Positioning with April Dunford

Mastering Jobs Theory With Bob Moesta

Aug 31, 2023

Bob Moesta, co-creator of Jobs To Be Done framework, discusses the importance of context in product design. They share the famous milkshake story and how it led to a new category of yogurt smoothies. They emphasize the need to understand why people buy something rather than convincing them to buy. Positioning should guide customers in buying, not selling. The chapter also delves into the evolution of Intercom's positioning and the importance of building a product that fits customer needs.

37:17

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Episode guests

Bob Moesta

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Quick takeaways

Understanding customers' motivations and decision-making processes is crucial for effective positioning and product design.

Continuous adaptation and alignment of positioning with changing market, customer needs, and product capabilities is essential for success in the long term.

Deep dives

The concept of jobs to be done and its influence on positioning

Bob Besta, an expert in jobs theory, discusses how understanding what motivates people and how they make decisions can impact positioning. He explains that people hire products to make progress in their lives and emphasizes the importance of designing products that fit into people's lives.

Mature Startups Find Dissatisfaction

00:31

Continuous Improvement in B2B Decision Making

00:23

Guiding People Through Positioning

00:33

Introduction

3min

Connecting and Collaborating in the Consulting Journey

2min

Understanding Jobs Theory and Jobs to Be Done

3min

The Journey to Understanding Positioning

4min

Understanding the Job a Product is Doing

5min

Positioning, Growth, and Execution

19min

Today I’m joined by Bob Moesta, the co-creator of the Jobs To Be Done framework, a concept he developed alongside the late Clayton Christensen. Bob's expertise spans a wide range of accomplishments, including the successful launch of over 3,500 new products, services, and businesses. He's also the CEO and founder of the Re-Wired Group, as well as the brains behind several other startup ventures. We discuss:

Why context matters as much as the product
Why people don’t buy products, they hire them. And how you can then design better products once you understand this
The famous milkshake story and how it led to a whole new category of yogurt smoothies
The importance of looking for the causes someone buys something, rather than convincing them to buy something
Why you need to be problem-aware
The distinction that positioning should be about guiding and helping customers to buy, rather than selling

I’m beyond excited for you to listen to today’s episode.

You’ll also hear that my latest book is launching soon! If you want to find out more, you can sign up for email updates here https://www.aprildunford.com/books

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If you want to skip ahead:

(00:00) Our guest, Bob Moesta

(04:50) What is jobs theory

(08:49) The famous milkshake story

(12:38) Competitive alternatives and their importance

(15:36) Why the camera industry failed

(17:01) How Intercom scaled massively

(22:20) Always be problem aware first

(24:12) Why positioning is about buying, not selling

(29:20) Bob’s take on product market fit

(35:01) Thanks for listening