The persistent challenge for any leadership team is not just creating new products, but creating successful ones. Most innovation initiatives fail to generate meaningful growth, not due to a lack of effort, but from a fundamental misalignment with what customers are trying to accomplish. At thrv, we use our proprietary and patented Jobs to be Done (JTBD) method to provide a systematic process to correct this, shifting focus from product features to customer goals and creating a reliable path to accelerated growth.

This guide details how we build core JTBD competencies across organizations within our portfolio companies. We will explore our framework's foundations, its practical application, and the structure of our comprehensive training program that equips product, marketing, and sales teams to create significant equity value.

Table of Contents

• What is Our Jobs to be Done Method?
• Our JTBD Framework in Action
• Identifying the Job and The Job Map
• Pinpointing Unmet Needs
• JTBD for Every Team: Our Tailored Approach
• JTBD for Product Teams
• JTBD for Marketing Teams
• JTBD for Sales Teams
• Building JTBD Competencies: From Theory to Practice
• Designing Our World-Class JTBD Curriculum
• Scaling Expertise with Our Train-the-Trainer Programs
• Assessment and Measurement
• Our Approach to JTBD Training for Portfolio Companies
• The Future of Innovation is Customer-Centric
• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
  
  

What is Our Jobs to be Done Method?

Our proprietary and patented Jobs to be Done method is a business framework that provides a systematic approach for understanding customer motivation. The core idea is that customers "hire" products or services to get a "job" done. This "job" is the progress a person is trying to make in a given circumstance.

Unlike traditional market research that focuses on demographics or product attributes, our JTBD method concentrates on the customer's goal. We separate the core objective (the job) from the tools used to achieve it (the product). This distinction is critical; while products and technologies change, the underlying job often remains stable for decades.

By understanding the job through our methodology, our portfolio companies can innovate with precision. Our approach has proven to significantly increase the success rate when launching new products by focusing development efforts on validated customer needs.

Our JTBD Framework in Action

We apply our JTBD method as a systematic process of uncovering and prioritizing customer needs to guide strategy. We move innovation from guesswork to a data-driven discipline.

Identifying the Job and The Job Map

The first step in our process is to define the core functional job the customer is trying to accomplish. This is a stable, long-term goal, such as "manage personal finances" or "obtain a meal."

Once we define the job, we map every step required to complete it. This "Job Map" is a visual representation of the customer's process, free from any specific solution or product. For the job of "obtain a meal," our map might include job steps like:

• Plan the meal
• Acquire the ingredients
• Prepare the food
• Cook the food
• Serve the meal
  
  

This map creates a stable structure for analysis, allowing our teams to see the full context of the customer's process.

Pinpointing Unmet Needs

Within each step of the Job Map, there are specific customer needs. In our methodology, these needs are defined as action-and-variable pairs that describe what the customer must do to execute a step successfully. For example, in the "acquire ingredients" step, a need might be to "determine store location" or "calculate total cost."

We then measure the Customer Effort Score (CES) for each need—the percentage of customers who report difficulty executing that action. A high CES indicates a significant unmet need and a valuable area for innovation. By focusing on needs with high effort scores, our portfolio companies can direct resources to what matters most, creating solutions that help customers get the job done faster and more accurately.

JTBD for Every Team: Our Tailored Approach

A key strength of our JTBD training is its ability to align entire organizations around the customer's job. When product, marketing, and sales teams share a common understanding of customer needs, they can work together to create and deliver value more effectively.

JTBD for Product Teams

We help product teams use our JTBD method to build roadmaps based on proven customer struggle rather than feature requests. This approach helps them:

Innovate with Confidence: By targeting needs with high Customer Effort Scores, teams can be certain they are solving real problems.

Prioritize Development: Our Job Map and CES data provide a quantitative basis for prioritizing features that will have the greatest impact.

Build a Competitive Advantage: A deep understanding of the job allows teams to create solutions that are fundamentally better than the competition.

JTBD for Marketing Teams

We train marketing teams to use our JTBD method to craft messaging that connects with customers' core motivations. This leads to:

Precise Positioning: Marketing can position the product as the best solution for getting a specific job done.

Resonant Messaging: Content and campaigns can speak directly to the customer's struggles and desired progress.

Improved Segmentation: Teams can segment the market based on how customers struggle to get the job done, identifying high-value customer groups.

JTBD for Sales Teams

We equip sales teams with JTBD insights so they can have more meaningful conversations by focusing on the customer's goals. This allows them to:

Understand Buyer Motivation: Salespeople can identify the underlying job the prospect is trying to accomplish.

Frame the Value Proposition: They can clearly articulate how their product helps the customer get their job done better than any alternative.

Accelerate Sales Cycles: By addressing the core need, sales teams can overcome objections and close deals more efficiently.

Building JTBD Competencies: From Theory to Practice

Simply knowing about JTBD is not enough. To truly accelerate growth, our portfolio companies must build repeatable JTBD competencies. We provide formalized training that is essential for this transformation. Our comprehensive JTBD training program includes robust curriculum design, a plan for scaling expertise, and clear assessment methods.

Designing Our World-Class JTBD Curriculum

Our effective curriculum moves teams from foundational knowledge to practical application. We structure it to build skills progressively:

Module 1: Foundational Principles: Covers the core theory of our JTBD method, the history, and key concepts like the Job Map.

