Jobs-to-be-done JBTD

Week 1 Jobs-to-be-done (JBTD) A “job” is the progress a person seeks in a particular circumstance.People hire products or services to get a job done and will switch solutions if another does the job better.Circumstances matter more than customer traits or product categories.

Jobs have functional, emotional, and social dimensions (e.g., body wash:

clean → confident → attractive).Many important needs are latent—unspoken, unconscious, or hard to articulate.Advantages of JTBD Shifts focus to customer goals, not products.Reveals true competitors across categories.Offers predictive power because it is solution-free and long-term.Takeaways JTBD emphasizes understanding the why behind customer actions.It helps define success metrics that remain stable over time.The goal is to identify the right problem before creating a solution.Even great products need a clear job to fulfill—they won’t sell themselves.Decision Making

DMU (Decision Making Unit): All the people involved in a purchase decision

(e.g., users, buyers, influencers).

oExample: In pet food, the dog uses the product, but the owner

purchases it.

DMP (Decision Making Process): The stages leading to a purchase.

oTrigger: What starts the process (e.g., wanting to feel fresh → buy

coffee).

oAttributes: Key factors that influence choice (e.g., coffee’s taste and

price).AIDA Funnel

Stages customers move through:

Awareness/Attention (know) – Becoming aware of a product.Interest (feel) – Developing curiosity or attraction.Desire (feel) – Wanting the product.Action (do) – Making the purchase.oFor monopolies (e.g., EpiPen), the funnel may be a straight line because there are no alternatives. 1 / 3

Cross-model High involvement Utilitarianego. Expressive Low involvement Porsche sits in the top-right Opel in the bottom-left Being positioned in the very centre of the cross-model isn’t ideal because it means you’re trying to serve everyone without a clear focus. This weakens your brand identity and competitive advantage.

“Dueling with Desire: A Synthesis of Past Research on

Want/Should Conflict” (Bitterly et al., 2014) This paper reviews research on the tension between short-term desires (wants) and long-term interests (shoulds), and how to encourage more future-oriented choices.

Core Ideas of Want/Should Conflict :

Wants provide immediate pleasure but lower future value.Shoulds require effort now but offer greater long-term benefits.Overindulging in wants leads to issues like obesity, procrastination, and under- saving.Cognitive Mechanisms Multiple Selves: An internal struggle between a hedonic “want self” and a future-oriented “should self.”

Two-Systems Model :

oSystem 1 (intuitive/emotional) favors wants.oSystem 2 (rational/reflective) favors shoulds but can be weakened by cognitive load.

Construal Level Theory : When choices are distant or abstract, people are

more likely to choose the should option. When choices are immediate or concrete, the short-term costs become more salient, so want options win out.

Limited Self-Regulation (Ego Depletion) : Self-control can be depleted,

making people more prone to want choices.Factors Influencing Choices Time Perspective: People pick shoulds for distant choices but wants for near- term ones (quasi-hyperbolic discounting).Cognitive Load and Fatigue : Reduce self-control and favor wants. 2 / 3

Mood: Positive moods can promote future-oriented thinking; negative moods

can increase short-term focus.

Licensing Effect: Previous good behavior can “justify” indulgence.

Future Self Connection & Fresh Starts : A stronger link to one’s future self or temporal milestones (e.g., birthdays, New Year) encourages should behavior.Interventions (Nudges)

1.Planning Prompts : Making specific plans (when, where, how) increases

follow-through (e.g., vaccinations).

2.Commitment Devices : Self-imposed restrictions or penalties (e.g.,

stickK.com, restrictive savings accounts) help reduce procrastination and bad habits.

3.Temptation Bundling : Pair a should with a want (e.g., only listening to a

favorite audiobook while exercising).

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