Beyond the Product: Delivering the Effect Customers Truly Desire

When customers seek out a product, they’re not simply buying an item—they’re investing in an outcome. The famous phrase, “Customers don’t want a drill; they want a hole in the wall,” perfectly captures this idea. This concept underscores the importance of understanding and delivering on the effect customers desire rather than just the product itself.

The "Jobs to Be Done" Perspective

This mindset aligns closely with the "Jobs to Be Done" (JTBD) theory, which suggests that customers hire products or services to achieve specific goals. By focusing on the desired outcome, businesses can better align their products and messaging with what truly matters to their customers.

Why This Shift in Thinking Matters

1. Differentiation in a Crowded Market: Many products offer similar features, but focusing on the effect helps businesses stand out. For example, a customer choosing a fitness app doesn’t just want a workout tracker; they want to feel healthier, lose weight, or gain confidence. By emphasizing these outcomes, companies can create stronger emotional connections.
2. Improved Product Development: When businesses think beyond the product, they’re more likely to innovate effectively. Instead of merely enhancing features, they’re solving problems or creating experiences that matter. For instance, a luxury bathtub is not just a basin for water; it’s an investment in relaxation, indulgence, and stress relief.
3. Enhanced Customer Loyalty: By focusing on the effect, businesses can create more personalized and meaningful customer experiences. When customers feel that a product genuinely solves their problems or enriches their lives, they’re more likely to remain loyal.

Barriers to Transitioning from Products to Services

For product-based companies, shifting to a service-oriented approach can be challenging. Several barriers can hinder this transformation:

1. Cultural Resistance: Companies with a long history of product development often have ingrained mindsets and processes focused on manufacturing and selling physical items. Transitioning to services may be met with resistance from employees and leadership accustomed to the old model.
2. Redefining Value Metrics: Product-oriented businesses often measure success using metrics like sales volume, gross margins, and EBITDA. Service-oriented models require new metrics, such as customer retention rates, lifetime customer value, and customer satisfaction, which can be unfamiliar and challenging to adopt.
3. Salesforce Realignment: Sales teams trained to sell products may struggle to transition to selling services, which require a deeper understanding of customer needs and long-term relationship building. Adjusting compensation structures and training can be necessary but disruptive.
4. Pricing Challenges: Services are often bundled with products and perceived as "free" by customers. Properly pricing and communicating the value of standalone services can be difficult, especially when customers are accustomed to the old model.
5. Operational Complexity: Delivering services often involves different workflows, tools, and skills than manufacturing products. For instance, companies may need to build capabilities in customer support, software management, or logistics that were previously outside their expertise.
6. Customer Education: Customers accustomed to purchasing products may need to be educated on the value of services. This involves shifting their focus from the cost of a product to the value derived from ongoing service enhancements.
7. Internal Power Dynamics: Product-focused divisions or leaders may resist reallocating resources to service development, seeing it as a threat to their influence within the company.

Addressing these barriers requires a deliberate strategy, including clear leadership communication, investment in new capabilities, and a gradual but steady shift in company culture.

Examples in Action

• Transportation: Customers don’t want a car; they want convenient, reliable, and comfortable transportation. This insight has fueled the rise of ride-sharing services and the demand for electric vehicles.
• Streaming Services: Consumers don’t want a subscription; they want instant access to high-quality entertainment that suits their tastes and fits their schedules.
• Construction Tools: The drill example is classic. Customers don’t want to own a tool; they want to accomplish a task—making a hole, hanging a shelf, or assembling furniture. Recognizing this, companies now offer tool rental services for those who need the effect without permanent ownership.

How Businesses Can Deliver the Effect

1. Understand Customer Motivation: Conduct research to uncover why customers use your product. What challenges are they solving? What outcomes are they pursuing?
2. Communicate the Outcome: Marketing should focus on the effect. Instead of emphasizing features, highlight benefits and the impact on the customer’s life.
3. Design Around the Effect: Whether developing a new product or refining an existing one, prioritize features that directly contribute to the desired outcome.
4. Offer Solutions, Not Just Products: Consider whether complementary services or add-ons could enhance the desired effect. For example, a luxury bathtub company might include aromatherapy kits or relaxation guides.
5. Incorporate Open Innovation: Drawing from Chesbrough’s concept of open innovation, involve customers in the co-creation process. Allow their input to refine or expand service offerings, ensuring that the product evolves based on real-world needs.

Conclusion

Customers don’t buy products; they invest in solutions, experiences, and outcomes. By focusing on the effect rather than the item, businesses can create deeper connections, foster innovation, and drive greater success. Whether you’re selling a drill, a luxury bathtub, or a subscription service, remember to ask yourself: What effect does my customer truly want?

References:

1. Chesbrough, H. (2011). "Open Services Innovation: Rethinking Your Business to Grow and Compete in a New Era." Jossey-Bass.
2. Christensen, C.M., Cook, S., & Hall, T. (2005). "Marketing Malpractice: The Cause and the Cure." Harvard Business Review, 83(12), 74-83.
3. Porter, M.E. (1985). "Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance." Free Press.