This document discusses how adopting a jobs-to-be-done framework can help marketers create more relevant marketing. It provides examples of how companies like Intercom use jobs-based thinking to improve customer understanding, segmentation, messaging and product design. The document advocates discovering customer jobs through interviews, analytics and applying the job framework to activities like account-based marketing and landing page design.

1. @CLIFFSEAL
deathto
boriNgB2B MARKETING
ii

2. “What is the biggest
problem marketers
face?”
Source: http://
www.slideshare.net/
MathewSweezey/the-future-of-
marketing-2016-new-roles-
tools-and-trends/
@CLIFFSEAL

3. “What is the biggest
problem marketers
face?”
“How to keep up with
trends to drive higher
quality leads.” Source: http://
www.slideshare.net/
MathewSweezey/the-future-of-
marketing-2016-new-roles-
tools-and-trends/
@CLIFFSEAL

4. @CLIFFSEAL
HumAN-centered
mArKETING
IT’S TIME FOR

5. @CLIFFSEAL
fAVORITE
Song
YOUR

6. @CLIFFSEAL
fAVORITE
SongIS OUT OF TUNE
YOUR

7. Y THO
@CLIFFSEAL

8. @CLIFFSEAL

9. @CLIFFSEAL

10. @CLIFFSEAL
JUST SCALE
RATIOS
ONE KEY
✅
❌

11. @CLIFFSEAL
JUST SCALE
EQUAL
TEMPERAMENT
RATIOS
ONE KEY
✅
❌
RATIOS
ANY KEY
❌
✅

14. @CLIFFSEAL
joB
done
JUST TUNING
COULDN’T
GET THE

15. @CLIFFSEAL
joB
done
JUST TUNING
COULDN’T
GET THE
…SO WE “HIRED” EQUAL TEMPERAMENT

16. 9
@CLIFFSEAL
JUST SCALE
EQUAL
TEMPERAMENT

17. CREATIVE EXPRESSION
WITH MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS
9
@CLIFFSEAL
JUST SCALE
EQUAL
TEMPERAMENT

18. YOUR CUSTOMER’S
COMPELLING CONTEXT
+ MOTIVATION
10
@CLIFFSEAL
YOUR
PRODUCT
YOUR
COMPETITOR
Source: Badass, Kathy Sierra

19. “The customer rarely buys what the
business thinks it sells [them]. One
reason for this is, of course, that nobody
pays for a ‘product.’ What is paid for is
satisfactions. But nobody can make or
supply satisfaction as such—at best,
only the means to attaining them can
be sold and delivered.”
- Peter Drucker
@CLIFFSEAL
Source: Managing for Results,
Peter Drucker

20. “SATISFACTIONS”
12
@CLIFFSEAL
“MEANS” “MEANS”

21. “SATISFACTIONS”
JOB-TO-BE-DONE
13
@CLIFFSEAL
“MEANS”
HIRED TOOL
“MEANS”
HIRED TOOL

22. “SATISFACTIONS”
JOB-TO-BE-DONE
13
@CLIFFSEAL
“MEANS”
HIRED TOOL
OPPORTUNITY

29. Image: http://
www.mommysavesbig.com/
printable-coupons/wp-content/
uploads/2016/12/arm-and-
hammer.jpg
Source: https://hbr.org/
2005/12/marketing-
malpractice-the-cause-and-the-
cure

30. JOBS-TO-BE-DONE THEORY PROVIDES A
FRAMEWORK
FOR RELEVANCE
@CLIFFSEAL

31. RELEVANT MARKETING ADDRESSES
Source: http://trackmaven.com/
blog/2016/05/b2c-b2b-
marketing-research/
CONTEXT + MOTIVATION
@CLIFFSEAL

