Anthony W. Ulwick

done better (faster, more predictably, with higher output) and/or more cheaply.

This simple observation led us to the effective classification of five unique growth strategies companies can adopt in the quest to win in a market. It also resulted in the creation of the Job-to-be-Done Growth Strategy Matrix, a framework that illustrates when and how these strategies should be used. With this framework, companies can understand past successes and failures and can adopt a strategy to create winning products and services in the future.

ESTABLISHING THE THEORY

Having recognized that new products and services win when they get a job done better and/or more cheaply, we set out to transform this insight into a predictive framework for growth. We began by “categorizing the possibilities” using the matrix shown.

The matrix suggests that companies can create products and services that are (1) better and more expensive, (2) better and less expensive, (3) worse and less expensive, and (4) worse and more expensive.

Get JOB DONE
BETTE
Get JOB DONE
WORS

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The matrix prompted us to ask what types of customers might be targeted with a product or service offering in each quadrant. Our experience and the work of others in this field led us to the following five conclusions regarding the four quadrants:

1. 
   A better-performing, more expensive product will only appeal to underserved customers. These are customers who have unmet needs and are willing to
   

pay more to get a job done better.

2. 
   A better-performing, less expensive product will appeal to all customers.
   
3. 
   A worse-performing, less expensive product will appeal to overserved customers (those with no unmet needs). It will also appeal to nonconsumers. These are people whose current solutions don’t involve the market at all, or who are not even attempting to get the job done as they cannot afford any of the existing solutions.
   

4. 
   A worse-performing, more expensive product will only appeal to customers for whom limited (or no) alternatives are available. This happens in unique or atypical situations.
   

5. 
   Some products are “stuck in the middle” (to borrow a term from Michael Porter): they only get a job done slightly better or slightly cheaper. Such a product will likely fail to attract any new customers. This is clearly a poor strategy for a new market entrant, but it may help an incumbent company retain existing customers.
   

Next, we place the customers in their respective quadrants, highlighting the differences in target customer-type:

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