Glossary
Jobs to be Done
A theory that customers "hire" products to make progress on a specific job, not because of demographics or features.
Jobs to be Done (JTBD), associated with Clayton Christensen and Tony Ulwick, reframes buying. A customer does not buy a quarter-inch drill bit; they buy a quarter-inch hole. More broadly, they hire a product to make progress in a specific situation. The unit of analysis is the job, defined by context, motivation, desired outcome, and alternative solutions.
JTBD is powerful for product and marketing because it explains substitution: a meal replacement might compete with breakfast, commuting, and boredom at once. For SaaS, JTBD interviews unearth the triggering event ("I got tired of Monday reports taking three hours") and the desired progress, which typically translates into sharper messaging and clearer roadmap priorities than persona work alone.
Why it matters
JTBD forces teams to compete against the real alternative — often a spreadsheet, a habit, or doing nothing — instead of only obvious SaaS competitors.
Related terms
Buyer Persona
A fictional but evidence-based profile of a target buyer, used to align product, marketing, and sales.
Customer Segmentation
Dividing the customer base into groups that share meaningful behaviors, needs, or economics.
Voice of Customer
The disciplined capture and synthesis of customer feedback across every channel, used to drive product and GTM decisions.
Gap Analysis
A method for finding the difference between what users want and what existing products deliver, so you can prioritize what to build or message next.
Product-Market Fit
The point at which a product clearly serves a real market need, demonstrated by strong demand, retention, and organic growth.