Emotional Job
Emotional Job is a critical concept in our Jobs to be Done (JTBD) framework that describes how customers want to feel or avoid feeling when getting their functional job done. Understanding emotional jobs is essential for portfolio companies to develop complete product strategies that address not only the practical aspects of customer goals but also the psychological dimensions that influence purchasing decisions and product adoption.
Definition and Importance
An emotional job defines the feelings customers want to experience or avoid while executing their functional job. While functional jobs describe what customers are trying to accomplish practically, emotional jobs capture the desired psychological states that accompany successful job execution.
Emotional jobs typically fall into two categories:
Positive emotional states customers want to experience: Feeling confident, relaxed, accomplished, in control, respected, or competent
Negative emotional states customers want to avoid: Feeling anxious, frustrated, confused, embarrassed, overwhelmed, or incompetent
Understanding emotional jobs is crucial because:
They drive purchasing decisions alongside functional considerations, often tipping the balance between competing solutions
They influence product adoption and loyalty, with solutions that address emotional jobs creating stronger customer relationships
They provide differentiation opportunities in markets where functional needs are well-served by existing solutions
They guide user experience design, helping create products that not only work well but feel good to use
They inform messaging and positioning, enabling more resonant communication that connects with customers on both rational and emotional levels
Emotional Jobs vs. Emotional Benefits
It's important to distinguish emotional jobs from the more traditional concept of emotional benefits in marketing:
Traditional Emotional Benefits
Typically derived from marketer intuition rather than customer research
Often focus on aspirational feelings disconnected from functional job execution
Usually highlight positive emotions without addressing negative emotional states
Frequently emphasize brand identity over customer job execution
Emotional Jobs in JTBD
Identified through systematic customer research
Directly connected to the execution of functional jobs
Address both positive emotions to be experienced and negative emotions to be avoided
Focus on customer goals rather than brand attributes
This distinction helps portfolio companies develop more authentic and effective emotional value propositions that directly connect to customer needs rather than relying on superficial emotional appeals.
The Relationship Between Functional and Emotional Jobs
Emotional jobs are always connected to functional jobs—they represent how customers want to feel while getting their practical goals accomplished. This connection is critical for several reasons:
1. Contextual Relevance
The same emotion can have different implications in different functional contexts. For example:
Feeling confident while "getting to a destination on time" means trusting you've chosen the optimal route
Feeling confident while "making an investment decision" means trusting your financial analysis
Feeling confident while "delivering a presentation" means trusting your communication skills
Understanding the specific functional context is essential for addressing emotional jobs effectively.
2. Priority Alignment
The importance of emotional jobs often correlates with the importance and difficulty of the functional job:
High-stakes functional jobs (like "diagnose a health condition") typically have intense associated emotional jobs
Complex functional jobs often generate stronger emotional needs for confidence and reduced anxiety
Frequently performed functional jobs may have emotional jobs related to efficiency and satisfaction
This alignment helps companies prioritize which emotional jobs to address in their product strategies.
3. Solution Integration
The most effective products integrate functional and emotional job satisfaction:
Features that improve functional job execution often simultaneously address emotional jobs
User experience design connects functional capabilities with emotional reassurance
Messaging ties functional benefits to emotional outcomes
This integration creates more compelling and complete value propositions.
Common Patterns in Emotional Jobs
While emotional jobs are specific to particular functional contexts, several common patterns emerge across different jobs and markets:
1. Confidence and Anxiety
Perhaps the most universal emotional job pattern involves wanting to feel confident rather than anxious about job execution. This manifests in desires to:
Feel certain about making the right decisions
Trust that the job will be completed successfully
Avoid worry about potential failures or mistakes
Have peace of mind throughout the job execution process
2. Competence and Inadequacy
Customers typically want to feel capable and skilled rather than incompetent when executing jobs:
Feel in control of the process
Demonstrate mastery of necessary skills
Avoid appearing uninformed or unprepared
Experience satisfaction in their own abilities
3. Efficiency and Frustration
Customers want to feel that they're making good use of their time and resources:
Feel productive and efficient
Avoid wasting time on unnecessary steps
Experience a sense of momentum
Avoid frustration with delays or complications
4. Connection and Isolation
For jobs that involve others, customers often want to feel connected rather than isolated:
Feel understood by others involved in the job
Experience a sense of community or shared purpose
Avoid feeling alone with challenges
Feel supported throughout the process
5. Accomplishment and Disappointment
Customers want to feel a sense of achievement rather than letdown when completing jobs:
Feel satisfied with the outcome
Experience pride in successful completion
Avoid disappointment with results
Feel that the effort was worthwhile
Understanding these patterns helps portfolio companies identify relevant emotional jobs across different markets and functional contexts.
