Improving CX with the 'Jobs To Be Done' Method

The topic of customer experience (CX) is becoming increasingly important on a daily basis. Brands are developing different strategies to stand out in the industry by enriching the customer journey as well as offering products. This is where search intelligence comes into play. Search data provides invaluable insights into the needs and desires of customers. This blog will explain what Heather Physioc, Chief Discoverability Officer at VMLY&R, discussed at Digitalzone23 in her presentation titled 'Improving Search for CX with the 'Jobs to Be Done' Framework'. In her presentation, Heather emphasizes that when search data is analyzed with the "Jobs to Be Done" method, customers can be attracted from searches that competitors would not think of and more efficient results will be achieved.

The topics that we will cover extensively in the rest of this article are as follows:

- What is 'Jobs to Be Done' and Why is it Important for Customer Experience?

- How Search Helps Uncover 'Jobs To Be Done'

- Real Brand Examples of the 'To-Do' Method

- Integrating the To-Do Method into Search Strategy

What is 'Jobs to Be Done' and Why is it Important for Customer Experience?

'Jobs To Be Done' is built around the core insight that customers 'hire' products and services to do a specific job. For example, someone might buy a power drill because they have a job to do, such as hanging shelves. For these reasons, it is more important to analyze the jobs, products, and tools that people will need to do their jobs than to examine demographic and psychological trends in the customer experience. As marketers, we need to understand the deeper user goal that our offering fulfills, rather than just showcasing product features. In other words, it's less about trying to understand who the customer is and more about understanding why they would make that purchase. Defining these functional, social and emotional 'jobs' means digging deeper into customer motivations along their journey. With 'Jobs to Do', you can identify needs that your customers don't even know they have and be there for them with solutions. It's not just about driving transactions, it's all about creating experiences that serve the holistic needs of our audience.

How Search Helps Uncover 'Jobs To Be Done's

Search data provides an excellent gateway to 'Jobs To Be Done' thinking for three key reasons:

- Queries reveal intentions and needs.

- It captures problems that arise at touchpoints.

- It reveals gaps where things are not being met.

How-to and question searches indicate a task to be done. For example, queries like "How to remove wallpaper?" or "What's the best way to hang shelves?" clearly show an underlying goal. Heather mentions in her presentation that they recently worked with a paint brand to categorize all search data into basic "need states". In this way, they uncovered key jobs that paint helps customers with, such as 'getting inspiration, comparing products and learning the right application techniques'. Each job is an opportunity to serve users better.

Questions Reveal Problems and Knowledge Gaps

Analyzing search questions also reveals pain points or confusion. For example, when mapping thousands of queries to relevant search intent for a flu vaccine customer, almost a third of flu vaccine recipients had concerns such as "Can you get sick from the flu vaccine?, Does it contain mercury?, How long does it take for side effects to disappear?". The conclusion that can be drawn from the queries highlights people's doubts about vaccines and safety. By addressing these queries directly, brands can direct searchers to the right information and products.

Identifying Missed Opportunities by Uncovering Gaps

Looking at the competitive landscape is another way in which 'Jobs To Be Done' are amplified through search data: Where are other players not fully meeting user needs, and what tasks are we better equipped to tackle? For example, a detailed look at product searches for a diaper brand found that a chemical smell turned many parents away from competitors. The brand that conducted the research received positive feedback for being fragrance-free, and after this analysis, it became an effective selling point to highlight.

Real Brand Examples of the 'Jobs To Be Done' Method:

With a solid understanding of the jobs to be done method, let's take a look at some inspiring examples of how brands are using it:

- Arm & Hammer has expanded its marketing from just baking soda to showcase the many cleaning, deodorizing, and personal care jobs it tackles.

-  A European campaign for Baileys drew on search data showing that baking "failures" are common and positioned the creamy liqueur as the perfect ingredient to rescue failed bakery products. You can click here to watch the Baileys saves failed bakery products advertisement.

                                                                            Source, YouTube

-  For a client providing mobile health platforms to hospitals, all the work that needed to be done for different audiences of healthcare practitioners was decomposed. The first group of searchers were scientists and researchers trying to keep abreast of the latest science and innovations in the field. The second group includes healthcare professionals, patients and their relatives who are trying to understand the disease more broadly, and the third group includes calls from patients who want to weigh up treatment options, consider costs and address side effects. Each of these categories represents very different work that needs to be done, and the brand needs to address them in different ways.

Integrating the Job To Be Done Method into the Search Strategy

Here are some tips to use when integrating To-Dos:

- Start by categorizing a subset of existing keywords based on possible goals and objectives. Look for patterns to base persona groups or content topics on.

- Survey or interview customers to validate the work you create. Learn more about their biggest needs.

- Brainstorm experiential solutions that fully address key jobs - don't just repeat product features. Taking an omnichannel approach often works best.

- Prioritize low-competitive businesses where competitors fall short but you can better support the desired outcomes.

Experience is the Future

Search intelligence holds a lot of untapped potential, and when it analyzed with the right methodology, such as 'Jobs To Be Done', it can drive transformative customer experience strategies. The questions you need to ask yourself at this point are 'What are the tasks can you help your customers to do?' and 'How can you create content, products and touchpoints to make your customers' lives easier?'. In customer experience, there are always new ways to uncover and fulfill needs. I hope the examples and tips in this blog post inspire you to connect search insights to customer experiences growth opportunities. Click here to watch Heather Physioc's full presentation at Digitalzone23!