The big idea: People don’t buy products. They hire them to make progress in their lives.
In 60 seconds
- People don’t buy products. They hire them to make progress, and the situation drives the choice more than age or income.
- Name the job in one sentence: When [situation], I want to [progress], so I can [result].
- Four forces decide whether people switch: push, pull, anxiety and habit. The fastest wins come from removing anxiety and habit.
Do this: interview two or three real customers, write your client’s job statement, and use it as the first line of your Client Kickoff Brief.
A hands-on companion to Strategy Foundations. Learn the theory, write a job statement for your client and test whether customers will switch.
How Jobs to Be Done works
When you know the progress someone is after, you know what to say, where to say it and who you are really competing with.
The milkshake story
- Morning commute. A busy driver hires a milkshake as an easy, filling breakfast that lasts until lunch and makes a long drive less boring.
- Afternoon. A parent hires the same milkshake as a treat for their kids.
What it teaches
- Same product, two jobs. Each job needs its own message.
- The real competition is whatever else could do the job, like a bagel, a banana or just putting up with the drive.
Clayton Christensen, the Harvard Business School professor who popularized Jobs to Be Done, used this story to explain the idea.
Three rules of the theory
Progress, not products
Look past what a product is to what a customer achieves by using it.
Situation, not demographics
The circumstances that trigger the job matter more than age, income or gender.
Every job has three sides
Functional: what needs doing. Emotional: how they want to feel. Social: how they want to be seen.
The classic line
Harvard marketing professor Theodore Levitt put it this way: people don’t want a quarter-inch drill. They want a quarter-inch hole.
Write the job statement
Name the job in one sentence. If you can’t, you don’t understand the customer yet.
The formula
When [situation], I want to [progress], so I can [result].
Three brands, three jobs
Local outdoor outfitter
When I have a free Saturday with friends, I want to find something adventurous and local to do, so I can make memories, post great content and feel outdoorsy.
So the brand sells: weekend adventures, not kayaks.
Spotify
When I am studying late at night and need to focus, I want to listen to music that helps me concentrate, so I can manage my mood, get more done and show my taste in music.
So the brand sells: focus and mood, not a song library.
Starbucks
When I have a big project due and need to get out of my dorm, I want a comfortable, consistent place with Wi-Fi and good light, so I can feel part of an adult routine and signal that it is work time.
So the brand sells: a place to get serious, not coffee.
Weak job
“When I want coffee, I want to buy a latte, so I can drink coffee.” It names the product and teaches you nothing.
Strong job
“When it is finals week and my dorm is too loud, I want a calm spot with caffeine and Wi-Fi, so I can get through my studying and feel in control.” Now you know the moment, the need and the feeling.
Try it: Job Statement Builder
Tool · MARK 465
Job Statement Builder
Write the job your customer hires the brand to do. The checks tell you if it is a real job or a product pitch in disguise.
- 1Write
- 2Check
- 3Test the switch
Your job statement
Will they switch?
All checks and message ideas
The four forces of progress
Even when the job is clear, people don’t switch easily. Four forces decide whether they move. Bob Moesta, who developed Jobs to Be Done with Christensen, calls them the forces of progress.
Pulling them toward you
- Push of the situation. Frustration with how things are now. “My dorm is impossible to study in.”
- Pull of the new. The appeal of a better life. “That cafe looks calm and everyone gets work done there.”
Holding them back
- Anxiety of the new. Worry it won’t work. “What if there are no seats?”
- Habit of the present. Comfort with the routine. “I always just study in my room.”
What marketing does with each force
Turn up the push
Name the frustration out loud so people feel seen. Content that starts with the problem stops the scroll.
Turn up the pull
Show the after: the person who finished the project, the Saturday that became a story.
Turn down the anxiety
Reviews, real photos, free trials, guarantees, clear prices and answers to the questions people are afraid to ask.
Break the habit
Make the first step tiny and fit it into a routine they already have. A first-visit offer, a reminder at the right moment.
Most brands only push and pull. The fastest wins usually come from removing anxiety and habit.
