Jobs To Be Done Changed the Way We Work — Here’s Why It’ll Change Yours Too
At Unfold, we used to start like most agencies:
Who’s your target market? What’s your unique angle? Where should we spend your budget?
It worked. Sort of.
But we kept running into the same wall:
People weren’t buying because we told them to.
They were buying because they had something they needed to get sorted.
So we shifted our thinking — from “how do we sell this?”
To: “What job is the customer actually trying to do?”
And that changed everything.
What is Jobs To Be Done?
Not personas. Not funnel stages. Not fake empathy.
Jobs To Be Done (JTBD) is a brutally simple idea:
People don’t buy products. They hire them to get something done.
That something could be:
Functional: “I need life insurance before this baby arrives.”
Emotional: “I want to stop feeling guilty for not sorting this.”
Social: “I want my partner to know I’m being responsible.”
Understand that job — and your messaging, strategy, funnel, and creative all stop guessing and start performing.
How it changed the way we work
1. We stopped marketing to personas, and started listening to people:
Real people. Real stories. 1:1 interviews that revealed what made them tick — or click away.
2. We stopped tweaking symptoms, and started solving the real problem
Most marketers A/B test button colours. We ask: why isn’t this converting?
Is the job clear?
Is the risk too high?
Is the process too hard?
3. We started building systems, not just campaigns
Once you understand the job, it’s not just the ad that changes — the whole customer experience gets sharper:
Pages speak to the moment
Emails guide the decision
Funnels reflect real behaviour
| AREA | TRADITIONAL APPROACH | JTBD INFORMED APPROACH |
|---|---|---|
| Messaging | Product-led features and pricing | Progress-led outcomes customers care about |
| Campaigns | Broad targeting and generic pain points | Targeted by life stage, moment, and job |
| Brand Strategy | Built around product/service benefits | Built around the customer’s journey and transformation |
| Retention | Reminders, discounts, or usage nudges | Reinforces job completion and long-term emotional ROI |
| Sales Enablement | Overcoming objections | Helping people make confident progress |
The proof’s in the growth
Pinnacle Life
People didn’t want inspiration. They wanted insurance — fast, online, and without a phone call. We built a system that delivered exactly that.
+226% in sales. Acquisition costs down 41%.
Corporate Cabs
Competing with Uber on price? Pointless. We reframed the job: safe, professional transport when your brand’s on the line.
The message changed. So did the conversions.
Norfolk Mortgage Trust
Investors weren’t buying “mortgage-backed securities.” They were buying confidence. We stripped out jargon, focused on stability, and rebuilt trust, one touchpoint at a time.
Why it matters now more than ever
In crowded markets, most brands sound the same.
JTBD forces clarity — and focus.
JTBD helps:
Clarify positioning: Anchor brand in customer progress, not product detail
Align teams: One shared language of “jobs” to unify Product, Marketing & Sales
Outperform category norms: By being meaningfully different — not just louder
Build brand trust: Become the obvious choice in a sea of interchangeable offers
It’s not about saying more. It’s about saying the one thing that makes someone say, “Yes — that’s what I need.”
Ready to stop guessing?
We’ll help you find the job your customers are really trying to get done — and build a system that nails it.