32. RELEVANT MARKETING RELIES ON
Source: https://digiday.com/
marketing/5-charts-show-just-
touch-brands-customers/ ,
https://www.salesforce.com/
form/marketingcloud/conf/b2b-
personas-targeting-audiences.jsp
ACCURATE SEGMENTATION
@CLIFFSEAL
81%
MARKETERS HAVE
A “HOLISTIC”
VIEW OF THEIR
CUSTOMERS
78%
CUSTOMERS FEEL
MISUNDERSTOOD
BY RETAILERS
15%
AVERAGE
ANNUAL B2B
PERSONA CHURN

33. @CLIFFSEAL
Empowering
peoPLeTO GET THE
RIGHT JOB DONE
RELEVANCE IS

36. Source: https://blog.intercom.com/marketing-the-job-to-be-done/

37. “We were using a personas-
based approach to
segmentation, but it wasn’t
working. We had too many “typical
users” who had little in common,
going by traits like demographics or
job titles.”
- Des Traynor, Co-founder of Intercom
@CLIFFSEAL
Source: https://hbr.org/
2016/09/know-your-
customers-jobs-to-be-done

38. “As soon as I grasped the
distinction between ‘customers’
and ‘problems people need help
with,’ a lightbulb went off. I called
my cofounder … and said, ‘We’re
going to build a company that is
focused on doing a job.’”
- Des Traynor, Co-founder of Intercom
@CLIFFSEAL
Source: https://hbr.org/
2016/09/know-your-
customers-jobs-to-be-done

39. DISCOVERING
JOBS-TO-BE-DONE
@CLIFFSEAL

40. DISCOVER JOBS THROUGH
TALKING TO
ACTUAL PEOPLE
@CLIFFSEAL

41. DISCOVER JOBS THROUGH
TALKING TO
ACTUAL PEOPLE
LEADS, CUSTOMERS,
LOST, AND ATTRITED
@CLIFFSEAL

42. DISCOVER JOBS THROUGH
TALKING TO
ACTUAL PEOPLE
LEADS, CUSTOMERS,
LOST, AND ATTRITED
BUYING TIMELINE
@CLIFFSEAL

43. DISCOVER JOBS THROUGH
TALKING TO
ACTUAL PEOPLE
LEADS, CUSTOMERS,
LOST, AND ATTRITED
BUYING TIMELINE
@CLIFFSEAL
“FIRST THOUGHT” AND
“MOMENTS OF STRUGGLE”

44. Source: https://jtbd.info/
uncovering-the-jobs-that-
customers-hire-products-and-
services-to-do-834269006f50

45. Source: https://jtbd.info/
uncovering-the-jobs-that-
customers-hire-products-and-
services-to-do-834269006f50

46. “When someone says [Basecamp is]
easy…I ask, ‘Why is easy good?’ …
you can get that deep into why
people answer a specific question a
certain way and find out it’s almost
always an emotional response.”
- Jason Fried, Founder & CEO of Basecamp
@CLIFFSEAL
Source: http://jobstobedone.org/
radio/jason-fried-on-using-jtbd-
at-basecamp/#challenging-
interviewees

47. “You can change the way you explain
your product or change the way you
market your product or the
messaging around it to play on those
emotional responses a lot more than
just fact or features, which are
ultimately boring things to most people.”
- Jason Fried, Founder & CEO of Basecamp
@CLIFFSEAL
Source: http://jobstobedone.org/
radio/jason-fried-on-using-jtbd-
at-basecamp/#challenging-
interviewees

48. DISCOVER JOBS THROUGH
ANALYTICS, SUPPORT,
AND SALES
@CLIFFSEAL

49. DISCOVER JOBS THROUGH
ANALYTICS, SUPPORT,
AND SALES
@CLIFFSEAL
WORKFLOWS

50. DISCOVER JOBS THROUGH
ANALYTICS, SUPPORT,
AND SALES
@CLIFFSEAL
WORKFLOWS
SNAGS

51. DISCOVER JOBS THROUGH
ANALYTICS, SUPPORT,
AND SALES
@CLIFFSEAL
WORKFLOWS
WORKAROUNDS
SNAGS

52. “It turned out that people had
four distinct jobs…We now offer
four distinct services, each
designed to support one of those
jobs.”
- Des Traynor, Co-founder of Intercom
@CLIFFSEAL
Source: https://hbr.org/
2016/09/know-your-
customers-jobs-to-be-done

