Special thanks to Bob Moesta, for running a JTBD interview with us and sharing your expertise—it was a masterclass in understanding customer behavior. We’re especially grateful that you’ve agreed to make this interview public so more people can learn from it. Excited to share this with the world!

Jobs to Be Done (JTBD) is everywhere. It’s one of the most powerful ways to understand why people buy, but most explanations either stay abstract or repeat the same surface-level takeaways.

The real problem is that almost no one explains how to actually do JTBD interviews the right way.

Clay Christensen and Bob Moesta, two of the minds behind JTBD, uncovered a simple but game-changing truth: people don’t buy products; they hire them to get a job done. The classic McDonald’s milkshake story proves it. The company tried using demographic data to boost milkshake sales, but it led nowhere. When they ran JTBD interviews, they found that morning commuters were “hiring” milkshakes to make long, dull drives more bearable. This led to small but crucial product changes—like making the shakes thicker so they lasted longer—resulting in a 7x sales increase in the morning rush.

Most JTBD content stays at the surface. This guide goes deeper. A step-by-step breakdown of exactly how to run JTBD interviews, with insights straight from Bob Moesta. No fluff. No vague theory. Just a battle-tested method to uncover the real reasons customers buy.

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1. Find what leads to happy customers: use analytics to find out what makes customers stick around and retain
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3. Stay on top of churn: stop getting surprised by churn. Plan ahead and act before it's too late.

To get a dashboard for each of your customers, check it out 👉 june.so

Ok, now, on to your guide 😃

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Why the best companies swear by JTBD interviews

JTBD interviews have fueled some of the biggest product wins by revealing the real reasons customers make decisions. Companies that embrace them don’t just tweak features—they unlock massive growth.

McDonald’s

When McDonald’s ran JTBD interviews, they discovered that many customers weren’t buying milkshakes for taste alone—they were using them as a meal replacement for long commutes. This insight led McDonald’s to optimize shakes for portability and satiety, shifting the focus from flavor variety to convenience. The result? A 7x increase in milkshake sales during morning hours.

Airbnb

Airbnb relied on JTBD to improve its host onboarding experience. Interviews revealed that potential hosts hesitated due to uncertainty around pricing and guest screening. In response, Airbnb introduced pricing suggestions and host guarantees, leading to a 50%+ increase in new host activations in key markets.