Jan 29, 2021 | by Budi Tanrim
Business aware designer – Job to be done
Hiring milkshake
Milkshake.
A fast-food restaurant chain wanted to improve its milkshake sales.
A researcher is tasked to help gain some insights. Based on the sales data, he found that 40% of the milkshake was purchased first in the morning by commuters who ordered them to go.
The next morning, he came to the restaurant to interview a few buyers. To find out why do they buy the milkshake. Turned out, the buyers faced a long and boring commute and needed something to keep them busy. They weren’t hungry yet but knew they’ll be at 10 a.m.
Milkshakes had advantages over energy bars and bananas – they’re tidier and easier to consume in a car. They beat bagels – they’re too dry and leave you thirsty. They are better than coffee because they’re more filling.
Because of this insight, the chain made changes that made milkshakes the best tool for the job – a convenient, easy to consume snack in the long commute. They added fruits (to make it enjoyable) and made the milkshake thicker (to last longer).
Without understanding the job, the chain could have made the milkshakes healthier or thinner or offer different sizes—any of the changes that could be meaningless and not serving the customers’ needs.
Connecting job to be done with value proposition
In the previous post, we explored the idea of the value proposition. Understanding the concept of “job” is essential to help your team look for the value proposition by understanding the user’s motivation.
This is where the job-to-be-done framework come in handy to help your team align on what is the job your users are trying to accomplish.
As you seek the insights from research, try to fill this blank:
Image credit: Intercom
Most of the time, the target users might use other product or service. Your team can investigate how well the other product serve the job that the user is trying to accomplish.
By understanding the weakness of the competitors, that will be your team’s key to start brainstorming on how to make a differentiation.
Tomorrow, let’s explore on how to map out competitors.
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