Successful innovation doesn't begin with a brainstorming session--it starts with the customer

If we live in an age of unlimited data, why do more than 50% of new products fail to meet expectations?

​As Henry Ford reputedly put it, "If I'd ask people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses." The truth is that we need to go beyond what customers say they want and understand why they have the wants that they do.  

The Jobs to be Done theory argues that people purchase products and services to achieve specific goals.  They're not buying ice cream, for example, but celebration, bonding, and indulgence.  By focusing on jobs, you look deeper--at what really drives behavior.  

Connect with your customers' true motivations, rather than what they happen to be doing today

Chapter 1 from our book Jobs to be Done: A Roadmap for Customer Centered Innovation (Amacom, 2016) covers: 

• Why you should focus on Jobs to be Done (JTBD) rather than past purchase behavior
• The difference between functional and emotional jobs, and how to win on each
• How JTBD research can lead to the better design of products, services, and business models

Learn more about our customer research practice

Download our book chapter on customer-centered innovation

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