Stop Asking Customers What They Want
The Counterintuitive Insight Behind American Girl's $700M Success.
I recently finished Clayton Christensen's book, "Competing Against Luck," and can't stop thinking about how many marketing strategies I've seen fail because they missed the core insight of his "Jobs to be Done" framework. If you're building a brand or leading marketing efforts, this concept could transform how you understand what your customers truly value.
The perfect example of this concept in action is American Girl founder Pleasant Rowland and how ignoring focus groups allowed the brand to grow into the icon it is today.
The Focus Group That Changed Everything
After her dolls became popular, Rowland conducted focus groups with young girls to understand why they loved them so much. The results were frustrating. Girls gave surface-level answers: "I like her hair," "The clothes are pretty," "The accessories are cool."
These responses didn't explain the deep emotional connection girls had with the dolls. Frustrated, Rowland abandoned further focus groups after just one round—a decision that proved brilliant.
What Was Really Happening
As Clayton Christensen explains in "Competing Against Luck," Rowland had accidentally designed her product to fulfill an important "job" that parents were hiring these dolls to do: help their daughters transition from childhood to adolescence in a wholesome way.
The dolls weren't just toys, but tools for parents to connect with their daughters about growing up and navigating challenges. The physical product was merely the vehicle for this deeper emotional and social need.
This insight connects to what advertising pioneer David Ogilvy observed: "People don't think what they feel, don't say what they think, and don't do what they say."
Takeaway: Your customers aren't lying to you—they simply don't have conscious access to their deeper motivations.
The Jobs to Be Done Framework
Instead of asking "What features do you want?", ask "What job is your customer hiring your product to do?"
This reframes everything:
Customers don't buy drills; they hire them to create holes
People don't download news apps for the app; they hire the app to feel informed
Parents didn't buy American Girl dolls for collectible value; they hired them to raise confident daughters
Understanding the Three Types of Jobs
Every product performs multiple jobs:
Functional: The practical task (providing play value)
Emotional: How customers want to feel (connection to values)
Social: How they want to be perceived (being a thoughtful parent)
Why Traditional Research Fails
Standard market research misses the point because:
People have limited insight into their own motivations
Direct questioning focuses on features, not underlying needs
Social desirability bias leads to "acceptable" answers
How to Find Your Customers' Real Jobs
Observe behaviour over statements
Watch what customers do, not just what they say
Look for workarounds
Notice creative solutions customers develop for unmet needs
Study decision journeys
Understand the full context of why customers choose you
Identify emotional dimensions
The functional job is rarely the complete picture
Pleasant Rowland's success was intuitively understanding a job that needed doing. While competitors focus on incremental feature improvements, smart marketers develop deeper insights that lead to breakthrough innovations.
The most successful brands don't just meet stated needs; they address underlying jobs that customers often can't articulate but desperately want done.
What job is your customer hiring your brand to do? If you're not sure, it might be time to look beyond what they're telling you.
P.S. If you haven’t checked it out already, my Social Media Masterclass has all of my proven secrets and strategies to help your brand stand out online. Link here to access!
I am also launching my second cohort in July of only 12 professionals to work directly with you to level up your brand. Send me a DM if you are interested in joining!