Focus on 'Jobs to be Done', Not Your Product

Hi there 👋,

Too many brands focus on their product's category rather than what their customers are trying to achieve:

Audible is not an audiobook subscription, but a way to learn on the go.

Hot chocolate isn't a warm beverage, but a way to indulge after a long cold walk outside.

They don't understand the underlying Jobs to be Done (JTBD).

A JTBD is not what your customers buy but rather the change they wish to experience with your product.

Why are JTBD powerful

JTBD not only help you understand how to communicate, it also shows you:

• What matters to customers

• What they are comparing your product with

• How to solve the underlying pain

It means you can target and speak to a far broader pool of customers. Take Audible: the number of people looking for an audiobook is far less than those hoping to learn on the go. So suddenly, you have a far bigger target audience:

So today, I hope to show you how to start understanding your JTBD.

Learning what your JTBD are

There are many ways to learn about your JTBD, from analysing your reviews (see this Linkedin post for an example) to surveying your customers to user interviews.

User interviews are my favourite way.

Who to interview: 8-10 customers who love your product but are new enough to remember the switching moment (e.g. been a customer for 3-6 months). I also recommend talking to at least 3-4 cancelled customers to learn which JTBD you are not serving.

How long to schedule the interviews for: I usually find 30 minutes is perfect; it usually takes 20-25 minutes to get through the question list.

Reward: I recommend offering a relevant reward as thank you for getting sign-ups. I usually find around 30 pounds (or your currency's equivalent) is a good amount to thank them but also to ensure you don't get sign-ups just for the reward.

What to ask: As a newsletter exclusive, I'm going to give you the exact questions I like to ask in a JTBD interview:

1. Where did you first hear about [XYZ]?

2. What led you to try [XYZ]?

3. What was your first impression of [XYZ]?

4. How did you go about finding a new solution for [Mentioned JTBD]/Were you actively looking to solve [Mentioned JTBD]?

5. What questions or concerns did you have before trying out [XYZ]?

6. Did you have any challenges with ordering?

7. What other solutions did you try before deciding on [XYZ]?

8. What did and didn’t you like about solution 1/2/3/4?

9. What are the top benefits you get from [XYZ]?

10. What would you miss the most if you could no longer use [XYZ]?

11. If you could change anything about [XYZ], what would it be?

12. What would you use instead if you could no longer use [XYZ]?

Every time a client or I do these interviews, the insights are incredible. I can't recommend it enough.

Message-Market Fit Course

Figuring out our customer's JTBD and improving our messaging was crucial to our growth at Heights. We saw a 104.3% improvement in conversion rate purely through message testing.  

Since then, I've worked with many startups struggling with scaling up their channels and brand because they haven't got that messaging right.

I've been working hard behind the scenes the last few months to turn this into the first-ever message-market fit course to help you figure out your JTBD and get your messaging right.

Here is a sneak preview of what it will include (this and much more):

I'm offering a discounted early bird access (no payment details required).

Recommendation

In every newsletter, I will also share a related book, individual or newsletter to check out related to the week's topic.

Today is my favourite book on Jobs to Be Done: When Coffee and Kale Compete by Alan Klement. I love the practical examples Alan shares in explaining JTBD and how to start using them in communicating and even running your business.

That is it for this week and actually this year! I'm off to Australia for a few weeks to see my family, so the next Growth Waves newsletter will be around mid-January.

Have an absolutely lovely Christmas break,

Daphne