The Jobs To Be Done Theory of Marketing
A Summarized excerpt from the book How Will You Measure Your Life, which we recommend! RIP Clayton. Your insights and incisive thinking will be missed.
"The job-to-be-done theory arose on project for a big fast-food chain. The company was trying to increase milkshake sales. They'd spent months studying the issue and interviewed quintessential milkshake consumers:
"Do you want it chocolatier? Cheaper? Chunkier?” They'd improve the milkshake on those dimensions, but these improvements had no impact on sales or profits.
We then took a different perspective: “I wonder what job arises in people’s lives that causes them to come to this restaurant to ‘hire’ a milkshake?”
It turned out the early-morning customers all had the same job to do: they had a long and boring ride to work. They needed something to do while driving to keep the commute interesting.
In the afternoon, the same product was hired for a fundamentally different job. It was typically fathers—who had had to say “no” to their children all week long. No new toy. No, they can’t stay up late. No puppy. And the moment had arrived when they could finally say “yes” to the child and feel good about themselves.
The morning milkshake needed to be more viscous but the afternoon one smaller and quicker to drink. Not a one-size-fits all for 45 year old men who live in CA and drive a Honda accord!"
