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https://www.library.hbs.edu/working-knowledge/clay-christensens-milkshake-market

Today · 5:03 AM

Prompt

https://www.library.hbs.edu/working-knowledge/clay-christensens-milkshake-marketing

InfographicHandcraftedBridge1-3 minGPT Image 216:9English

Script & Visuals

Most products fail not because they lack features, but because companies don't understand what their customers are actually trying to accomplish.

A fast-food chain wanted to boost milkshake sales, so they researched customer preferences and made product improvements—but sales didn't budge.

<cite index="1-1,1-2">When researchers interviewed customers leaving with milkshakes in hand, asking what job they hired the milkshake to do, most revealed they were solving the same problem.</cite> <cite index="1-3,1-4,1-5">Customers faced a long, boring commute and needed something to keep their free hand busy.

They wanted to consume something now that would stave off hunger until noon, were in a hurry and wearing work clothes, and had only one free hand—making the milkshake ideal because it was relatively tidy, appetite-quenching, and gave them something engaging to do during their commute.</cite> <cite index="1-13">Understanding this job, the company responded by creating a morning milkshake that was thicker to last through the commute and more interesting with fruit chunks.</cite> This insight reveals <cite index="1-21">companies should look at products the way customers do: as a way to get a job done.</cite>

By shifting focus from product attributes to the job customers are hiring a product to perform, businesses discover what truly drives purchasing decisions and create innovations that customers actually want.