Identifying Emotional Jobs
Uncovering emotional jobs requires specific research approaches that go beyond traditional market research. The thrv methodology includes several techniques for identifying emotional jobs:
1. Contextual Interviews
In-depth interviews with job beneficiaries explore:
How customers feel during different stages of job execution
What emotions they hope to experience or avoid
How current solutions affect their emotional states
What language they use to describe their feelings about the job
These interviews focus not just on what customers do but how they feel while doing it.
2. Observational Research
Observing customers as they execute jobs reveals emotional responses that customers might not articulate directly:
Body language indicating stress or relief
Expressions of frustration or satisfaction
Moments of hesitation or confidence
Emotional reactions to challenges or successes
These observations provide insights into emotional jobs that customers might not be consciously aware of.
3. Language Analysis
Analyzing how customers talk about their jobs reveals embedded emotional content:
Emotional words and phrases used to describe the job
Stories that highlight emotional aspects of job execution
Metaphors that reveal underlying feelings
Intensity of language around particular job steps
This linguistic analysis uncovers emotional jobs that might not be explicitly stated.
4. Switching Behavior Analysis
Examining why customers switch from one solution to another often reveals emotional jobs:
Emotional factors that triggered the search for alternatives
Feelings associated with abandoning previous solutions
Emotional relief expected from new solutions
Post-switch emotional assessments
These switching triggers frequently highlight unmet emotional jobs.
5. Contrast Questions
Specific questions that contrast emotional states help customers articulate emotional jobs:
"How do you want to feel when doing this job?"
"What feelings do you want to avoid during this process?"
"How do current solutions make you feel?"
"What would an ideal solution feel like to use?"
These questions directly address the emotional dimension of job execution.
Emotional Jobs and Product Design
Understanding emotional jobs transforms how portfolio companies approach product design:
1. Feature Selection and Prioritization
Features that address both functional and emotional jobs should receive priority. For example:
Real-time progress indicators reduce anxiety about job completion
One-click automation features increase feelings of efficiency
Built-in validation tools enhance confidence in decisions
Customization options create a sense of control
By evaluating features through both functional and emotional lenses, companies can develop more compelling products.
2. User Experience Design
The way features are implemented significantly affects emotional job satisfaction:
Interface design that creates feelings of clarity and control
Workflow sequences that build confidence through logical progression
Error handling that minimizes embarrassment or frustration
Feedback mechanisms that provide emotional reassurance
These design elements directly address how customers want to feel while using the product.
3. Information Architecture
How information is organized and presented impacts emotional job satisfaction:
Progressive disclosure that prevents feeling overwhelmed
Clear categorization that creates a sense of understanding
Hierarchy that guides attention and reduces anxiety
Contextual help that builds confidence in proper usage
These structural elements support positive emotional states during job execution.
4. Visual and Sensory Design
Aesthetic and sensory elements directly influence emotional responses:
Color schemes that create appropriate emotional tones
Typography that enhances readability and reduces frustration
Animation that provides satisfying feedback
Sound design that confirms actions without annoyance
These sensory aspects create an emotional environment that supports job execution.
5. Language and Terminology
The words used throughout a product affect emotional job satisfaction:
Clear, jargon-free instructions that build confidence
Encouraging messaging that reduces anxiety
Personalized content that creates connection
Appropriate tone that matches the emotional context of the job
This verbal dimension directly shapes the emotional experience of using the product.
Emotional Jobs in Marketing and Sales
Beyond product design, understanding emotional jobs transforms marketing and sales approaches:
1. Messaging Development
Marketing messages that address emotional jobs create stronger resonance:
Headlines that promise emotional as well as functional benefits
Copy that acknowledges emotional struggles with current solutions
Imagery that conveys desired emotional states
Testimonials that highlight emotional transformations
This emotionally-informed messaging connects more deeply with customer motivations.
