The Power of the JTBD Framework: The Pillars of International Growth

The Power of the JTBD Framework: The Pillars of International Growth

In today's fast-paced and competitive business landscape, it's crucial for companies to have a deep understanding of their customers and their needs. This understanding is what drives innovation, creates new opportunities, and ultimately leads to growth. Two frameworks that can help companies achieve this understanding are the "Jobs To Be Done" (JTBD) framework and the "Pillars of International Growth" framework. Although they may seem unrelated at first glance, these frameworks share common principles and can be used together to drive success.

The JTBD framework is a lens through which companies can view their products and solutions in terms of the jobs customers are trying to achieve. By understanding the goals that people want to accomplish, companies can gain new market insights, identify new opportunities, and create viable growth strategies. This framework allows companies to step back from their business and truly understand the objectives of the people they serve. It shifts the focus from an insular perspective to a customer-centric perspective.

Similarly, the Pillars of International Growth framework emphasizes the importance of understanding customers and adapting products to meet their needs in international markets. Just as a company must establish product/market fit before it can grow efficiently at home, it must achieve product/culture fit before it can grow abroad. This means adapting the performance, pricing, and payment methods of a product to meet the local needs of international customers.

One common principle between the two frameworks is the importance of customer accessibility. In the JTBD framework, it is crucial to understand the triggers that lead customers to buy a product or service and the doubts they may have during the decision-making journey. Similarly, in the Pillars of International Growth framework, companies must ensure that their product is accessible to local customers by optimizing performance, adapting pricing, and understanding local payment methods. Accessibility is key to sustaining growth in international markets.

Another common principle is the need for a customer-centric perspective. The JTBD framework focuses on the relationships that people have with reaching their own objectives, independent of any provider. This shift in perspective allows for more predictable innovation. Similarly, in the Pillars of International Growth framework, companies must understand their unique strategic advantage and why customers would choose them over local competitors. Each country has its own culture and habits, and companies must adapt their product offering accordingly.

To utilize these frameworks effectively, companies can follow a set of actionable steps. For the JTBD framework, they can create their own Jobs To Be Done framework by defining the core "job to be done" function, agreeing as a team on the reasons and tools customers rely on, deciding on desired outcomes and metrics, and turning customer insights into actions. For the Pillars of International Growth framework, companies can follow a 4-phase framework for internationalization: local availability in English, language-level localization, content-level localization, and feature-level localization. These steps ensure that companies are considering all aspects of the frameworks and taking the necessary actions to drive growth.

In conclusion, the JTBD framework and the Pillars of International Growth framework share common principles and can be used together to achieve success in today's business landscape. By understanding the jobs customers want done and adapting products to meet their needs in international markets, companies can gain new market insights, identify new opportunities, and create viable growth strategies. To effectively utilize these frameworks, companies should define their own framework, agree on customer needs and metrics, and take actionable steps to adapt their products. By doing so, they can drive growth and achieve long-term success.