Why do customers really buy? And why do they sometimes not buy, even when your offer seems valuable?
For startups and SMEs, this question is crucial. Growth often does not fail because of a bad idea. More often, the challenge is that it remains unclear which problem customers are truly trying to solve. What alternatives do they consider? What holds them back? And which message actually reaches them?
Jobs to Be Done (JTBD) addresses exactly these questions. The method helps you better understand purchasing decisions — not only through target groups, personas, or general feedback, but through specific situations. You learn what drives customers, what they want to avoid, and what progress they are trying to achieve. This creates a stronger foundation for better decisions in innovation, strategy, product development, and marketing.
In this workshop, you will learn a practical introduction to JTBD. You will gain a pragmatic approach that is suitable for startups, small teams, and SMEs. It is also valuable if your startup has not yet been founded and you want to develop your offer from the customer’s perspective right from the beginning.
At the start, we will clarify what JTBD means. You will learn why customers do not simply buy products or services, but use them to make progress in a specific situation.
We will then look at how JTBD differs from traditional market research. You will discover why qualitative conversations often provide different insights than surveys, target group profiles, or purely data-driven analyses.
Next, you will learn about three types of jobs that help you understand customer motivations in greater detail. Building on this, we will show you how to prepare and conduct JTBD interviews: Which questions lead to meaningful insights? How can you avoid superficial answers? And how do you get closer to real decision-making situations?
In the next step, you will capture your findings and condense them into clear Job Statements. We will also show you how to identify initial patterns: Where do opportunities emerge? Which alternatives compete with your offer? And where can you create the greatest impact?
At the end of the workshop, you will turn insights into action. You will learn how to derive initial ideas for strategy, positioning, your offer, and marketing.
After the workshop, you can apply the method to your own case: weak demand, unclear positioning, declining bookings, a new offer, a business idea, or an investment decision where you are still uncertain.