Stop asking customers what they want and discover the job to be done

Classic surveys often capture requests, not real needs. Someone says, “I want a better mousetrap,” and we dutifully add teeth to the trap. But when researchers study successful products, they find a different pattern: people hire solutions to do a job. The “Jobs to Be Done” lens turns your conversations toward outcomes. Instead of “what feature do you want,” you ask, “what were you trying to accomplish, and how would you know you succeeded?” The answers move from gadgets to goals.

Watch people in context. A homeowner who buys traps might be trying to sleep without scratching noises or avoid the mess entirely. The job could be “keep pests out without handling dead animals.” Notice the workarounds, like stuffing steel wool in gaps or leaving lights on. Workarounds are proof the job is real and today’s tools are lacking. Record exact phrases, because the language of pain is your copywriting later.

Use laddering to climb from requests to reasons. When someone asks for “alerts,” ask why. “So I don’t miss urgent items.” Why is that important? “Because my boss hates surprises.” And why is that critical? “Because it affects my review.” Now the job is clearer: “reduce executive surprises before Friday.” That reframes your space from “add alerts” to “build early‑warning signals.”

This approach draws from qualitative research traditions and aligns with behavior science: people are poor forecasters of what they’ll use, but they’re decent historians of what they tried and why. Design your questions to surface goals, observe behavior, and then define needs as outcome statements. Your solution options expand, and your odds of delight rise.

Line up five recent users and ask what they were trying to accomplish, how they measured success, and where the journey broke. Watch for workarounds and ask “why is that important?” until you hit the real outcome. Then rewrite the need as a clean outcome statement that leaves room for multiple solutions. Do one interview over coffee this week and capture exact quotes.