45.When Coffee and Kale Compete. Become Great at Making Products People Will Buy.
A Book Review.
Dear Reader,
I randomly read this book in 2016 and since then I knew I had to revisit it again. I did that 3 weeks ago, and it did not disappoint.
The book is called ‘When Coffee and Kale Compete. Become Great at Making Products People Will Buy’ by Alan Klement. It is about the Job-to-be-Done (JTBD) framework, what it is, why it is important, and how it can be applied to building products, communities, and businesses.
I am writing this book review because I believe the JTBD framework provides a useful approach to discovering your unique value proposition to your customers, and building your next product.
What is a Job to be Done (JTBD)?
A Job to be Done is the process a consumer goes through whenever she aims to transform her existing life-situation into a preferred one but cannot because constraints are stopping her.
“Customer Jobs theory states that markets grow, and transform, whenever customers have a Job to be Done, and then buy a product to complete it (get the Job Done)”.
Customers don’t want your product or what it does; they want help making themselves better (i.e., they want to transform a life-situation, make progress). “Products enable customers to get a Job Done”.
A JTBD Example
An excellent example of a JTBD in this book is that of Revlon; the multination beauty brand.
Charles Revson, founder of Revlon perfectly encapsulated a JTBD when he said:
“In the factory, we make cosmetics. In the drugstore, we sell hope”.
With those words, Revson differentiated between what customers buy, and why they buy it.
This thinking was further demonstrated in Revlon’s 1952 advertising campaign: Fire and Ice.
Klement writes:
“The advertising campaign makes it clear: Revlon isn’t selling a product, it’s selling a “new me”. In fact, there’s barely any mention of any product. One whole page is a check list of provocative questions; the other features a picture of model Dorian Leigh. Only on further investigation do you notice the lipstick and nail polish at the bottom of the page”.
Upon seeing this ad, consumer begin to design a new version of themselves in their mind.
Klement writes:
“For some, the new me looks like her. For others, the new me is with her. Whatever the case, if this new me who experiences new life situations is something I want, I begin desiring it. I have a Job to be Done”.
Principles of Job to be Done (JTBD)
There were 9 key principles of the JTBD framework in this book:
1. Customers don’t want your product or what it does; they want help making themselves better (i.e., they want to transform a life-situation, make progress).
2. People have Jobs; things don’t.
3. Competition is defined in the minds of customers, and they use progress as their criterion
4. When customers start using a solution for a JTBD, they stop using something else
5. Innovation opportunities exist when customers exhibit compensatory behaviours.
6. Favour progress over outcomes and goals
7. Progress defines value; contrast reveals value
8. Solutions for Jobs deliver value beyond the moment of use
9. Producers, consumers, solutions, and Jobs should be thought of as parts of a system that works together to evolve markets
Let’s look at each in more detail.
1. Customers don’t want your product or what it does; they want help making themselves better (i.e., they want to transform a life-situation, make progress).
Klement writes:
“Charles Revson knew that customers didn’t want cosmetics, they wanted hope”.
“Focusing on the product itself, what it does, or how customers use it closes your mind to innovation opportunities. For example, if you sold drills, you might be tempted to think that people buy drills and bits because they want holes. But then 3M comes along and develops an entire line of damage-free hanging products that are designed specifically to eliminate the need for a drill or for making any holes”.
These statements are so powerful. We need to go several layers deep to discover what customers are trying to achieve, and how our product enables that. What’s the Job-to-be-done😊.
2. People have Jobs; things don’t.
Klement writes:
“It doesn’t make sense to ask, “What Job is your product doing? Or say, “The Job of the phone is … or The Job of the watch is…” They are examples of solutions for Job”. Products don’t have lives to make better”.
3. Competition is defined in the minds of customers, and they use progress as their criterion.
Klement writes:
“Are things getting better for me today than yesterday? Am I getting closer to that picture in my mind of how I want my life to be? These are some of the criteria customers use to judge which products compete against one another to improve themselves”.
4. When customers start using a solution for a JTBD, they stop using something else
Klement writes:
“Just as only one puzzle piece can fit into an empty slot, a customer prefers only one solution at a time for a JTBD”.
When customers discover a product that works to make their lives better, they stop searching for new solutions. Their Job is Done.
5. Innovation opportunities exist when customers exhibit compensatory behaviours.
Klement writes:
“Baking soda was originally advertised as a baking agent. Over time, customers started using it as a cleaner and deodorizer”.
This alternative use case presents an opportunity to be innovative with a new product, or repurpose an existing one.
6. Favour progress over outcomes and goals
Klement writes:
“Customer goals and outcomes are only the results of an action. The ball went into the net; that is a goal. Did you win the game?”.
“Customers need to feel successful at every touch point between themselves and your business, not just at the very end when the outcome of an action is realized. Design your product to deliver customers an ongoing feeling of progress”.
7. Progress defines value; contrast reveals value.
Klement writes:
“Products have no value in and of themselves. They have value only when customers use them to make progress. The value of steak is easier to assess when it’s matched with a fancy restaurant and a nice bottle of wine. But things can get wacky in that scenario if we swap a slice of pizza for the steak”.
