Customer Conversion Mastery: JTBD & OKR Strategies for Success
What's preventing customers from adopting your product/service?
Introduction
Are you a business leader looking to drive better business outcomes by improving customer experiences? Business success fundamentally depends on solving customers’ problems. When companies align their strategies with customer needs, they create solutions that drive both customer progress and measurable business impact. Aligning your business strategy with customer-centric OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) #ccokrs ensures that your development teams focus on delivering outcomes that directly enable customers to progress toward adopting your solutions. The customer’s Jobs-to-Be-Done (JTBD) provides a framework for identifying these needs and creating solutions that resonate deeply.
As the late Harvard Professor of Marketing Theodor Levitt famously said, “People don’t want to buy a quarter-inch drill. They want a quarter-inch hole.” This highlights how customers “hire” products or services to address their specific struggles and accomplish their desired outcomes. By using customer-centric OKRs, businesses can translate these insights into actionable, measurable objectives that align strategy with execution. This blog demonstrates how understanding customer motivations and overcoming their barriers can unlock measurable success through focused OKRs and JTBD insights. Using the story of Dr. Taylor, a GP, we illustrate how the Jobs-to-Be-Done Timeline and 4 Forces of Progress frameworks introduced by Bob Moesta and Chris Spiek to help businesses identify opportunities for growth, align actions with customer needs, and achieve sustainable results.
Moesta, Bob. Demand-Side Sales 101: Stop Selling and Help Your Customers Make Progress
We will explore how these structured frameworks uncover customer motivations and align actions with measurable outcomes, ultimately making meaningful progress for the customer possible. As mentioned, the customer decision-making journey can be understood through two powerful frameworks: the Jobs-to-Be-Done Timeline, which tracks the stages of progress from problem awareness to solution satisfaction, and the 4 Forces of Progress, which delve into the motivations and barriers driving customer behavior. The JTBD Timeline captures the stages customers move through — from recognizing a problem to achieving satisfaction with a solution. The 4 Forces of Progress framework adds depth by identifying the dynamics at play:
Source: jobstobedone.org
Push Forces: The frustrations or challenges driving customers away from their current situation.
Pull Forces: The attractions or benefits pulling customers toward a new solution.
Anxieties: Anxiety, fears or uncertainties about adopting the new solution.
Allegienaces: Comfort with the status quo, which resists change and allegienaces to current behavior or relationships.
Together, these tools enable businesses to pinpoint where and why customers hesitate and how to design interventions that amplify progress. The advantages include:
Deeper Customer Insights: A clear view of emotional, functional, and social drivers.
Strategic Focus: Interventions tailored to critical decision points.
Higher Success Rates: Increased adoption and satisfaction by addressing anxieties and habits.
This blog applies these concepts to a GP’s journey, illustrating how behavioral insights guide actionable OKRs and drive meaningful change.
Mapping customer trigger events to OKRs
1. The Opening: First Thought Trigger event
Description: The customer first enters a state of openness to new possibilities. This often occurs when they let go of an old idea or mindset, creating space for new solutions. They recognize inefficiencies in their current approach and start contemplating alternatives.
Dr. Taylor’s Situation: After repeatedly facing issues with missed patient updates and administrative backlogs, Dr. Taylor realizes that his current system is not sustainable. He begins to entertain the idea that there might be a better way to manage patient care.
Progress-Making Forces: The growing frustration with inefficiencies and the fear of professional consequences, such as litigation or patient dissatisfaction. The allure of a streamlined system that saves time and reduces stress.
Hindering Forces: Anxiety about the complexity of adopting a new solution and comfort with familiar processes.
Key Result: Increase awareness among GPs of inefficiencies in their current workflows from 30% to 50% by Q2.
Example Intervention: Use case studies and real-life stories to highlight the hidden costs of inefficiency and the benefits of change.
2. Passive Looking
Description: The customer starts casually exploring solutions, driven by curiosity and hope for a better alternative, but hesitates to invest significant time or effort.
Cause for Transition: Curiosity (pull) and success stories begin to outweigh complacency (habit) and uncertainty about available solutions (anxiety).
Dr. Taylor’s Situation: He starts casually reading articles and attending webinars on improving GP workflows but hasn’t committed to finding a solution.
