In today's competitive landscape, a defensible market position is not merely an advantage; it is the cornerstone of sustained growth, superior equity returns, and premium valuation multiples, especially for private equity portfolio companies. For leaders aiming to maximize exit value, understanding how to construct such a position is paramount. This article details how our proprietary and patented Jobs to be Done (JTBD) methodology provides a systematic approach to reveal deep customer insights, enabling our portfolio companies to build formidable barriers to entry, cultivate profound brand loyalty by reducing customer effort, and ultimately achieve a market stance that commands attention from acquirers.

Table of Contents

• The Imperative of a Defensible Market Position
• Introducing Jobs to be Done (JTBD): The Core of Our Approach
• The thrv JTBD Method in Action: From Customer Struggle to Strategic Advantage
• Pillar 1: Engineering Formidable Barriers to Entry with Our JTBD Method
• Pillar 2: Reducing Customer Effort & Building Brand Loyalty with Our JTBD Method
• The Ultimate Result: Improved Valuation and Acquirer Appeal for Our Portfolio Companies
• Implementing Defensibility: The thrv Approach
• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

The Imperative of a Defensible Market Position

What defines a truly defensible market position? It's a strategic high ground where a business holds a unique advantage that competitors find exceedingly difficult to replicate. This isn't just about market share; it's about creating enduring competitive insulation.

For our portfolio companies, achieving such a position is critical because it directly translates to:

• Maximizing Valuation and Investor ROI: Defensibility signals stability and predictable future cash flows, justifying higher valuation multiples.
• Becoming a Prime Acquisition Target: Acquirers seek businesses with entrenched market positions that reduce post-acquisition risk and offer clear growth pathways.
• Ensuring Long-Term Sustainable Growth: A strong defensive posture allows companies to grow profitably, even amidst competitive pressure.
  
  

Many companies falter by focusing on fleeting advantages like feature wars or price cuts. True defensibility is built on a deeper understanding of the market – specifically, the customer's Job to be Done.

Introducing Jobs to be Done (JTBD): The Core of Our Approach

At thrv, our approach to building a defensible market position is rooted in the Jobs to be Done (JTBD) theory, notably advanced by Clayton Christensen. The core philosophy is simple yet profound: customers "hire" products or services to get a specific "job" done. These jobs encompass not only functional aspects but also crucial emotional and social dimensions.

Why is JTBD a game-changer for strategic positioning?

• It shifts focus from product attributes to customer objectives.
• It provides a stable unit of analysis, as customer jobs change far less frequently than technologies or solutions.
• Our JTBD implementation has demonstrated significant success rates in new product introductions, showcasing its power.
  
  

Our JTBD methodology enables us to systematically identify these jobs and the metrics customers use to judge success, laying the groundwork for innovation that truly matters.

The thrv JTBD Method in Action: From Customer Struggle to Strategic Advantage

Our proprietary and patented JTBD method is a rigorous process designed to move from identifying customer struggles to creating strategic market advantages for our portfolio companies. Here's how we operate:

1. Define the Customer's Job: We work with portfolio company teams to precisely articulate the core functional job their customers are trying to accomplish. This could be, for example, a project manager needing to "coordinate team tasks" or a surgeon needing to "repair damaged tissue."
2. Identify Customer Needs: We break down the job into discrete steps and identify the specific customer needs associated with each. These needs are defined as action/variable pairs, such as:

• "Determine task dependencies"
• "Assess tissue viability"
• "Calculate resource allocation"
  
  

3. Measure Customer Effort Scores (CES): For each identified need, we use Customer Effort Scores to quantify how difficult it is for customers to achieve their desired results with current solutions. CES is measured based on the speed and accuracy with which customers can get each step of their job done. A high CES indicates significant unmet needs and areas where customers struggle.
4. Pinpoint Growth Opportunities: By analyzing CES data, often accelerated by our AI-powered platform, we identify the most pressing unmet needs—those where customers experience the most difficulty. These represent the most potent opportunities for product innovation and differentiation.

This systematic approach ensures that product development and market strategy are laser-focused on solving real customer problems and reducing their effort.

Pillar 1: Engineering Formidable Barriers to Entry with Our JTBD Method

A deep understanding of the customer's Job to be Done, as revealed through our method, is the bedrock for creating barriers to entry that are exceptionally difficult for competitors to overcome. These are not superficial differentiators but deeply entrenched advantages.

Our JTBD method helps portfolio companies construct several types of barriers:

Unique Value Proposition: By focusing on the customer's entire job and their unmet needs (high CES areas), we help companies develop solutions that allow customers to get their job done significantly faster and more accurately. This superior performance on critical customer needs creates a value proposition that makes alternatives less appealing. For example, if customers struggle to "forecast sales accurately," a solution that excels at this specific need becomes indispensable.

Embedded Switching Costs: When a product or service becomes integral to how a customer successfully accomplishes their core job—making it easier to "monitor system performance" or "ensure data integrity"—the perceived effort of switching to a competitor becomes prohibitively high. The customer is locked in not by contracts, but by superior job execution.

Proprietary Insights & Processes: The detailed understanding of customer needs and job steps generated by our JTBD analysis often leads to unique process innovations and specialized knowledge. This know-how, often embedded in our AI platform, becomes a proprietary asset that establishes difficult-to-replicate advantages.

