Misaligned product development can be a major roadblock for SaaS companies striving for growth.

When a product fails to meet the real needs of its users, it can lead to high churn rates, low customer satisfaction, and a struggle to maintain market relevance. Too often, companies focus on features rather than understanding the underlying jobs their customers need to get done.

This article will explore the importance of the Jobs to Be Done (JTBD) framework in SaaS and how it can be a game-changer for aligning your product with customer needs. You'll discover:

• What the Jobs to Be Done theory is and its relevance to SaaS
• How to identify and define your product’s job to be done
• The process of understanding functional, emotional, and social needs
• Real-world examples of JTBD in successful SaaS companies
• A practical template for applying JTBD to your product strategy
• Potential drawbacks and how to address them

Let’s dive in.

What are jobs to be done?

In SaaS, understanding customer needs is critical. The Jobs to Be Done (JTBD) framework, created by Clayton Christensen, shifts the focus from product features to the core tasks customers need to accomplish.

For SaaS companies, this approach is invaluable, as it helps identify jobs users are trying to get done. Unlike traditional products, SaaS offerings must constantly evolve to keep up with technological advancements and changing user expectations.

By focusing on the desired outcomes customers need to complete, you can innovate more effectively and create solutions that truly resonate with your audience. This relevance extends beyond just functionality; it also covers emotional and social needs, ensuring that your product remains essential in your users’ daily workflows.

Why jobs to be done are crucial for SaaS

For SaaS companies, product adoption is essential for growth. The jobs to be done framework helps align product development with what customers want to achieve, not just what the product offers. This approach is vital in the subscription-based SaaS model, where continuous value delivery is key to reducing churn.

By focusing on the specific jobs users need to accomplish, SaaS companies can tailor their products to address these needs directly, increasing the likelihood of adoption and long-term engagement.

Additionally, the jobs to be done framework uncovers opportunities for the innovation process, allowing companies to develop features or products that better serve their target audience. This leads to higher satisfaction, stronger engagement, and sustained business success.

Defining your SaaS product’s job to be done

Understanding the jobs customers need to get done is the cornerstone of building successful products. Identifying and defining these jobs requires a deep dive into their core needs, where you'll uncover the real reasons they turn to your solution.

While this process can be complex, it’s crucial for ensuring that your product development aligns with genuine customer needs rather than assumptions or basic-level desires.

1. Start with customer research

The first step in identifying your product’s job to be done is conducting thorough customer research. This includes qualitative methods like customer interviews, surveys, and focus groups, as well as analyzing quantitative data from usage metrics and customer feedback.

The goal is to understand what drives your customers—what problems they’re facing, what outcomes they’re seeking, and why they chose your product over others.

💡 During this research phase, it’s essential to listen for the underlying motivations behind customer actions. What functional, emotional, or social needs are they trying to fulfill? For instance, a customer might not just want a project management tool; they might be looking for a way to reduce stress and increase productivity in their daily work routine.

By identifying these deeper needs, you can form a clearer picture of the job your product is being hired to do.

2. Analyze the jobs to be done

Once you’ve gathered sufficient data, the next step is to analyze and categorize the jobs your customers are trying to get done. This often involves breaking down user feedback into specific job statements—concise descriptions that capture what the customer is trying to achieve.

A job statement typically follows a structure like, “When [situation], I want to [motivation], so I can [desired outcome].”

For example, a SaaS customer might express, “When managing multiple projects, I want to streamline task assignments so I can meet deadlines more efficiently.” This job statement encapsulates the job the customer is trying to accomplish and provides a clear target for your product’s value proposition.

3. Prioritize the jobs

Not all jobs are created equal. Some will be more critical to your customers and, therefore, more important to address in your product development process. Prioritizing jobs involves evaluating the frequency and importance of each job, as well as considering your company’s ability to deliver on those needs.

Jobs that are both high in importance and underserved by current solutions present prime opportunities for outcome-driven innovation. By focusing on these high-priority jobs, you ensure that your product development efforts are aligned with the most pressing needs of your customers.

This alignment not only increases the likelihood of adoption by new customers but also helps build a product that customers will be more likely to stick with over the long term.

4. Create job statements for your product

The final step in this process is to translate your findings into clear, actionable jtbd statements that will guide your product development. These statements should reflect the core jobs your product will address, serving as a blueprint for designing features, user experiences, and marketing strategies.

By staying focused on these job statements, your team can ensure that every decision made during the product development process is directly tied to delivering value to your customers.

In conclusion, identifying and defining your SaaS product’s job to be done is a critical process that lays the groundwork for building a product that truly resonates with users.

