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Discover Unarticulated Needs With This Tool

Writer's picture: Patrick NgPatrick Ng

Improving sales of urban farm produce, I was surprised to learn that 60% of respondents indicate they will pay up to three times more if their fresh produce does not need refrigeration and stays fresh and crunchy for three times longer. Longer-lasting fresh produce reduces their trips to the supermarket and meets their expectation of fresh, nutritious produce.


As keen innovators seeking the next billion-dollar market opportunity, our quest to discover the Customer's unarticulated needs begins with a crucial tool- the Jobs-to-be-done analysis. This systematic approach is our key to uncovering unarticulated needs.


Our systematic approach hinges on the marketplace analysis, a pivotal step in our process. This analysis is instrumental in breaking down Customer needs into articulated vs. unarticulated and mapping Market Solutions into served and unserved (existing or not yet found) on the other axis. This reveals four quadrants: Existing market, Established solution, Known gaps, and Undiscovered.



Existing Market:

The existing market, the "Red Ocean", is the segment we are familiar with. Competing in these markets involves strategies like feature differentiation, cost differentiation, pricing strategies, and a marketing and promotion plan—strategies commonly found in the MBA playbook.


The three other quadrants face less competition. Such "Blue Ocean" offers a longer runway before the competition enters. Strategies to uncover opportunities in each quadrant differ.


Known Gaps:

In the "Known gaps" section, customer needs are well-known. For example, "we want cheaper energy", "cleaner fuel", and "we want to spend less time travelling". However, solutions are not yet pervasive due to gaps like financial viability, technology feasibility, regulatory limitations and maturity of dependent ecosystems. Thus, we can uncover opportunities by identifying and removing adoption barriers through technology innovation, improvement in sub-components, conversation with regulatory bodies (e.g. regulating the safety of AI systems cryptocurrencies), and new business model innovation.


Established Solutions:

In the "Established solution" quadrant, we find successful examples where the value proposition of existing solutions is enhanced (increased) or focused (reduced). Bundling additional value propositions creates premium solutions and solutions that delight. These segments often appeal to a niche (and smaller) group of users at first. For example, Starbucks offers coffee with an enhanced cafe ambience, and Coach handbags offer utility and badge value through marketing and branding. Another approach is to provide focused value propositions by removing features that matter less. Budget airlines removed less essential features to reduce costs using Prof Kim Chan's Blue Ocean Strategy.


Undiscovered:

The most exciting quadrant, "Undiscovered," finds unarticulated or latent customer needs. Customers often only know they need something once they see the solution. For example, video rental ranges from bulky cassette tapes to DVD mail orders to online streaming.


Through experimentation and working with many startups, we used a Jobs-to-be-done analysis to understand the customer's main motivation. This led to head-turning discoveries, rewarding findings, and new business opportunities. Based on our observations and understanding of the customers' deep-rooted motivation, we ideated better ways to meet their needs.


For instance, while working with an urban farm, we discovered that most consumers consume only some fresh produce on the day they are purchased. Between 50% and 75% are kept in the fridge and forgotten. When promised the same nutritious fresh produce that does not require refrigeration, stays fresh and crunchy three times longer, and adds to the room's aesthetics, many say they would pay twice or three times more.


In another instance, a lost-and-found app developer discovered that consumers don't just want to recover lost items. They seek comfort, reassurance, and community help to recover lost items. If lost items are not recovered, consumers almost always buy a replacement when discounts are presented.


Jobs-to-be-done Analysis

The Customer's jobs-to-be-done analysis starts by examining and understanding the deep-rooted motivation of the Customer in what they want to accomplish:

  1. Discover the deep-rooted motivation of the customer/users

  2. Generalized into a broad problem statement

  3. Identify a niche area to innovate and differentiate


We interviewed customers carefully, asking open-ended questions and probing 'why' several times to understand their motivations. We also conducted observational tests to validate whether their behaviour confirms what they say.


Start by understanding the Customer's deep-rooted motivation. Listen to them and observe their reaction more.

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