These JTBD-derived barriers create a robust competitive moat, protecting market share and profitability for our portfolio companies.

Pillar 2: Reducing Customer Effort & Building Brand Loyalty with Our JTBD Method

Brand loyalty isn't just about good feelings; it's often a direct result of how easy a company makes it for customers to achieve their goals. High customer effort—whether cognitive, time-based, or related to achieving accurate results—is a primary driver of churn.

Our JTBD method is exceptionally effective at identifying and reducing customer effort:

Mapping the Entire Job: We meticulously map every step the customer takes to get their job done, identifying all potential points of friction and difficulty.

Pinpointing Effort Hotspots with CES: Customer Effort Scores clearly flag the steps where customers struggle most, allowing us to prioritize innovations that will have the greatest impact on reducing overall effort. If CES is high for "locate specific information," that becomes a prime target.

Designing for Effortless Execution: We guide product teams in our portfolio companies to design solutions that make each step of the customer's job faster and more accurate. This might involve streamlining workflows, providing better guidance, or automating complex calculations.

When companies consistently enable customers to get their job done with minimal effort, they foster deep-seated loyalty. This loyalty, built on tangible improvements in speed and accuracy, is far more resilient than loyalty based on branding alone.

The Ultimate Result: Improved Valuation and Acquirer Appeal for Our Portfolio Companies

A defensible market position, built systematically through our JTBD method by creating barriers to entry and reducing customer effort, translates directly into tangible financial benefits for our portfolio companies:

• Predictable Revenue Streams: Loyal customers who find it easy to get their job done with a company's product are less likely to switch, leading to more stable and predictable revenue.
• Increased Willingness to Pay: Customers are often willing to pay a premium for solutions that demonstrably reduce their effort and help them achieve their goals with greater speed and accuracy.
• Stronger Pricing Power: Reduced competitive pressure due to effective barriers allows for more strategic pricing.
• Higher Valuation Multiples: Investors and acquirers place a premium on companies with strong competitive moats, loyal customer bases, and clear differentiation. These are all hallmarks of a business that has masterfully addressed its customers' Jobs to be Done.
  
  

When we present our portfolio companies to potential acquirers, the narrative is compelling: these are businesses built not just to compete, but to lead, thanks to a deep, JTBD-driven understanding of their customers and markets.

Implementing Defensibility: The thrv Approach

At thrv, we operate as an independent private equity sponsor. We implement our proprietary and patented JTBD method directly within our portfolio companies. Our team works alongside their product, marketing, and sales teams, using our patented software and AI-powered platform to:

• Accelerate the identification of unmet customer needs.
• Prioritize product roadmap features based on Customer Effort Scores.
• Align go-to-market strategies with the core job customers are trying to get done.
  
  

This hands-on approach ensures that the insights generated through our JTBD method are translated into actionable strategies that build a truly defensible market position, accelerate growth, and create superior equity returns. We focus on enabling our portfolio companies to achieve these results through product innovation powered by a deep understanding of customer needs.

If you are a private equity sponsor seeking to maximize the value of your technology investments, or a portfolio company CEO aiming to build an unassailable market position, our JTBD method offers a proven path.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q1: What is a defensible market position?

A defensible market position refers to a company's unique strategic advantage that is difficult for competitors to replicate. This allows the company to protect its market share, maintain pricing power, and ensure sustainable growth by creating significant barriers to entry and fostering strong customer loyalty.

Q2: How does the Jobs to be Done (JTBD) methodology help build a defensible market position?

Our JTBD methodology helps build a defensible market position by deeply understanding the underlying "job" customers are trying to accomplish. This allows our portfolio companies to:

• Identify critical unmet needs (areas of high customer effort).
• Develop uniquely superior solutions that address these needs, making it hard for competitors to match the value proposition.
• Create switching costs by becoming indispensable to how customers get their job done faster and more accurately.
• Generate proprietary insights about customer struggles that inform innovation and strategy.
  
  

Q3: How does thrv define customer needs within its JTBD framework?

At thrv, we define customer needs as specific metrics that measure how quickly and accurately customers can execute their job. Each need is stated as a direct action/variable pair. For example:

• "Determine the required resources"
• "Identify potential risks"
• "Calculate the completion time"

This precise format allows for quantitative measurement and prioritization using Customer Effort Scores.

Q4: How does thrv measure customer struggle or unmet needs?

We measure customer struggle using Customer Effort Scores (CES). CES is the percentage of customers who report difficulty in satisfying a given step or need within their Job to be Done. This difficulty is assessed based on the speed of execution, accuracy of execution, and overall effort required. A high CES indicates a significant unmet need and a prime opportunity for innovation.

Q5: Why is building a defensible market position particularly important for private equity portfolio companies?

For private equity portfolio companies, a defensible market position is crucial because it:

• Increases valuation multiples upon exit by signaling lower risk and sustainable earnings.
• Makes the company more attractive to acquirers who seek market leaders with protected revenue streams.
• Supports accelerated growth initiatives by providing a stable foundation from which to expand.
• Maximizes returns for Limited Partners (LPs) by ensuring the portfolio company can thrive and command a premium price.
  
  

We use our JTBD method to fortify our portfolio companies' market position and unlock their full valuation potential through our comprehensive approach to private equity value creation.