Find the job: switch interviews
You find jobs by asking people about a real moment they switched, not by asking what they want. People are bad at predicting what they will do and good at remembering what they did.
First thought
“This isn’t working.”
Ask: When did you first think about a change?
Looking
Noticing options, then searching.
Ask: What did you look at? Where?
Deciding
Weighing options and worries.
Ask: What almost stopped you?
Using it
Did it do the job?
Ask: What is better now? What isn’t?
Interview questions to useTen questions for a 15-minute switch interview
- Take me back to the day you decided to try it. Where were you?
- What was going on in your life that made you start looking?
- What were you using or doing before?
- What was frustrating about that?
- What else did you consider, including doing nothing?
- Who did you talk to about it?
- What almost made you not do it?
- What finally tipped you over?
- What happened the first time you used it?
- What can you do now that you couldn’t before?
Listen for situations, feelings and the alternatives they compared. Those are your job, your emotional and social sides, and your real competitors.
Who you really compete withNon-obvious competitors for a campus coffee shop
For the finals-week job, the coffee shop isn’t only competing with other coffee shops. It competes with anything that could do the same job:
The library
Quiet and free, but no caffeine and no snacks.
Energy drinks in the dorm
Cheap and easy, but the noise problem stays.
Doing nothing
Staying put and hoping to focus. Often the biggest competitor of all.
Put it to work: your Client Kickoff Brief
Use the job as the first line of your Client Overview in the Client Kickoff Brief, then let it drive every choice after it.
Talk to two or three real customers
Use the switch interview questions. Ask about a real moment, not opinions.
Your deliverable: notes with the situation, the worries and the alternatives they named.
Write the job statement
Use the builder above until all three checks pass.
Your slide: one sentence. When, I want to, so I can.
Map the four forces
Rate push, pull, anxiety and habit for your client’s customer.
Your slide: the biggest blocker and how marketing will remove it.
Turn the job into messages
Write a headline about the progress, not the product. Snickers’ “You’re not you when you’re hungry” barely mentions the candy bar.
Your slide: two headline options built from the job.
Pick the moment and channel
Reach people when the situation happens, in a place where your message is welcome.
Your slide: when and where you show up, and why.
Do this, not thatThe habits that make a job statement useful
Do this
- Start from a real moment someone lived.
- Include the feeling and how they want to be seen.
- List competitors outside your category.
- Fix anxiety before shouting louder.
Not that
- Naming your product in the job.
- Describing a demographic instead of a situation.
- Guessing the job without talking to anyone.
- One job for every customer at every moment.
Go deeper
Back to all Marketing 465 topics
Frequently asked questions
What is Jobs to Be Done in marketing?
Jobs to Be Done is a theory that says people do not buy products, they hire them to make progress in their lives. Clayton Christensen of Harvard Business School popularized the idea. When marketers know the progress a customer is after, they know what to say, where to say it and who they are really competing with.
How do you write a Jobs to Be Done job statement?
Write a job statement with the formula: When [situation], I want to [progress], so I can [result]. For example: "When it is finals week and my dorm is too loud, I want a calm spot with caffeine and Wi-Fi, so I can get through my studying and feel in control." It names the moment, the need and the feeling.
What is the milkshake story in Jobs to Be Done?
The milkshake story shows one product doing two different jobs. A morning commuter hires a milkshake as an easy, filling breakfast that makes a long drive less boring, while a parent in the afternoon hires the same milkshake as a treat for kids. It teaches that the situation drives the choice, and each job needs its own message.
What are the four forces of progress?
The four forces of progress are push of the situation, pull of the new, anxiety of the new and habit of the present. Bob Moesta named them. Push and pull move people toward switching, while anxiety and habit hold them back. Most brands only push and pull, but the fastest wins usually come from removing anxiety and habit.
What is the most common mistake when writing a job statement?
The most common mistake is naming your product in the job. "When I want coffee, I want to buy a latte, so I can drink coffee" teaches you nothing. Other mistakes include describing a demographic instead of a situation, guessing the job without talking to customers, and writing one job for every customer at every moment.