We’ve developed a few of our own frameworks over the years based on jobs-to-be-done. It’s an approach that runs counterintuitive to classic, persona-based marketing, and does so purposefully. Focusing on customer attributes really means focusing on what you want to sell, rather than what your customers actually need. Those customers come from a variety of backgrounds, industries, and verticals, but their one commonality is their motivation, the Job-to-be-Done.
I had to fundamentally change my approach when I joined Intercom. For me, the easiest way to grok the Jobs-to-be-Done methodology was by watching Clay Christensen’s famous milkshake video and understanding what “job” people buy milkshakes for. You can read more about Jobs-to-be-Done on the Inside Intercom blog here: Focus on the Job, Not the Customer: https://blog.intercom.com/when-personas-fail-you/
And, here’s a recording of a talk and podcast I’ve given in the past about how we apply JTBD to our go-to-market strategy.
How to market the Job-to-be-Done: https://blog.intercom.com/marketing-the-job-to-be-done
How Jobs-to-be-Done Informs Intercom Marketing: https://blog.intercom.com/podcast-intercoms-go-to-market-strategy/
As we continue to grow, our products mature, and we learn more about the problems we’re trying to solve and for whom, we’re constantly adapting our frameworks. As an example, we’ve recently created an internal document called the “Solution Guide” for each of the solutions we take to market. The guide answers the following questions:
Foundations
- What problem are people looking to find a solution for?
- What will a solution to this problem improve for them?
- Who is looking for it?
- What are the keywords they are using to search for it?
Solution Positioning & Messaging
- What do we call the solution we provide for this problem?
- Why would someone be interested in Intercom’s solution?
- Which Intercom products are required to solve this problem?
- How does Intercom solve this problem?
- Which must-have features for this problem does Intercom have?
- Why would someone want to use Intercom to solve this problem?
- Who is successfully using Intercom to solve this problem?
In addition, as we think about how to best position ourselves against alternative solutions (products) to the problems we solve, we make use of the 4 Forces model. You can learn more about that and our approach to comparative marketing here: The right way to challenge your competitors - Inside Intercom: https://blog.intercom.com/comparative-marketing/
Of course, there are many other, more established frameworks available to you. One thing I have heard good things about is Pragmatic Marketing (https://www.pragmaticmarketing.com/). My advice would find a framework that feels good and adapt it to your business because everyone is different. :)