What is JTBD (Jobs To Be Done)?

JTBD (Jobs To Be Done), or "Tasks to be Completed" in Bulgarian, is a theory and thinking framework that looks at innovation and marketing through the lens of customers' needs and "jobs" they are trying to solve in their lives, rather than analyzing them only through demographic data or product characteristics.

At its core, the concept is extremely simple:

People don't buy products, they "hire" products to get their job done (to solve a task).

This is a framework that helps companies understand why people make the choices they make.

Key Principles of JTBD

• Focus on "Why" rather than "What": Instead of asking "What product do our customers buy?", JTBD asks "What task are they trying to solve with this product?"
• Innovation comes from understanding the job: If you understand the job in depth, you can develop better solutions (products, services), even if they look completely different from current ones.
• Jobs are stable, solutions change: The ways people brew coffee (the job) have changed over the centuries (from cezve, to coffee machine, to capsules), but the job itself "to energize myself in the morning and start my day pleasantly" remains the same.
• People "hire" and "fire" products: Customers buy ("hire") a solution to solve a job. If it doesn't work for them, they "fire" it and look for a better replacement.

Simple JTBD Example

• Situation: A person buys a drill.
• Traditional View: They are a drill customer. We need to make a better/cheaper drill.
• JTBD View: This person doesn't want a drill. They want to make a hole in the wall (the main job). Maybe the job is even broader: "to hang the picture in the right place to make my room more cozy".

Immediately, innovation opportunities open up: you could offer an easier solution for hanging pictures without making a hole (such as adhesive hooks), which solves the same core job in a better way.

How is the JTBD Method Applied in Practice?

The process usually includes several steps:

• Job Identification: Through interviews and observation to understand what progress customers are trying to achieve in a certain context.
• Dividing Jobs into Types:
  • Core Jobs: The main functional job (e.g., "transport me from point A to point B").
  • Related Jobs: Jobs that are performed around the main one (e.g., "pay easily for transport", "feel safe during travel").
  • Emotional and Social Jobs: How the customer wants to feel or be perceived (e.g., "look modern while moving").
• Customer Journey Mapping: To trace how the customer discovers, chooses, buys, and uses the solution for their job.
• Identifying "Pains" and "Gains": What are the obstacles and difficulties in performing the job with current solutions? What are the moments of satisfaction?
• Creating Solutions: Design products, services, and marketing messages that directly address these jobs and "pains".

Benefits of Using JTBD

• Better Innovation: Helps create products that people really want and need.
• More Effective Marketing: Marketing stops being about product features ("has 1000 rpm") and starts being about customer benefit ("get your yard work done in 10 minutes").
• Reduced Failure: Since the focus is on deep, unmet need rather than surface desires, the risk of product failure decreases.
• Overcoming Competition: Helps see competition more broadly. The competitors of a bookstore are not just other bookstores, but also Netflix (for entertainment), video games, social media, and everything else people fill their free time with.

Who Uses JTBD?

• Apple: Doesn't sell phones, but offers tools for creativity, communication, and access to information (solving jobs).
• Uber/Maxim: Solve the job "transport me quickly and easily to where I need to be".
• Amazon: Solves the job "get this product as quickly as possible with minimal effort".

In conclusion: JTBD is a powerful tool that shifts focus from the product to the person and their fundamental needs. This leads to more meaningful innovation and stronger customer connections.