Improve Your Innovation Process With Jobs-to-Be-Done

In order to be successful, businesses need to constantly innovate. This means coming up with new products and services that can meet the needs of their customers. But how can you do this effectively? One way is to use the jobs-to-be-done methodology.

In this blog post, we will discuss what jobs-to-be-done is and how you can use it to improve your innovation process. We will also provide some examples of how companies have used this approach to create innovative products and services.

What is Jobs-to-Be-Done?

Jobs-to-be-Done is a framework that can be used to understand customer needs. It is based on the idea that people hire products and services to do a job. A job could be a job as simple as finding new restaurant suggestions or it could be as complex as keeping your child occupied while you finish your work.

It was first popularized by Clayton Christensen in his book The Innovator’s Dilemma. In the book, Christensen argues that companies should focus on the “job” that their customers are hiring them to do. This is different from traditional marketing approaches, which focus on understanding customer segmentation or what features a product should have.

The key to using the jobs-to-be-done methodology is understanding what job the customer is trying to solve. Once you know this, you can create products and services that meet their needs.

How to Apply Jobs-to-Be-Done

Applying jobs-to-be-done to your innovation process is not difficult. The first step is to understand the jobs that your customers are trying to do. You can do this by talking to them, observing their behavior, and conducting market research. Once you have a good understanding of the jobs they are trying to do, you can start brainstorming ideas for new or existing products and services that can help them do those jobs better.

Once you have the information needed to do the job, you can start thinking about how your product or service will be different from what is already on the market. This is where you need to be creative and come up with new ideas that will meet the needs of your customers.

Remember, it is important to constantly communicate with your team and customers during this process. This will help you ensure that you are on the right track and that your products and services are meeting their needs.

Examples of Jobs-to-Be-Done

Now that you understand what jobs-to-be-done is and how to apply it, let’s take a look at some examples of how companies have used this approach to create innovative products and services.

One example is Uber. Uber was created to help people get around cities more easily. The problem with taxis is that they were inconvenient to call in a crowded city. They solved this by creating a mobile app that allowed people to request a ride with the push of a button. This made it much easier for people to get around cities, which is a job that many people need help with.

Another example is Airbnb. Airbnb was created to help people find places to stay when they are traveling. The problem with hotels is that they are often expensive and not always available in the location you want to visit. Airbnb solved this by allowing people to rent out their homes or apartments to travelers. This gave people more options for places to stay while making it easier for individuals to monetize their real estate investments.

These are just a few examples of how companies have used the jobs-to-be-done methodology to create innovative products and services. If you want to learn more about this topic, we suggest reading The Innovator’s Dilemma, which is a great resource for understanding how to apply this methodology to your business.

Brad Richman