This mental model will change how you see your customers

Last week, I sent out a survey to people I trust, asking:

“If we started a newsletter, what topics would you be most interested in reading?”

The response was eye-opening. Unsurprisingly, over 70% selected marketing strategy. But close behind (58%), was understanding customers.

As a junior marketer, I used to spend hours pulling together customer personas for clients. The problem? Even the most well-researched personas are essentially useless in marketing.

Later on, I discovered the Customer Jobs (Jobs-to-Be-Done) framework. It completely changed how I approached understanding customers.

What’s the difference? JTBD shifts the focus from who customers are to what they are trying to achieve.

Here's how it works:

In the context of your target market, jot down the following:

Job: What are they primarily trying to get done?

Pain: What’s making it (the Job) hard?

Gain: What does success look like (the Job done well)?

Here's a simple example:

Imagine you’re building a new ride-sharing app. Your customer’s job might be ‘getting to work on time.’ The pains might include unreliable drivers or long wait times. And the gains could be consistent arrival times and a smooth experience.

In the example above, personas might tell us that our customer is a 35-year-old working parent named Sarah who likes yoga.

But JTBD asks: What is Sarah actually trying to accomplish? For example, ‘finding a safe and affordable way to transport her kids to school.’

This focussed insight drives actionable product and marketing decisions.

Spending just 5-10 minutes on this exercise can spark ideas for you and the team to explore. And it’s infinitely more useful than creating pointless personas. Seriously, don’t waste time on those.

To help you get started, I’ve made a Mural template using Google Search as an example of customer Jobs. (Pro tip: Make a copy first!)

Catch up soon,

Peter

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