Jobs to Be Done: A Roadmap for Customer-Centered Innovation - Hardcover

Wunker, Stephen; Wattman, Jessica; Farber, David

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0814438032 ISBN 13: 9780814438039

Publisher: AMACOM, 2016

Synopsis

In a challenging economy filled with nimble competitors, no one can afford to stagnate. Yet, innovation is notoriously difficult. Only 1 in 100 new products are successful enough to cover development costs, and even fewer impact a company's growth trajectory. So how do you pinpoint the winning ideas that customers will love?
 
Sifting through purchasing data for clues about what might sell or haphazardly brainstorming ideas are typical strategies. But Jobs to Be Done offers a far more precise and effective approach: determining the drivers of customer behavior--those functional and emotional goals that people want to achieve. Using the Jobs method, it becomes easy to see that people don't really need a 1/4-inch drill bit, but a 1/4-inch hole. They're not just buying ice cream, but also celebration, bonding, and indulgence.
 
This simple shift in perspective opens up new insights about your customers and a wealth of hidden opportunities. Social media newcomer Snapchat, for example, used the Jobs process to capture the millennial demographic. By reducing functionality, the company satisfied its users' unmet need to document real life, in the moment, without filters and "like" buttons.
 
Packed with similar examples from every industry, this complete innovation guide explains both foundational concepts and a detailed action plan developed by innovation expert Stephen Wunker and his team. From unlocking customer insights to ideation to iteration, you'll learn how to:
 
* Figure out what customers really want, even if they can't express it
* Sort out valuable insights from less useful customer data
* Dig into the underlying "why" of consumer behavior, not just the "what"
* Target unaddressed jobs to be done that have the power to disrupt
* Identify key customer segments you didn't know existed
* Develop solutions that work with ingrained habits, not against them
* Use a Jobs-based lens to get a broader view of the competition
* Generate better ideas in brainstorming sessions and vet your solutions
* Sidestep common mistakes, such as engaging in "feature wars"
* Spot emerging trends that are changing how customers will behave
* Work customer insights into the design process
* And much more
 
Jobs to Be Done gives you a clear-cut framework for thinking about your business, outlines a roadmap for discovering new markets, new products and services, and helps you generate creative opportunities to innovate your way to success.

About this title

Book Description:

"Jobs to be Done is highly organized and expertly crafted...Company leaders looking for ways to institutionalize innovation are sure to find it here." --Foreword Reviews

Let your CUSTOMERS drive innovation.

Successful innovation doesn’t begin with a brainstorming session—it starts with the customer. So in an age of unlimited data, why do more than 50% of new products fail to meet expectations? The truth is that we need to stop asking customers what they want . . . and start examining what they need.

First popularized by Clayton Christensen, the Jobs to be Done theory argues that people purchase products and services to solve a specific problem. They’re not buying ice cream, for example, but celebration, bonding, and indulgence.

The concept is so simple (and can remake how companies approach their markets)—and yet many have lacked a way to put it into practice. This book answers that need. Its groundbreaking Jobs Roadmap guides you through the innovation process, revealing how to:

· Gather valuable customer insights

· Turn those insights into new product ideas

· Test and iterate until you find success

Follow the steps in Jobs to Be Done, and you’ll arrive at solutions that are both original and profitable.

From the Back Cover:

Why do most new products fail to meet expectations in an age of unlimited customer data? As Henry Ford reputedly put it, “If I’d asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.” The truth is, we need to go beyond what customers say they want and understand why they have the wants that they do.

First popularized by Clayton Christensen, the concept of Jobs to Be Done argues people purchase products and services to achieve specific goals. While the concept is simple, the path to putting it into practice has been murky. This book’s groundbreaking Jobs Roadmap takes you step by step through the innovation process and reveals how to:

· Gather valuable customer insights · Turn those insights into new product ideas · Test and iterate until you find original and profitable solutions.

Advance Praise for Jobs to Be Done:

“As companies struggle to predict whether people will choose one product over another, Jobs to Be Done gives a clear method for understanding what will make goods stand out. The steps it provides will help maximize the likelihood that your product will succeed.” —Jennifer Saenz, Chief Marketing Officer, Frito-Lay

“Jobs to Be Done takes what has become an essential theory for gauging customer needs and turns it into a structured approach to innovation based on what really drives behavior. It provides a coherent and highly actionable set of tools that you can put to use right away.” —Vijay Govindarajan, Coxe Distinguished Professor, Dartmouth College, Tuck School of Business

“The Jobs methodology is core to how Nestlé approaches the front end of innovation. This book brings innovation to the next level, offering extremely practical steps to create opportunity in both established and new markets.” —Doug Munk, Director, Innovation and Strategy, Nestlé USA

About this edition

• Publisher: AMACOM
• Publication date: 2016
• ISBN 10: 0814438032
• ISBN 13: 9780814438039
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 224