A Better Way to Think About Customer Needs

Insight from Tony Ulwick

Ever launched a product that customers just didn't want? 

Here's a framework that's helping teams spot market opportunities before they build: Jobs-to-be-Done.

People don't buy products - they hire them to get a job done. Take Levitt's famous quote: "People don't want to buy a quarter-inch drill. They want a quarter-inch hole."

Looking at your market through this lens changes everything. 

Instead of asking "What features should we add?" start with questions like:

• What job is our customer trying to get done?

• Who's actually doing the work? 

• Who has to support it? 

• Who makes the purchase decision?

Want to try this with your team? Here's an AI prompt to help map out your customer's job:

You are a Jobs-to-be-Done consultant with 20 years of experience. My product is [describe your product]. First, interview me about our customers, asking one question at a time. Focus on understanding their core job, related tasks, emotional needs, and support requirements. After our discussion, create a structured analysis with:

1. Job Map: Break down the customer's process into clear steps

2. Success Metrics: What customers use to measure success at each step

3. Pain Points: Where customers struggle the most

4. Opportunity Areas: 3 specific gaps we could address

5. Action Plan: Concrete next steps for product development

Format this as a clear document we can use in our next product planning session.

The framework helps you catch problems early. 

If your product nails the main job but makes life hell for the support team, or works great but makes users feel stupid, you've still got a problem. 

These are the insights that separate good products from great ones.