2. Customer Targeting
Emotional jobs can help identify high-value customer segments:
Customers with intense emotional needs often have higher willingness to pay
Different segments may prioritize different emotional jobs
Emotional job patterns can reveal unexpected segment similarities
Targeting messages to specific emotional jobs increases relevance
This segmentation approach enhances marketing efficiency and effectiveness.
3. Sales Conversations
Understanding emotional jobs improves sales effectiveness:
Discovery questions that uncover emotional as well as functional needs
Demonstrations that showcase emotional job satisfaction
Objection handling that addresses emotional concerns
Closing approaches that confirm both functional and emotional value
This comprehensive approach typically leads to higher close rates and larger deals.
4. Customer Success
Focusing on emotional jobs enhances customer satisfaction and retention:
Onboarding designed to build confidence quickly
Support interactions that address emotional as well as technical needs
Success metrics that include emotional job satisfaction
Expansion conversations that build on emotional connections
This emphasis on emotional job satisfaction strengthens customer relationships.
Emotional Jobs in B2B vs. B2C Markets
While emotional jobs exist in both consumer and business contexts, they manifest differently:
B2C Emotional Jobs
In consumer markets, emotional jobs often:
Include a wider range of emotional states, including pleasure and delight
Connect more directly to personal identity and values
Vary significantly across different customer segments
Are more openly acknowledged and discussed
Consumer marketing has long recognized the importance of emotional factors, though often without the systematic framework that JTBD provides.
B2B Emotional Jobs
In business markets, emotional jobs typically:
Focus more on confidence, risk reduction, and professional competence
Connect to career success and organizational standing
Include concerns about justifying decisions to others
Are less explicitly acknowledged but equally influential
The B2B emphasis on "rational" decision-making often masks the significant role of emotional jobs in purchasing decisions. This creates particular opportunities for portfolio companies that effectively address these unacknowledged emotional needs.
Emotional Jobs in thrv's Methodology
In thrv's proprietary Jobs to be Done methodology, emotional jobs are systematically integrated into growth strategies for portfolio companies:
1. Emotional Job Mapping
The thrv platform includes tools for mapping emotional jobs alongside functional jobs, ensuring comprehensive job understanding.
2. Emotional Need Identification
The methodology helps identify specific emotional needs within each job step, creating a detailed map of emotional job requirements.
3. Emotional Opportunity Assessment
thrv helps portfolio companies identify areas where competitors fail to address important emotional jobs, revealing differentiation opportunities.
4. Integrated Value Proposition Development
The methodology ensures that product value propositions address both functional and emotional job dimensions in a coherent way.
5. Emotional Messaging Framework
thrv provides frameworks for developing marketing messages that effectively communicate how products address emotional as well as functional jobs.
This comprehensive approach ensures that portfolio companies develop strategies that address the complete set of customer needs—both practical and emotional.
The Strategic Value of Emotional Job Analysis
For portfolio companies, understanding emotional jobs delivers several strategic benefits:
1. Enhanced Differentiation
In markets where functional needs are well-served, emotional job satisfaction offers powerful differentiation opportunities that are harder for competitors to copy.
2. Higher Price Premiums
Products that address emotional jobs effectively typically command price premiums, as customers are willing to pay more for solutions that make them feel better.
3. Stronger Customer Loyalty
Emotional connections create deeper customer relationships, reducing churn and increasing lifetime value.
4. More Effective Marketing
Messages that address emotional jobs typically generate higher engagement and conversion rates than purely functional appeals.
5. More Innovative Product Development
Focusing on emotional jobs often reveals product opportunities that functional-only analysis would miss.
Conclusion
Emotional jobs represent a critical dimension of customer needs that complements and enhances functional job understanding. By identifying how customers want to feel while executing their functional jobs, portfolio companies can develop more complete and compelling solutions that create stronger market positions.
The thrv methodology provides portfolio companies with sophisticated tools for identifying and addressing emotional jobs in their markets. This integrated approach to functional and emotional job satisfaction leads to more differentiated products, more resonant marketing, more effective sales approaches, and ultimately accelerated growth and enhanced equity value.
By understanding not just what customers are trying to accomplish but how they want to feel while doing it, portfolio companies can create deeper connections with customers and more sustainable competitive advantages in their markets.
