Customer Jobs Questions

The questions below help you uncover a customer segment’s most important jobs. This framework covers functional, emotional, social, supporting, contextual and compensatory jobs, ensuring you understand what customers are trying to accomplish.

Use them as an inspiration to adapt and complete your Customer Interview Template.

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1. Essential Functional Jobs

Zeroes in on the key tasks customers must accomplish. Understanding these “must‐do” jobs pinpoints the fundamental purpose your solution should address.

1. “What is the one essential task you must complete when handling […]?”
   Reveals the key job that cannot be compromised.
2. “What are the key steps you follow to finish […]?”
   Details the workflow and process requirements.
3. “Which part of your process is most critical for successfully completing […]?”
   Identifies the choke points that define success.
4. “Can you describe the last time you achieved […]? What made it work?”
   Anchors insights in real-life experience.
5. “What tools do you currently use to get […] done?”
   Uncovers the existing ecosystem and benchmarks for improvement.
6. “What challenges or barriers do you face when trying to complete […]?”
   Highlights friction points that your solution might resolve.

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2. Emotional Jobs

Customers don’t just complete tasks—they want to feel a certain way. This category explores the emotional outcomes that drive customer behavior and satisfaction.

1. “How do you want to feel when you successfully complete […]?”
   Uncovers the desired emotional state that motivates action.
2. “What frustrations or emotional challenges do you encounter when doing […]?”
   Reveals negative feelings that need alleviation.
3. “Can you share a time when you felt particularly satisfied or disappointed during […]?”
   Provides context and depth to the emotional experience.
4. “What change would make the process of […] more fulfilling for you?”
   Identifies opportunities for creating emotional value.
5. “How does completing […] impact your confidence or overall mood?”
   Connects task outcomes with personal well-being.
6. “If you could improve one emotional aspect of doing […], what would it be?”
   Pinpoints specific areas for emotional enhancement.

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3. Social Jobs

Beyond functionality and emotion, customers care about how they are perceived. This category explores the social dimensions that influence their choices.

1. “How do you want others to see you when you complete […]?”
   Reveals the social image or status customers aspire to.
2. “What social expectations or pressures influence how you perform […]?”
   Uncovers external factors impacting behavior.
3. “Can you describe a situation where completing […] positively affected your reputation?”
   Anchors social outcomes in concrete examples.
4. “What role does […] play in your interactions or status among peers?”
   Clarifies the social value attached to the job.
5. “How important is recognition for your work in […]?”
   Gauges the weight of social validation in your decision-making.
6. “What would make you feel respected or admired when handling […]?”
   Identifies aspirational social benefits that can drive adoption.

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4. Supporting Jobs for Key Jobs

While not the key job, these secondary tasks are critical for a seamless experience. Addressing them can significantly enhance the overall effectiveness of the primary job.

1. “What additional tasks do you perform to support the main job of […]?”
   Uncovers the full ecosystem of tasks surrounding the core job.
2. “How do these supporting tasks affect your overall experience with […]?”
   Clarifies the interdependencies that influence satisfaction.
3. “Which supporting task do you find most time-consuming or challenging?”
   Pinpoints areas where efficiency gains could be most impactful.
4. “What tools or methods do you currently rely on for these tasks?”
   Provides insight into existing solutions and gaps.
5. “How would improving these secondary tasks change your overall process for […]?”
   Quantifies the potential value of addressing support tasks.
6. “Are there any gaps in how you handle these supporting tasks today?”
   Highlights opportunities for innovation in the extended workflow.

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5. Contextual Jobs

Uncovers the situational factors that shape how customers perform their jobs. By understanding the context—such as timing, environment, and external conditions —you gain insights into the nuances that influence behaviour and decision-making.

1. “In what situations do you typically perform […]?”
   Reveals the environments and circumstances in which the job occurs.
2. “How do your needs for […] change depending on the time of day or week?”
   Uncovers temporal variations in the job’s importance.
3. “What external factors (e.g., technology, social pressures, environment) affect how you complete […]?”
   Identifies conditions that either enable or hinder job performance.
4. “How does your approach to […] differ when you are at work versus at home?”
   Explores behavioral differences across various settings.
5. “Are there specific conditions that make it easier or harder to complete […]?”
   Highlights key enabling or restrictive factors in context.
6. “Can you describe a situation where the context significantly impacted the outcome of […]?”
   Anchors contextual influences in real-life examples.

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6. Compensatory Jobs

Explores customers’ workarounds and extra efforts when existing solutions fall short. Understanding these compensatory behaviors reveals gaps in the current offerings and areas for innovation.

1. “What workarounds do you use when your current method for […] isn’t enough?”
   Reveals the immediate fixes customers adopt to overcome shortcomings.
2. “How do you manage when existing solutions for […] fail to meet your needs?”
   Identifies coping strategies and makes visible the limits of current options.
3. “What extra steps or sacrifices do you take because your current solution for […] is inadequate?”
   Exposes additional effort or compromise that customers are forced to make.
4. “Can you describe a time when you had to improvise because a tool for […] didn’t work as expected?”
   Anchors compensatory behavior in concrete experiences.
5. “Which aspects of your process do you supplement with additional tools or manual work for […]?”
   Identifies specific gaps in the existing solution.
6. “How would an ideal solution reduce your need for these compensatory actions?”
   Connects current shortcomings with potential improvements.
7. “What costs (time, money, effort) do you incur by having to compensate for current solution gaps in […]?”
   Quantifies the burden of these workarounds and highlights opportunities for value creation.