Jobs-to-be-done marketing

I read this article recently and loved the idea of a 'jobs-to-be-done' marketing.

Apparently ~30,000 new consumer products are launched each year. Of these 95% fail to make a mark. Problem ? They all create products slot them into a product category or by a consumer demographic. Not every product works that way. Infact most don't.

A case in point. A company launched a milk shake targeted at a specific demographic. Post launch they conducted a survey to list out the characteristics of an ideal milkshake - thick, thin, chunky, smooth, fruity, chocalatey etc. It was found that most consumers picked up the milkshake because they all had a long boring commute between home and work and had to keep themselves busy, also make the commute more interesting.

Now that the Company realized the job to be done, it was easier to respond by creating a morning milkshake which was thicker and had more chunks of fruit - this lasted through the commute and also made it more interesting.

That's how the 'jobs-to-be-done' mechanism works.

Some indigenous examples I could think of :

• Daag achey hain campaign- by Surf Excel
• Learn English campaign- by Tata Sky
• Maggi moving from just be instant noodles to noodles which are also nutritious (vegetables and atta)