By conducting thorough customer research (don't forget to interview customers), analyzing and prioritizing jobs, and creating clear job statements, you can align your product roadmap with the real needs of your customers, setting the stage for a successful and enduring SaaS offering.

Functional, emotional, and social needs

To create a SaaS product that truly resonates with users, it's essential to understand the full spectrum of their needs. The Jobs to Be Done (JTBD) framework helps uncover not only the functional aspects of what customers need but also the social and emotional dimensions that drive their decisions.

By addressing all three types of needs—functional, emotional, and social—you can develop a more comprehensive solution that delivers value on multiple levels.

Let's break down each of these.

1. Functional needs

Functional needs are the most straightforward and typically the primary reason a customer seeks out a SaaS product. These needs are tied to the specific tasks or jobs that the user wants to accomplish with your software.

For example, a project management tool like Asana is designed to help customers organize tasks, assign responsibilities, and track progress—all functional needs.

Understanding the functional aspect involves asking questions like: What problem are the customers trying to solve? What tasks do they need to complete? How can your product make these tasks easier, faster, or more efficient?

By honing in on these functional aspects, you can ensure that your product effectively addresses the desired outcomes it’s being hired to do.

2. Emotional needs

Emotional needs are often less obvious but equally important. These needs relate to the feelings and experiences that customers associate with using your product.

In SaaS, addressing the emotional aspect might mean designing a user interface that is not only functional but also intuitive and aesthetically pleasing, reducing frustration and increasing user satisfaction.

💡 Consider how your product can evoke positive emotions—whether it’s the relief of solving a persistent problem, the satisfaction of achieving a goal, or the confidence that comes with using a reliable tool.

For example, Slack isn’t just a communication platform; it’s also designed to make users feel connected and in control, which can reduce the stress of managing remote teams.

By addressing these emotional aspects, you enhance the overall customer experience, making your product more appealing and sticky.

3. Social needs

Social needs involve how a product helps users achieve their social goals, such as gaining recognition, building relationships, or fitting in with a particular group. In the context of SaaS, social needs might be addressed by features that facilitate collaboration, sharing, or showcasing work.

For instance, LinkedIn’s SaaS offerings, such as LinkedIn Sales Navigator, aren’t just tools for finding leads; they also help users build their professional networks and enhance their personal brand.

By recognizing and addressing social needs, you can create features that fulfill the user’s job and enhance their social standing or connections within their professional circles.

In conclusion, understanding and addressing the functional, emotional, and social needs of your users is crucial for creating a well-rounded SaaS product.

By taking a holistic approach to the jobs to be done framework, you can develop a solution that not only meets the immediate functional needs of your users but also resonates with them on a deeper personal dimension, leading to higher satisfaction and stronger customer loyalty.

Translating JTBD to product development

Once you've identified the core jobs your customers need to get done, the next step is to develop and position your product accordingly. This involves creating features that directly address these jobs and ensuring your product’s value proposition resonates with your target audience. Continuous iteration will then help keep your product aligned with evolving customer needs and market trends.

Step 1: Solution development

Once the jobs to be done are identified, the next step is to develop solutions that directly address them.

This step is where your product’s features and functionalities take shape, guided by the job statements you’ve crafted. It’s important to ensure that your solution is effective, user-friendly, and aligned with your users' emotional and social needs.

In the SaaS context, solution development involves defining core features that directly solve the customer’s problem. This process requires prioritizing which features are most essential to address the identified job and determining the optimal user experience to deliver these features. It’s crucial to balance simplicity with functionality, ensuring that each feature contributes to solving the user’s job without overwhelming them with unnecessary complexity.

This step is crucial for creating a product that addresses the job effectively and integrates seamlessly into the user’s workflow, enhancing overall productivity and satisfaction.

Step 2: Product positioning

The next step is positioning your product in a way that clearly communicates its value proposition and resonates with your audience. Product positioning involves defining how your solution differs from competitors and why it is the best choice for the job that needs to be done.

For SaaS companies, effective product positioning requires a deep understanding of your product’s strengths and the unique needs of your customer segments. This might involve highlighting key features, offering tailored messaging for different customer personas, or demonstrating how your product addresses specific customer pain points better than alternative solutions.

To achieve strong product positioning, start by identifying the core benefits that set your product apart. Focus on how your product uniquely fulfills the jobs to be done, and why these benefits matter to your audience. Use this understanding to craft a compelling narrative that speaks directly to the emotional and functional needs of your customers.

