Jobs-To-Be-Done (JTBD)vsProduct-Market Fit (PMF)

Jobs-To-Be-Done is a framework that says customers don't buy products — they 'hire' products to do a job in their life. A customer doesn't buy a drill because they want a drill; they want a hole in the wall. They don't even want the hole — they want to hang a picture to make their home feel like theirs. Understanding the REAL job reveals competitors you never considered and opportunities you never imagined. McDonald's milkshakes compete with bananas and bagels (the 'morning commute companion' job), not just other milkshakes. Intercom adopted JTBD and restructured their entire product around customer jobs instead of features — driving a 3x improvement in activation rates.

Product-Market Fit is the degree to which your product satisfies a strong market demand. When you have PMF, customers are actively pulling your product from you rather than you pushing it onto them. Marc Andreessen defined it as 'being in a good market with a product that can satisfy that market.' The Sean Ellis test quantifies it: if 40%+ of users say they'd be 'very disappointed' without your product, you have PMF. Before PMF, nothing else matters — marketing spend is wasted, hiring is premature, and features are guesses. After PMF, everything gets easier: organic growth appears, retention improves, and word-of-mouth starts compounding.

The trap is defining jobs too narrowly (feature-level) or too broadly (life-level). 'I need a spreadsheet' is a feature request, not a job. 'I need to feel successful at work' is too abstract to design for. The right level is: 'I need to track monthly expenses across 3 teams and present a consolidated view to the CFO by the 5th of each month.' This gives you the functional job (track + consolidate), the emotional job (look competent to the CFO), and the constraints (monthly, 3 teams, by the 5th). Another trap: assuming you know the job without talking to customers. Your guesses about why people use your product are wrong 60-70% of the time.

Founders declare PMF too early based on vanity metrics — sign-ups, press coverage, 'exciting conversations' with potential customers. True PMF means users would be genuinely disappointed if your product disappeared. The second trap: assuming PMF is binary and permanent. PMF exists on a spectrum and can erode as markets shift (Blackberry had PMF until iPhone changed the market). Also: PMF for one segment doesn't mean PMF for another — you might have PMF with startups but not enterprises.

Conduct 10 Switch Interviews (a JTBD technique) with recent customers. Ask: (1) 'What were you using before us?' (reveals the competitor you're really replacing). (2) 'What was the specific moment you decided to look for a solution?' (reveals the struggling moment). (3) 'What would you go back to if our product disappeared?' (reveals the real alternative). Map the responses into Job Statements: 'When [situation], I want to [motivation], so I can [expected outcome].' Identify the top 3 jobs and redesign your landing page, onboarding, and feature roadmap around them.

Run the Sean Ellis survey: ask existing users 'How would you feel if you could no longer use [product]?' with options: Very Disappointed, Somewhat Disappointed, Not Disappointed. If 40%+ say 'Very Disappointed,' you likely have PMF. If not, interview the disappointed users to learn what they love, and double down on that specific value. Track the PMF score quarterly — it should improve as you refine the product.