In her book, Jobs to Be Done: A Roadmap for Customer-Centered Innovation, Jessica Wattman provides a road map for a customer-centered approach to innovation. Through each chapter, she reveals essential tactics and strategies that can help companies and product teams create innovations that customers actually want and need.
At the heart of the book is the concept of “jobs-to-be-done” (JTBD) which is a framework for understanding how customers “hire” products to get something done. According to Wattman, companies are missing the underlying reasons why customers buy and use products. A JTBD approach provides invaluable information on what people are actually trying to achieve by using these products or services.
The book is divided into five sections. The first section provides an introduction to JTBD, setting the scene and highlighting the main premises of the JTBD way of thinking. The second section engages readers on how to craft innovative solutions by gathering deep insights into customers’ needs. The third section provides practical tips on how to map out the customers' journey and provides examples of successful products and services. The fourth section focuses on the product development process, exploring the role of problem validation and understanding customer pain points. The last section contains actionable tactics for recruiting and retaining customers, plus a guide to nurturing relationships with existing customers.
Overall, Jobs to Be Done: A Roadmap for Customer-Centered Innovation is an important roadmap for product development teams and entrepreneurs alike. By providing tangible examples of successful product and service development,Jessica Wattman provides valuable insight into what works and what doesn’t in creating successful products, services and solutions. This book is an invaluable resource for anyone wanting to take a customer-focused approach to innovation.