Module 2: JTBD Interviewing: Teaches teams how to conduct interviews to uncover the customer's job and identify unmet needs.

Module 3: Quantitative Analysis: Trains teams to survey customers and calculate Customer Effort Scores to prioritize opportunities.

Module 4: Strategy and Application: Shows teams how to use our JTBD insights to build product roadmaps, create marketing messages, and inform sales strategy.

Scaling Expertise with Our Train-the-Trainer Programs

To embed our JTBD method across a larger organization, we use a "train-the-trainer" model. This involves training a core group of internal champions who can then educate their respective teams. Our approach:

Builds Internal Ownership: Creates resident experts who can provide ongoing support.

Ensures Consistency: Maintains a consistent methodology and language across the company.

Accelerates Adoption: Speeds up the dissemination of JTBD skills throughout the organization.

Assessment and Measurement

To confirm that our training is effective, we pair it with assessment. This can include:

Certification Tests: To confirm comprehension of core concepts.

Practical Assignments: Requiring participants to conduct interviews or build a Job Map.

Project-Based Evaluation: Applying our JTBD principles to a real-world company project.

We ultimately measure success by business impact—the ability of trained teams to identify growth opportunities and develop products that are more valuable to customers.

Our Approach to JTBD Training for Portfolio Companies

We build these competencies directly within our portfolio companies using our proprietary JTBD method and AI-powered platform. Our training is not a theoretical exercise; it is an integrated part of our operating model designed to accelerate growth and create equity value.

Our AI-powered platform helps teams move from customer interviews to a quantitative, prioritized product roadmap in hours, not weeks. This gives our portfolio companies a critical speed advantage. We work with product, marketing, and sales executives to implement this system, ensuring the entire organization is aligned on creating products that help customers get their job done with less effort.

Our training approach includes:

Hands-On Implementation: We don't just teach theory; we work alongside teams to apply our JTBD method to real business challenges.

AI-Accelerated Analysis: Our platform automates much of the data analysis, allowing teams to focus on strategic decision-making rather than manual data processing.

Continuous Support: We provide ongoing guidance to ensure teams can effectively apply our methodology long after initial training.

Cross-Functional Alignment: We ensure all teams speak the same customer-centric language, eliminating silos and improving collaboration.

The Future of Innovation is Customer-Centric

In a competitive market, the companies that win are those that understand their customers most deeply. Our proprietary and patented Jobs to be Done method provides the framework to achieve this understanding, and our structured JTBD training builds the organizational muscle required to act on it. By equipping teams with these core competencies, our portfolio companies can move beyond incremental improvements and build a sustainable engine for product innovation and growth.

For portfolio company executives, investing in our JTBD training is an investment in creating a more valuable company. We establish a repeatable process for innovation that consistently produces results and creates lasting competitive advantages.

Our comprehensive training program, combined with our AI-powered platform, represents the most advanced approach to building customer-centric innovation capabilities in the market today.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What is thrv's JTBD training approach?

Our JTBD training is a comprehensive program that teaches teams within our portfolio companies how to use our proprietary and patented Jobs-to-be-Done methodology. The training combines theoretical foundations with hands-on application, supported by our AI-powered platform to accelerate the analysis of customer needs and prioritization of growth opportunities.

How is thrv's JTBD method different from other customer research frameworks?

Our JTBD method focuses specifically on measuring customer effort and difficulty in completing job steps, using Customer Effort Scores (CES) to quantify unmet needs. While other frameworks may be qualitative or broadly focused, our approach provides specific, measurable data that directly guides product development, marketing messaging, and sales strategy.

How long does it take to implement JTBD training across an organization?

Our comprehensive training program typically takes 2-4 months to fully embed across product, marketing, and sales teams. However, with our AI-powered platform, teams can begin generating actionable insights within hours of completing initial training modules, providing immediate value while building long-term competencies.

What teams benefit most from JTBD training?

All customer-facing teams benefit, but we focus primarily on product, marketing, and sales teams. Product teams use JTBD to build better roadmaps, marketing teams create more resonant messaging, and sales teams have more meaningful customer conversations. The greatest value comes when all teams are trained together, creating organization-wide alignment.

How does AI accelerate JTBD implementation?

Our AI-powered platform automates the analysis of customer feedback, behavior patterns, and survey data to identify high-effort job steps and unmet needs at scale. This reduces the time from customer research to actionable insights from weeks to hours, giving our portfolio companies a significant competitive advantage.

What makes thrv's training different from generic JTBD education?

Our training is specifically designed for portfolio companies focused on growth and equity value creation. We combine proprietary methodology with AI-powered tools and hands-on implementation support. Rather than theoretical education, we work directly with teams to apply JTBD to real business challenges and measure results.

How do you measure the success of JTBD training?

We measure success through both competency assessments (certification tests, practical assignments) and business impact metrics (reduced Customer Effort Scores, improved product adoption rates, increased revenue growth). The ultimate measure is whether trained teams can consistently identify and capitalize on growth opportunities.

Can JTBD training work for both B2B and B2C portfolio companies?

Yes, our JTBD methodology and training approach work for both B2B and B2C companies. The fundamental principle—that customers hire products to get jobs done—applies regardless of market type. We customize examples and applications based on the specific market and customer base of each portfolio company.