2- Keep in mind what tasks your product performs for the customer

It is the entrepreneur's role to know, through interactions with consumers, what functions their products bring to them. It is necessary to categorize the tasks so that you can reach your target audience more efficiently.

Tasks are categorized into 4 classes:

• Functional tasks: they are the most basic needs of consumers;
• Operational tasks: these are the operational demands of the niche market segments served by your product;
• Social tasks: these represent the levels of social interest in being seen using your product or service; and
• Emotional tasks: they are linked to what feelings the consumer has when consuming your services.

3- Categorize the work to be done

There is no standard way to do this, this step will vary from company to company. In this case, you need to rely on common sense to create categories that make sense.

Job-to-be-done segmentation allows you to delegate tasks to the right people, making these people experts in their field.

For an efficient organization, we suggest that you analyze all the jobs already done and categorize them according to the benefits they bring.

4- Prioritize profitable jobs

Give priority to jobs that bring a financial return to your company. Some tasks can generate more profit than others, and these should be prioritized.

5- Learn through existing solutions

You must learn through actions that have already been performed. Nobody needs to invent the wheel to do a good job. This exchange of information is very important for increasingly creative solutions to be taken.

6- Create a consumer experience

Once profitable jobs have been prioritized, you must create a simulation for your customers' consumption experience.

The use of Design Thinking is recommended, because through it you can make consumption simulations, validating your hypotheses before building a prototype.

7- Validate the customer experience

Before launching a new product or service on the market, or even modifying it, it is necessary to validate this with the customers.

Create prototypes and/or demo versions for your customers to have a consumer experience and provide feedback to developers.

One thing that needs to be pointed out is that validation can be done at all stages, as what counts here is getting information from consumers.

8- Share the experience

After the validation step is successful, it is critical that you spread the experience to other consumers. In many cases, the previous steps are not successful, in these cases, you should take a few steps back and assess the problems faced.

Practical Example: Mc Donald’s

A great example of the application of Job To Be Done was the action of McDonald's fast-food networks in increasing its sales of milkshakes.

Sought after by the company to meet the challenge, Clayton Christensen suggested observing customers reach the desired conclusion.

Thus, a member of the team spent 18 hours just observing customers and their habits.

From these observations, it was realized that half of the milkshakes were sold early in the morning and taken to the car.

The team asked customers about this habit, and they responded that they wanted a product that would accompany them as they drive to work and satisfy their hunger until mid-morning.

Therefore, they didn't exactly want to buy a milkshake, but something that would solve that situation.

So McDonald's moved on to making a thicker breakfast milkshake with chunks of fruit that would last longer and feed well, increasing sales and improving the user experience.

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