This is article 5 / 5 in a series on Jobs to Be Done. You may wish to read this series from the beginning or view the full list of articles (located at the bottom of this page).
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After months or even years of hard and diligent labour, a company finally launches its product, system or service – an accomplishment that requires the hard and diligent labor of teams of skilled individuals. If enough care and attention was given to discovering and uncovering customer job-related activities, the result is usually positive: the offering resonates with people and the company takes off.
But then, in the process of running and growing the company, teams often define success in terms of their business goals and product offering and they may lose sight of the customer job(s) they had set out to fulfill.
CHOOSING METRICS THAT ALIGN WITH CUSTOMER JOBS
One of the principles of Jobs Theory is that success in business is the result of making the Job the unit of analysis. When this is done, companies develop customer success metrics that better define product success in a way that is trackable over time. As a result, business success is aligned with customer success.
Amazon.ca, for example, defines its success not by when items have been added to a cart, sold, or even shipped but by when they have been delivered successfully into the hands of the customer.
This definition of success is reflected throughout the shopping experience. A date of delivery for an item is presented to customers even before it has been added to their cart, and Amazon’s internal processes are geared towards ensuring this outcome is met. They do this because they understand the uncertainty of online purchasing - especially when an item is needed by a certain date. Reducing or eliminating uncertainty fulfills the customer job better than other online retailers, and thus leads to greater success for the company.
If this approach to defining success metrics is so beneficial, then why don’t more companies incorporate job-related success metrics into their decision making?
Part of the problem is the tendency to focus performance metrics on business goals, assuming that if the business goals such as sales, revenue, and customer engagement targets are being met, then surely the customers are satisfied with the offering. However, if business goals are not tied to customer needs or jobs, it’s a one-sided view of success.
Another problem is availability of data. Sometimes a company’s performance reporting is based on whatever data is easily accessed or available. Obviously this is limiting. A better approach is to define key performance indicators (KPIs) first, identify the relevant metrics that can be used to measure success, and then figure out how to gain access to the right data – which in the case of customer jobs often demands more thought, time, and effort to collect.
Reflecting on the Amazon example again, the customer Job is to obtain items that are desired or needed (with a functional element around the ease of getting items and emotional elements concerning both certainty and trust). Amazon focuses performance on three things that solve this customer job: vast selection, low prices, and fast delivery. Data is then used to determine performance against these KPIs. For example, to measure ‘fast delivery,’ data is used to determine the speed of delivery from receiving an order to successfully delivering an order into the hands of the customer. This data may come from various sources: from purchasing systems (time of order confirmation, customer location), product supplier systems, shipping logistics systems, etc. Analyzing this data supports continual refinement of operational processes.
REFLECT ON YOUR CURRENT SUCCESS METRICS
Clayton Christensen, author of Competing Against Luck, a book about Jobs Theory and business success, recommends that leaders take a moment to ask themselves these questions:
- What data drives your innovation and investment decisions? How closely connected is this data to your customers’ jobs?
- How are you ensuring that your customers’ Job-to-Be-Done has a voice in your decision making and resource allocation activities?
If your reflection reveals that your performance management approach needs more focus on customer Jobs or needs, then perhaps we can help get you and your team on track.
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If you are interested in talking to one of our research and design consultants about how Jobs-to-be-Done can help your digital product design and strategic planning, email us at info@spatialrd.com.
Spatial Research and Design is a leader in providing human-centred design solutions to support innovation in large organizations.
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Continue learning about Jobs Theory
This is article 5 / 5 in a series on Jobs-to-Be-Done:
Article #1: A Brief Introduction to Jobs-to-Be-Done
Article #2: The Principles of Jobs Theory
Article #3: What Jobs Theory Reveals About Your Competitive Landscape
Article #4: Jobs-to-Be-Done and the Four Forces of Progress
Article #5: Choosing Better Success Metrics – a JTBD Perspective
