The Milkshake That Changed Product Thinking
What the Jobs-to-be-Done framework teaches us about user intent.
Competing on features alone
The Problem
Two products.
Same category.
Similar price.
Which one wins?
A
vs.
B
Two products.
Same category.
Similar price.
Which one wins?
Arrow
The one that does
the 'job' better.
Customers don't buy. They hire your product.
The Insight
You don't wake up
wanting
a drill 🔧
You
wake up
wanting
a hole 🕳️
You don't
plan to
book a
cab 🚕
You
plan to
reach
on time ⏰
Your goal
is not to
subscribe to courses 🎓
Your goal
is to
upskill yourself 📚
What Clayton Christensen discovered about customer behaviour
The Milkshake Story
studied milkshake sales
A fast-food chain
When?
Why?
Who buys them?
Scribbled Underline
Morning customers
bought for commute.
To survive
a long, boring drive 🚗
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Scribbled Underline
Afternoon customers
bought for their kids.
To keep them busy after
school 🏫
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Different business
strategies
Different business
strategies
Same product.
Different jobs.
"Keep me awake and full."
Morning job:
Morning job:
"Keep my kids quiet."
Afternoon job:
Afternoon job:
This is the
This is the
framework
Jobs-to-
be-Done
Scribbled Arrow
underlying job
to understand the
Where you try
Squiggly Line
Obsess
over features.
Bloat
takes over.
Solve the right job.
Adoption follows.
What do we learn?
The Takeaway
that truly
We Learn That
needs doing.
Listen to users.
Observe their habits.
But build for the job
- Keep upskilling.
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