Anthony W. Ulwick

EMOTIONAL AND SOCIAL JOBS

While getting the core functional job done, it may also be important to the end user to address important emotional and social jobs. Emotional jobs define how customers want to feel or avoid feeling as a result of executing the core functional job. Social jobs define how the customer wants to be perceived by others.

For example, a parent who is trying to pass on life lessons to children may want to “feel appreciated” (an emotional job) and “be perceived as a caring parent” (a social job).

Emotional and social job statements are used to help inform the decisions that lead to the creation of the value proposition and the effective marketing, positioning, and design of a product or service.

It is not uncommon to find that 5 to 25 emotional and social jobs may be on the mind of the end user when executing the core functional job.

CONSUMPTION CHAIN JOBS

Products have a lifecycle. After a product is purchased (which is a separate job), it must be received, installed and set-up. Then someone has to learn how to use it and interface with it. Someone may also have to transport, clean, store, maintain, upgrade, repair, and dispose of it. While people don’t buy a product so they can clean, repair and dispose of it, a product that simplifies product consumption along one or more of these dimensions could differentiate
itself in the marketplace. Dyson, for example, created the bagless system for collecting and disposing of dirt in a vacuum cleaner, making consumption more convenient. Shirt makers, who have differentiated themselves through non-iron shirts, serve as another example.

The jobs along the product lifecycle are called consumption chain jobs. Each consumption chain job is comprised of its own distinct set of desired outcome statements. The purchase process itself can be considered a consumption chain job as customers must research, evaluate and transact the purchase. This “purchase job” is often worth analyzing to help improve the purchase process. We have completed extensive research with Harte Hanks doing exactly that, revealing significant opportunities for retailers to improve the way they sell their products to in-store consumers.

Other consumption chain jobs are also a possible focal point for product improvement and competitive differentiation.

Helping bio-meds more easily sterilize a surgical tool, for example, may result in a point of differentiation.
Consumption chain jobs impact the customer journey and experience. Understanding the desired outcomes associated with relevant consumption chain jobs gives designers and engineers the information they need to be proficient at design-centered innovation. These inputs are an important ingredient in the recipe for innovation.