Additionally, consider the broader market context, ensuring your positioning strategy highlights how your product not only meets current demands but is also adaptable to future needs, thus reinforcing its long-term value. This approach ensures your product stands out in a crowded market and builds lasting customer loyalty.

Step 3: Iterative development

Continuous iteration is essential for maintaining alignment between your SaaS product, customer needs, and ever-changing market landscape.

Begin by regularly gathering feedback to uncover unmet customer needs and areas where your product can improve. This feedback loop ensures your product evolves alongside your customers, addressing their evolving expectations.

Simultaneously, tracking market needs allows you to anticipate shifts in the industry, ensuring your product adapts to meet new demands.

By prioritizing iterative development, you keep your product relevant, strengthen customer relationships, sustain engagement, and ensure your SaaS product thrives in a competitive market landscape.

4 jobs to be done examples

Understanding the jobs to be done framework is one thing; seeing it in action is another.

In this section, we’ll explore four real-world examples of SaaS companies that have successfully applied the jobs to be done framework to their products.

These jobs to be done examples illustrate how identifying and focusing on the right jobs can lead to innovative solutions, strong market positioning, and enduring customer loyalty.

1. Zoom – Connecting remote workers

Job to Be Done: Facilitate seamless communication and collaboration for remote teams.

As remote work became the norm, Zoom identified a critical job that needed to be done: enabling teams to communicate as effectively as if they were in the same room.

The core job to be done Zoom focused on was creating a reliable, easy-to-use platform that could handle video conferencing, chat, and collaboration tools, all while maintaining high-quality connections.

Zoom’s success lies in its ability to address the functional need for clear and uninterrupted communication, the emotional need for users to feel connected, and the social need for collaboration across dispersed teams.

By understanding these jobs, Zoom developed a product that quickly became indispensable for businesses worldwide, especially during the rapid shift to remote work in 2020.

2. PayPal – Providing a secure way to make online payments

Job to Be Done: Offer a secure, easy, and trusted way to transfer money online.

PayPal’s jobs to be done are centered around the need for secure online transactions. The company recognized that users—whether businesses or individuals—wanted a simple yet reliable method to send and receive money over the internet, without the risk of fraud or data breaches.

By addressing the functional need for security and simplicity, the emotional need for trust, and the social need for a credible payment method recognized globally, PayPal established itself as a leader in the online payments industry.

Its ability to focus on these jobs has allowed PayPal to remain a dominant force in digital payments, even as the market has become increasingly crowded.

3. Slack – Facilitating team communication and collaboration

Job to Be Done: Streamline communication and collaboration within teams to improve productivity.

Slack identified that many organizations were struggling with communication inefficiencies—emails were overwhelming, and important messages were getting lost.

Slack’s job was to create a platform that simplified team communication by organizing conversations into channels, integrating with other tools, and offering a searchable message history.

Slack not only addressed the functional job of improving communication but also met the emotional need for reducing stress and the social need for fostering a collaborative work environment. This focus on the right jobs helped Slack grow rapidly and become a staple in the toolkit of modern, tech-savvy organizations.

4. HubSpot – Simplifying inbound marketing and sales processes

Job to Be Done: Provide an all-in-one platform that simplifies and automates inbound marketing and sales.

HubSpot’s jobs to be done was to streamline the complex processes of marketing and sales into a single, user-friendly platform. The company recognized that businesses, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises, needed a solution that could attract, engage, and delight customers without requiring multiple disconnected tools.

💡 By focusing on the functional need for integration, the emotional need for ease of use, and the social need for professional growth and credibility, HubSpot developed a platform that became synonymous with inbound marketing.

HubSpot’s success is a direct result of its commitment to addressing these key jobs, making it an essential tool for businesses looking to grow their online presence.

JTBD Template for SaaS PMs

Applying the Jobs to Be Done framework effectively requires a structured approach. To help SaaS PMs get started, this section provides a practical template that can be used to identify and prioritize the jobs your product needs to address.

This template serves as a blueprint for aligning product development with customer needs, ensuring that your solutions are both relevant and impactful.

Step 1: Define the job statement

Begin by clearly defining the job your customer is trying to get done. Use the format: “When [situation], I want to [motivation], so I can [desired outcome].” This concise statement will guide your understanding of the customer’s needs and the context in which they use your product.

Example: “When managing multiple projects, I want to organize tasks and deadlines efficiently, so I can ensure timely project completion.”

Step 2: Identify functional, emotional, and social needs

Break down the job statement into the functional, emotional, and social needs it represents. Understanding these different dimensions will help you create a comprehensive solution that addresses all aspects of the customer’s job.

