2 builders who never spoke to each other

Let the job they hire you for pick the next build

Work out what customers are actually hiring the product to accomplish, from reviews and from their own descriptions of the outcome, and let that decide both the roadmap and the marketing angle. The test for any candidate feature is whether it hands someone an ability they did not have before.

The method

1. 01

   Work out which jobs customers are hiring your product to do, and let that determine both your next features and your marketing angle.

2. 02

   Do not guess which outcome your buyers want: mine existing product reviews to find the end state they are actually describing, then write to that.

3. 03

   Judge each proposed feature by whether it hands the user an ability they did not have before.

4. 04

   Reframe questions about why nobody is signing up or subscribing into questions about what the individual reader is trying to accomplish.

What it returned

• $1

  Justin's own coffee habit went from a $1 donut-shop cup bought purely for caffeine to a $3.50 daily cup bought for the walk, the fresh air, being greeted by name, the ritual, the atmosphere and a sense of the place being his.

• Canva replaced Justin's need to hire a designer for book covers, podcast art and header images, which had been slow and costly; John Palmer frames a job as describing what the customer must do, and Kathy Sierra's aim is a user who feels formidable.

Sources

• Bikeshedding - Why We Buy 🧠Katelyn Bourgoin · customercamp.co · After State > Features · undated
• The hidden reasons why people are using your softwareJustin Jackson · justinjackson.ca · The hidden reasons why people are using your software · undated
• The person on the other side of the screenJustin Jackson · justinjackson.ca · The person on the other side of the screen · undated
• What is jobs to be done?Justin Jackson · justinjackson.ca · Optimize for the job to be done · undated