# JTBD Case Studies

## 1. McDonald's Milkshake

### Situation
McDonald's wanted to increase milkshake sales. Traditional research (focus groups, surveys) gave conflicting results: "less sweet," "more chocolate," "more fruit chunks."

### Job Discovery
Observation revealed that 40% of milkshakes were bought in the morning, by solo drivers, to-go.

**Morning job:** "When I'm driving alone to work and have a boring hour of commute, I want something to keep my hands busy, satisfy my hunger until lunch, and give me a small pleasure."

**Afternoon job (different!):** "When picking up my child from school, I want to be a good parent and give them a small reward, but without feeling guilty."

### Competition Through Job Lens
- Morning job: banana, bagel, coffee, boredom, podcast
- Afternoon job: ice cream, candy, toy, parental attention

### Solution
- **Morning milkshake:** thicker (takes longer to drink), with chunks (more interesting), larger, easier to buy (drive-through kiosk)
- **Afternoon milkshake:** smaller (sense of moderation), faster to drink (child doesn't get bored)

### Lesson
The same product can serve completely different jobs. Improving the "product" without understanding the job leads nowhere.

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## 2. Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU)

### Situation
SNHU was a small college with 2,500 students. They launched an online program that exploded to 100,000+ students.

### Job Discovery
Typical online student: 30+ years old, working, often with family, interrupted education years ago.

**Job:** "When I realize I'm stuck in my career and need a degree to advance, but I have a job, family, and little time, I want to get a degree without turning my life upside down."

### Job Dimensions
- **Functional:** Get a degree from an accredited institution
- **Emotional:** Feel that I'm growing, prove to myself that I can do it
- **Social:** Show my family I'm setting a good example; not look like a "student" at work

### Competition
- Doing nothing (most common!)
- Other online universities
- Industry certifications
- Changing jobs without a degree

### Breakthrough Changes
1. **Onboarding:** Calling applicants within minutes (not days) - reduces "can I do this" anxiety
2. **Personal advisor:** One point of contact throughout studies - like GPS, not bureaucracy
3. **Credit transfer:** Liberal policy for recognizing previous courses - faster to the goal
4. **Communication:** Simplicity, no academic jargon - "we work for you, not the other way around"

### Lesson
SNHU doesn't compete with Harvard - it competes with "doing nothing." The job isn't "education" but "unfreezing a stuck life."

---

## 3. American Girl

### Situation
Premium doll company ($100+) at a time when competitors offered dolls for $20.

### Job
**Mothers/grandmothers:** "When I want to have a meaningful moment with my daughter/granddaughter and pass on values, I want an experience that connects us and teaches, not just a toy."

**Girls (8-12):** "When I'm at an age where I don't want to be a 'little girl' anymore but I'm not yet a teenager, I want something that takes me seriously and says my interests matter."

### Dimensions
- **Functional:** Playing with doll, reading stories
- **Emotional:** Feeling "grown up," understood
- **Social:** Ritual with mother/grandmother, belonging to American Girl "club"

### Experience Integration
- Doll + book with story (context, values)
- Stores with hair salons for dolls
- Restaurants where girls eat with their dolls
- Magazine, events, community

### Competition
- Not other dolls (!)
- Other "moments with daughter": trips, movies, shopping
- Other ways to pass on values: conversations, books
- Non-consumption: "I'll just buy something at the store"

### Lesson
American Girl sells an experience-ritual, not a doll. That's why $100+ price makes sense - it's not a "toy" but a "moment with daughter."

---

## 4. Intuit QuickBooks

### Situation
QuickBooks dominated among small businesses. Attempts to enter the "even smaller" segment (freelancers, single-person) by simplifying the product didn't work.

### Job Discovery
Freelancers have a different job than small businesses.

**Small business job:** "Manage company finances professionally and in compliance with regulations"

**Freelancer job:** "When I send an invoice to a client, I want to know I'll get paid, and I don't want to feel like an amateur"

### Breakthrough: Mint.com → QuickBooks Self-Employed
Instead of "stripped-down QuickBooks" - a completely new product:
- Automatic expense tracking (not manual bookkeeping)
- Bank account integration
- Simple split: business vs personal
- Real-time tax estimation

### Lesson
"Simpler version of the same thing" isn't innovation. Different job requires different product, not a simplified old one.

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## 5. Airbnb vs Hotels

### Business traveler job
"When I travel for work, I want efficiency, predictability, and ability to work"
→ Hotel wins (standardization, wifi, desk, room service)

### Family traveler job
"When we go somewhere with kids for a week, we want to feel at home, have space, cook, be together"
→ Airbnb wins (kitchen, rooms, locality, group pricing)

### "Experience" job
"When I want to really get to know a place and feel the locality, not be a tourist"
→ Airbnb wins (local hosts, authentic locations)

### Lesson
Airbnb doesn't compete with "hotels" - it competes for specific jobs. For some jobs, a hotel is a better "employee."

---

## Patterns from Case Studies

### 1. Same product, different jobs
Morning vs afternoon milkshake - require different solutions even though it's "the same product."

### 2. Competition from unexpected places
- SNHU: competitor is "doing nothing"
- American Girl: competitor is "other activities with daughter"
- Milkshake: competitor is banana and boredom

### 3. Integration for poorly understood jobs
American Girl and SNHU heavily integrated the experience because the job was poorly served by existing solutions.

### 4. Emotions and social aspects often more important than functionality
- SNHU: "prove to myself I can do it"
- American Girl: "moment with daughter"
- Milkshake: "small pleasure to start the day"

### 5. Anti-change forces are powerful
SNHU won mainly by reducing anxiety (quick callback, personal advisor) - not by "better education."