Example:

• Functional: Organize tasks, set deadlines, and monitor progress.
• Emotional: Reduce stress by having a clear overview of project timelines.
• Social: Demonstrate competence to stakeholders and team members.

Step 3: Assess current solutions

Analyze how well current solutions in the market are addressing these needs. Identify gaps and opportunities where your product can offer a better or more complete solution. This competitive analysis will inform your product strategy and help you differentiate your offering.

Example: Current project management tools may lack intuitive interfaces or robust collaboration features, leading to inefficiencies and user frustration.

Step 4: Prioritize jobs

Not all jobs are equally important. Use customer feedback, market research, and your own business strategies to prioritize the jobs your product should focus on. Jobs that are high in importance and underserved by existing solutions should take precedence in your product development roadmap.

Example: Prioritize the job of streamlining task management and collaboration over less critical features like customizable dashboards.

Step 5: Develop and iterate

With the prioritized job in mind, develop features and experiences that directly address the identified needs. Continuously gather feedback and iterate on your solution to refine its effectiveness and user satisfaction.

Remember, the jobs to be done framework is not a one-time exercise but an ongoing process of understanding and responding to customer needs.

Example: Develop a feature that allows users to create and assign tasks within a collaborative environment, then gather feedback to improve the user experience.

In conclusion, this jobs to be done template provides a structured approach for SaaS PMs, founders, and marketers to align their product development efforts with their customer's objective.

By following these steps, you can ensure that your product meets your customers' actual needs and expectations, leading to higher adoption rates and long-term success.

I hope this helps! Now let's look at some of the downsides of this concept.

The drawbacks of this approach

While the Jobs to Be Done framework offers valuable insights for SaaS product development, it’s not without its limitations. Understanding these drawbacks can help PMs apply the framework more effectively and avoid potential pitfalls.

1. Overemphasis on the job can lead to narrow focus

One of the primary risks of the jobs to be done approach is that it can lead to an overly narrow focus on specific jobs, potentially overlooking broader market dynamics or emerging opportunities. For example, by concentrating solely on fulfilling a particular job, a company might miss out on new trends or adjacent markets that could offer additional growth opportunities.

This tunnel vision can limit the innovation process and make it harder for a SaaS company to pivot or adapt to changing market conditions.

2. Difficulty in capturing complex customer needs

The JTBD framework often simplifies customer needs into specific jobs, which can be both a strength and a limitation. In reality, customer needs are complex and multifaceted, encompassing a mix of functional, emotional, and social dimensions that might not always be easily distilled into a single job statement.

This complexity can lead to challenges in accurately capturing the full scope of what customers want from a product, especially in diverse or highly specialized SaaS markets.

3. Risk of misalignment with market dynamics

The jobs to be done approach emphasizes understanding the job from the customer’s perspective, but this focus can sometimes lead to a disconnect with broader market dynamics, such as competitive pressures, technological advancements, or regulatory changes.

If you become too fixated on fulfilling a particular job, you might miss critical shifts in the market that could impact your product’s relevance or competitiveness.

4. Challenges in efforts to measure success

Measuring the success of a product developed using the JTBD framework can be challenging, especially if the job being addressed is abstract or subjective. Traditional metrics like customer satisfaction, usage rates, or revenue might not fully capture the effectiveness of the product in fulfilling the job.

This can make it difficult to assess whether the product truly meets the intended needs or if further adjustments are necessary.

5. Potential for overgeneralization

Lastly, there is a risk of overgeneralizing customer jobs, especially when dealing with a diverse user base. Different customer demographics may have varying needs and expectations, and a one-size-fits-all job statement might not accurately reflect these differences.

Overgeneralization can lead to a product that meets the needs of some users but falls short for others, resulting in lower adoption or higher churn rates among certain segments.

In conclusion, while the JTBD framework is a powerful tool for understanding customer needs and guiding product development, it’s important to be aware of its limitations. By recognizing these drawbacks, you can apply the jobs to be done approach more judiciously, ensuring that your product is aligned with customer jobs and adaptable to changing market conditions and diverse user needs.

Applying the jobs to be done framework

The Jobs to Be Done (JTBD) framework is a powerful tool for SaaS companies, enabling them to align product development with real customer needs.

By focusing on the jobs customers are trying to accomplish, you can create products that truly resonate, driving adoption and long-term loyalty.

However, it's important to remain flexible and aware of broader market dynamics. Use the jobs to be done framework as a guide, but continuously iterate based on feedback and new insights.

This approach ensures your SaaS product remains relevant and valuable, positioning your company for lasting success.

To truly capitalize on the insights gained from the JTBD framework, it's essential to have a strategic approach to customer engagement.

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