{"id":2220,"date":"2023-12-12T08:06:19","date_gmt":"2023-12-12T08:06:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mobilizingphd.com\/?p=2220"},"modified":"2024-06-02T09:50:32","modified_gmt":"2024-06-02T09:50:32","slug":"lesson-3-customer-problems-jobs-to-be-done","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mobilizingphd.com\/index.php\/2023\/12\/12\/lesson-3-customer-problems-jobs-to-be-done\/","title":{"rendered":"Lesson 3 &#8211; Customer Problems &#038; Jobs to be Done"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Watch this interview<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>George and Jeroen discuss why it\u2019s important to talk to your customers to find the <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">problem worth solving<\/span>!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"Lesson 3 - Problems and jobs to be done\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Ix6dJud9Y7s?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>&nbsp;<\/em>Time required: 18 minutes<br><em>PRO TIP: click below to download an AUDIO ONLY version so that you can listen on the go!<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-buttons-is-layout-a89b3969 wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-text-align-center wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/mobilizingphd.us17.list-manage.com\/track\/click?u=d44e08f974365aa4796b3c524&amp;id=e23bb317eb&amp;e=752bf70fb6\">\ud83d\udd0a Audio Only<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Read this content<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>72% of startups fail due to lack of market demand. People buy things to solve problems or achieve goals (jobs to be done). Understanding these two ideas is crucial for startup success:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/mobilizingphd.us17.list-manage.com\/track\/click?u=d44e08f974365aa4796b3c524&amp;id=f523ae8cf3&amp;e=752bf70fb6\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Find customers with high problem urgency<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/mobilizingphd.us17.list-manage.com\/track\/click?u=d44e08f974365aa4796b3c524&amp;id=cd9e15c9da&amp;e=752bf70fb6\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Find a problem worth solving<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/mobilizingphd.us17.list-manage.com\/track\/click?u=d44e08f974365aa4796b3c524&amp;id=1fcd19f49c&amp;e=752bf70fb6\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Understand your customer\u2019s job to be done<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/mobilizingphd.us17.list-manage.com\/track\/click?u=d44e08f974365aa4796b3c524&amp;id=743250c48b&amp;e=752bf70fb6\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Understand your customer\u2019s job to be done hierarchy<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/mobilizingphd.us17.list-manage.com\/track\/click?u=d44e08f974365aa4796b3c524&amp;id=256a68b9f0&amp;e=752bf70fb6\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Understand the difference between job to be done and problems<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Time required: &nbsp;30-45 minutes, depending on your reading speed<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><em>\u201cLove the problem, not the solution\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Do these exercises<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><em>This exercise works best if you have one solution or problem-area in mind. If you don\u2019t have that, revisit last week&#8217;s lessons on idea selection.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>To find your customer segment, you need to brainstorm about all potential customer segments<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>First, add <a href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/presentation\/d\/1SBZ_iGgIL9nRfkbJBKxUr6ijqeTIkU8ethScL3A--hU\/edit?usp=sharing\">Lesson 3 slides<\/a> to your <strong>Journey Scrapbook<\/strong> and fill in the column &#8220;Potential Customer Segments&#8221;. A customer segment is a category of customers. For instance, \u201cHR managers\u201d. Or perhaps: \u201cprofessional athletes\u201d. Or \u201cMunicipality workers that are concerned with traffic problems\u201d. You might have a big list, aim for 5 to 20. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:24px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>For each of these customer segments, try to write down how this customer segment would describe the problem<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p> It helps to ask yourself: Why is this a problem for this person? What are the unwanted consequences of this problem? Fill in the middle column.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:24px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Next, try to think of the Job to be Done for each of these customers<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Watch the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=gxthX8pm4z4\">video of the Job to be done<\/a> from above if you don\u2019t know what this is. A good question to yourself is: \u201cWhat is this person trying to achieve?\u201d or \u201cWhat are the goals of this person\u201d.  Fill in the right column. Tip: In the video, I talk about job hierarchies, if that\u2019s confusing you, you can skip it for now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:24px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Next, make an outreach plan according to <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/mobilizingphd.us17.list-manage.com\/track\/click?u=d44e08f974365aa4796b3c524&amp;id=72b32dc433&amp;e=752bf70fb6\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>this guide (click here)<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>From the above list you just generated, who is most likely to buy your solution? Now, think of the following: Where can you find these people? Are there physical locations where they hang out so you can talk to them? Or are they on LinkedIn? <a href=\"mailto:Info@company.de\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Info@company.de<\/a> emails never work, so be diligent. This is a hard part of doing a startup: getting that first contact with someone. As you read &#8220;<a href=\"http:\/\/mobilizingphd.us17.list-manage.com\/track\/click?u=d44e08f974365aa4796b3c524&amp;id=72b32dc433&amp;e=752bf70fb6\">crafting an outreach plan<\/a>&#8220;, work through the table on the slide &#8220;Your Outreach Plan&#8221;. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:24px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Try to reach out to 5 to 10 potential customers in the coming 2 weeks<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can\u2019t control who will respond to you. So setting a goal of talking to 3-5 potential customers is nice, but can also be elusive. But you can control how many times you pick up the phone to talk to someone. Or you can control that you send 20 LinkedIn connection requests. But how many will accept or respond? Who knows. You will be throwing spaghetti at a wall and see what sticks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:24px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Talking to people is not my hobby?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is a common attitude of first-time founders who might be introverted or just don\u2019t like to bother people. There are a couple of things to say: If you are able to actually help these people you are planning to talk to, you are not bothering them. And if they aren\u2019t interested, they will just ignore your email or LinkedIn message. How painful is that?<br><br>What if you think: \u201cHey but I don\u2019t know my solution yet, so I can\u2019t talk to these people\u201d? Well, you are not there to sell your solution. You are talking to these people to learn about their jobs to be done and problems. For that, you don\u2019t need to have any solution in mind.<br><br>Still, experiencing a hurdle? Talk to some people you already know first about this, to get your gears moving. Then start doing the outreach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Watch this interview George and Jeroen discuss why it\u2019s important to talk to your customers to find the problem worth solving! Read this content 72% of startups fail due to lack of market demand. People buy things to solve problems or achieve goals (jobs to be done). Understanding these two ideas is crucial for startup [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":2370,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"disabled","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2220","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lessons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mobilizingphd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2220","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mobilizingphd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mobilizingphd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mobilizingphd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mobilizingphd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2220"}],"version-history":[{"count":26,"href":"https:\/\/mobilizingphd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2220\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2256,"href":"https:\/\/mobilizingphd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2220\/revisions\/2256"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mobilizingphd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2370"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mobilizingphd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2220"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mobilizingphd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2220"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mobilizingphd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2220"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}