A Complete Jobs to be Done Interview
Seeing an ethnographic, story-based interview come to life
We in business need to first and foremost become an expert in the problem we solve for our customers. I like to think of us as anthropologists first, entrepreneurs, product people, marketers, etc. second.
There are many resources under the design thinking and human-centered design umbrella that can be applied to understand the problem we solve for our customers. I frequently “grab” ethnographic-style interviews from my toolbox. Jobs to be Done is one framework that can guide how we approach this kind of interview.
The video below is a complete, unedited “JTBD” interview about the problem that buying a guitar solved for the interviewee, Vid. I lead in the conversation, keeping in mind two supporting concepts — the customer experience map, or “timeline,” and the “four forces,” which promote or block Vid’s progress. Interview partner Brandon Hunt listens deeply to the discussion and asks follow-up questions to ensure we obtain the insights we are seeking.
Our goal was to capture a complete story of how Vid:
- Experienced a specific struggling situation.
- Became motivated to make a change.
- Shaped up a vision of a better future.
- Took action and made a series of decisions based on different options.
- Finally purchased a black Fender acoustic guitar.
As you listen to the interview, write down the insights you hear applicable to strategy, product, customer experience, marketing, customer success, even operations.
Note as well that I offer a customer insights workshop drawing on my experience with customer discovery and hundreds of customer conversations guided by the Jobs to be Done framework. I have presented the event at the DMZ (Toronto), MassChallenge, Techstars and for other groups. Message me via my website to discuss bringing the workshop to your audience.
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Thanks to Brandon (interview partner) and Vid (interviewee) for making this video possible.
Updated April 30, 2023