54. IMPLEMENTING
JOBS-TO-BE-DONE
@CLIFFSEAL

55. IMPLEMENT JOBS IN
LANDING PAGES
@CLIFFSEAL

56. IMPLEMENT JOBS IN
LANDING PAGES
@CLIFFSEAL
NARRATIVE

57. Source: https://
blog.intercom.com/12-steps-to-
creating-landing-pages-that-
convert/

58. IMPLEMENT JOBS IN
@CLIFFSEAL
NARRATIVE
COPYWRITING
& KEYWORDS
LANDING PAGES

59. Source: https://
blog.intercom.com/12-steps-to-
creating-landing-pages-that-
convert/

60. IMPLEMENT JOBS IN
@CLIFFSEAL
SOCIAL PROOF
NARRATIVE
COPYWRITING
& KEYWORDS
LANDING PAGES

61. Source: https://
blog.intercom.com/12-steps-to-
creating-landing-pages-that-
convert/

62. Source: https://
blog.intercom.com/12-steps-to-
creating-landing-pages-that-
convert/

63. Source: https://
blog.intercom.com/12-steps-to-
creating-landing-pages-that-
convert/

64. “Looking at it from that light really
informs: if you go to our landing page on
the spot, how can we help people
visualize and recreate the moment in
their mind of when they were like,
yes, this is why I need to look for a
new solution right now.”
- Matt Hodges, Sr. Director of Marketing at Intercom
@CLIFFSEAL
Source: http://
jobstobedone.org/radio/
marketing-with-jobs-to-be-
done/

65. @CLIFFSEAL
fearless
paTHsTO SELF-ACTUALIZATION
RELEVANCE
CREATES

66. IMPLEMENT JOBS BY
REDEFINING PERSONAS
@CLIFFSEAL

67. IMPLEMENT JOBS BY
REDEFINING PERSONAS
@CLIFFSEAL
SUB-JOBS & STORIES

68. Source: http://
alanklement.blogspot.com/2013/09/
replacing-user-story-with-job-story.html

69. IMPLEMENT JOBS BY
REDEFINING PERSONAS
@CLIFFSEAL
SUB-JOBS & STORIES
TRUE COMPETITORS

70. Source: Intercom on Jobs-to-be-Done

71. Source: https://
blog.intercom.com/12-steps-to-
creating-landing-pages-that-
convert/

72. Source: https://
blog.intercom.com/12-steps-to-
creating-landing-pages-that-
convert/

73. “Our conversion rate has
increased, since prospects can
now buy just the piece of the site
that suits their initial job, and we’re
able to establish multiple points
of sale across client organizations.”
- Des Traynor, Co-founder of Intercom
@CLIFFSEAL
Source: https://hbr.org/
2016/09/know-your-
customers-jobs-to-be-done

74. TRY APPLYING JOBS TO YOUR
ACCOUNT-BASED MARKETING
STRATEGY
What are the jobs for your target
account?
Create a messaging guide to
keep you focused.
Create assets convincing the
account to “hire” your product.
@CLIFFSEAL
Define your persona(s) with
their sub-jobs and your true
competitors.

75. “The big mistake [for marketers] is
thinking that their job is to spend
money to get attention. If they think
that that is what their job is, they will
never ever succeed in marketing.”
- Seth Godin
@CLIFFSEAL
Source: https://www.inc.com/
abigail-tracy/seth-godin-
marketing-is-not-about-paying-
for-attention.html

76. @CLIFFSEAL
deathto
boriNgB2B MARKETING
ii