“A steak at a fancy restaurant helps you have a better restaurant experience. It delivers progress”.
8. Solutions for Jobs deliver value beyond the moment of use
Klement writes:
“Imagine you own a car. Wen it’s sitting in your garage, is it still delivering value? Doesn’t the satisfaction of owning a car extend beyond when you’re actively using it? What’s more valuable: getting transported from point A to point B or having the peace of mind that you have the ability to go where you want to go, whenever you like?”.
“A product should be designed with an understanding of how it improves customers’ lives, not just how it offers value in the moment”.
9. Producers, consumers, solutions, and Jobs should be thought of as parts of a system that works together to evolve markets
Klement writes:
“A system is a collection of parts that work together to achieve a desired effect. The value is not in any one particular part of the system but in how those parts work together”.
“A car is an example of a system. Imagine I give you a box that contains all the parts of a car. What I gave you would likely be worthless to you. The parts are valuable to you only when they are assembled in a particular fashion, when they work together in a particular way, and when you can use them to make progress”.
“The same is true for producers, consumers, solutions, and Consumer Jobs. You need to understand how these parts work together to evolve customers and renew markets”.
“Grill manufacture Weber understands that it’s not in the business of making and selling grills. It’s in the business of making people better grillers. That’s why it offers educational materials, recipes, party-planning guides, grilling accessories, and even a free phone hotline for grilling advice”.
“The understanding that customers are buying a better version of themselves is why Weber delivers a constellation of products that work together – as parts of a system – to evolve consumers and markets. Weber has been a successful, profitable company since 1893”.
The 4 forces that shape Consumer Demand.
Remember principle 4 above: ‘when customers start using a solution for a JTBD, they stop using something else’. Each time you ‘hire’ a product, you ‘fire’ its predecessor. During this transition and decision, there are four forces at play that work together to shape customer demand.
They are: push pull, inertia, and anxieties.
The first group of forces (push and pull) incline you towards making a change – generating customer demand:
Push: People won’t change when they are satisfied with the way things are. People change “when circumstances push them to be unhappy with the way things are”.
Pull: “If a push is the engine that powers customer motivation, the pull is the steering wheel that directs motivation”. When you hear about something better, you want to check it out. Remember the first time you tried Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, or Spotify. You were hooked. That’s the pull, the pull for a better life.
These 2 forces have to work together to generate demand.
The 2nd group of forces (inertia and anxiety) incline you against making a change – reducing customer demand:
Inertia: Think of inertia as “a tendency to do nothing or remain unchanged”. I have a good enough solution so why should I change? Inertia manifests in different ways, especially in habits. This could be:
Habits-in-choice (at the moment of decision to switch solutions)
Habits-in-use (when customers regress back to an old habit and hence product e.g., shopping at the supermarket 5mins from their home vs online shopping).
Anxiety: This could be an innate fear of the new. Remember how you felt when you found out you needed to upgrade your smartphone/laptop to a newer model? That feeling of loss. Anxiety. This could be:
Anxiety-in-choice: We experience anxiety-in-choice “when we don’t know if a product can help us get a Job Done. It exists only when we’ve never used a particular product before”. For example, “I’ve never taken the bus to work. Is it ever on time? Where do I buy a ticket”
Anxiety-in-use: “After customers use a product for a JTBD, the anxiety-in-choice largely disappears. Now their concerns are related to anxiety-in-use. For example, “I’ve taken the bus to work several times. But sometimes it’s late, and other times it’s early. I wish I knew its arrival time in advance.” In this case, we know a product can deliver progress, but certain qualities about it make us nervous about using it”.
Inertia and anxiety work together to reduce demand. “Inertia and anxiety are your silent competitors”.
Klement writes:
“Most innovators focus on the top two forces. They want to know “what customers want” and how demand is generated. They overlook the bottom two forces – that is, the forces that reduce and block that demand”.
This is so true. After identifying the push and pull forces that affect customer demand for our product. We need to investigate the underlying inertia, default habits, and anxieties that reduce the customer demand.
Think about how a retailer’s return policy encourages you buy new clothes, try them, and keep them, or return them.
Conclusion
Initially, this was a difficult book to read, but as you go through the chapters, from theory to practice and case studies, it gets easier.
The JTBD framework is relevant, and helps us go several layers deeper in understanding our customers need (to make progress) and how our product proposition helps them achieve that.
In your marketing and advertising materials “show customers that you understand their struggle for progress”, and help them visualize how your product can make their lives better.
I hope you find these lessons useful in your next project. Let me know.
Good luck and bye for now.
Nero
Delivering Value,
Racing Towards Excellence.
You can also read other book reviews on:
Succeeding ( Mindset, How to fail and still win, Strategy Rules from Bill Gates, Andy Grove, and Steve Jobs).
Customer Discovery and Product Building ( The Mom Test, Inspired, The $100 Startup, Choose Yourself, The Alchemist).
Other articles on: Figma: From 0 to $20bn, Me, My Product Management journey, Career Framework, , Career Advice, Strategy, Management & Teamwork, Spotify’s Product Story
And many more at Business Notes by Nero Okwa.
If you have any more questions kindly leave a comment below or message me at notesbynero@gmail.com.
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