You may ask, “What’s the difference between this approach and the classic “Customer Journey?” That’s a great question, and there’s a clear difference:
JTBD is solution agnostic, meaning it isn’t tracking a customer’s path to a product; it’s following the customer’s path to a solution — which could be any number of competing products, products from another industry altogether, or a seemingly random DIY approach.
Why is this revolutionary? Because by learning how the customer arrives at what they call a solution (rather than what you or your competitors call a solution) your customer tells you what they’ll “hire” (or spend money on), and what information — or marketing messages — they’ll respond to.
Taking several steps back and asking “what problem is hiring a milkshake solving,” they started looking at different data. When they realized that 40% of milkshake sales occurred during morning drive time, often with kids in the car, they realized that shakes were “hired” instead of other foods for very interesting reasons: convenience, amount of time to consume, cleanliness, and even boredom were all factors.
McDonalds ended up reformulating 2 shakes: a thicker, longer-lasting shake with “interesting” bits of fruit for adults, and a thinner, easy to consume shake for kids, all targeted around morning. Whaddya know… they sold more shakes. “That’s well and good,” you say, “but I’m not trying to increase sales of a product. I’m seeking to launch one.”JTBD is especially good at innovation. But — you need to be brave. Are you sure you’ve identified an unmet need?
JTBD will ask you to consider the problem your solution is designed to solve and then take your solution completely out of the equation. Look holistically at the non-demographically segmented group of people who live with, wrestle with, and often ingeniously solve (often through workarounds) your problem. Prepare to be surprised and inspired. The revealed motivations and surprising workarounds will illuminate new ways for you to message around your product or service, and in many cases supply you with clear direction for improving a product or service your currently offer — or even innovating with a new offering in your niche.