Progress-Making Forces: Growing pressure from administrative tasks and the risk of falling short on compliance standards, which could lead to audits or penalties. Real-life examples of peers losing revenue due to poor workflow efficiency weigh on Dr. Taylor’s mind. Stories of other GPs successfully implementing new tools.
Hindering Forces: Comfort in sticking to familiar systems and hesitancy about change.
3. Seeking Trigger event
Trigger: The customer’s curiosity grows as they encounter stories of others overcoming similar challenges. They begin to question whether better solutions are available and actively seek out options.
Intervention: Provide success stories, case studies, and resources to highlight the value of making a change.
Key Results: Increase the percentage of GPs actively researching potential solutions from 20% to 40% by Q2.
KR: Increase the number of GPs exploring solutions for administrative inefficiencies from 20% to 40% by Q3.
Example Intervention: Targeted ads and case studies showcasing successful implementations.
4. Active Looking
Description: The customer actively evaluates potential solutions, feeling determined to resolve their challenges but apprehensive about making the wrong decision.
Cause for Transition: Determination to address inefficiencies (push) and confidence in potential solutions (pull) outweigh fear of investment risks (anxiety) and resistance to change (habit).
Dr. Taylor’s Situation: Now determined to find a solution, Dr. Taylor compares software options, downloads trials, and seeks peer recommendations.
Progress-Making Forces: Persistent stress from daily inefficiencies and the risk of patient dissatisfaction due to delays or overlooked details in medical records. A recent incident where Dr. Taylor missed critical updates during a consultation serves as a constant reminder. The promise of time savings and reduced stress.
Hindering Forces: Fear of making the wrong investment and resistance to change.
5. Shopping Trigger event
Trigger: The customer feels determined to solve their problem after narrowing down their options. They actively compare solutions and assess the potential outcomes of their decisions.
Intervention: Offer detailed comparisons, ROI calculators, and testimonials to build confidence.
Key Results 1 : Reduce the percentage of GPs delaying decisions by more than three months from 40% to 20% by Q3.
Key Results 2:: Increase the percentage of GPs downloading and engaging with trial software from 15% to 30% by Q4.
Example Intervention: Simplified trial processes and peer reviews emphasizing ease of use
6. Deciding
Description: The customer carefully assesses top choices, balancing excitement about potential improvements with lingering doubts about reliability.
Cause for Transition: Optimism about a preferred solution (pull) and the promise of tangible benefits (push) outweigh long-term doubts (anxiety) and comfort in familiarity (habit).
Dr. Taylor’s Situation: He narrows his options and weighs the pros and cons of each solution.
Progress-Making Forces: A desire to improve patient care quality. Clear ROI data and testimonials.
Hindering Forces: Uncertainty about the software’s long-term reliability and disruption to existing workflows.
7. Buying Trigger event
Description: The customer decides to purchase, feeling relieved but anxious about onboarding and implementation.
Description: The customer commits to a solution, making a purchase. However, anxieties about implementation and onboarding may still linger.
Dr. Taylor’s Situation: Dr. Taylor purchases the software but worries about the onboarding process.
Progress-Making Forces: Administrative workload demands immediate action. Comprehensive onboarding and customer support.
Hindering Forces: Anxiety about the time required for setup.
KR: Increase the percentage of GPs completing onboarding within the first month from 70% to 90% by Q3.
KR: Reduce the average decision-making time for GPs adopting the software from 3 months to 2 months by Q2.
Example Intervention: ROI calculators and live demos addressing specific GP concerns.
Example Intervention: Personalized onboarding programs and accessible support teams.
8. Consuming
Description: The customer starts using the product, experiencing early benefits but also frustration from the learning curve.
Cause for Transition: Meeting expectations of ease-of-use (pull) and early benefits (push) encourages continued use despite initial frustrations (anxiety).
Description: The customer begins using the product or service, integrating it into their routine. They may face a learning curve as they adapt to its features.
Dr. Taylor’s Situation: Dr. Taylor integrates the software into his daily practice, gradually adapting to its features.
Progress-Making Forces: The need to demonstrate efficiency improvements. Easy-to-use features and visible time savings.
Hindering Forces: Initial learning curve.
9. Evaluating the experience (as positive) trigger event
Description: The customer evaluates whether the solution has delivered its promised benefits, feeling pride and validation if results are positive, or doubt if gaps remain.
Description: The customer reflects on the impact of the solution after several months, assessing whether it has delivered the promised value and improved their situation.
Dr. Taylor’s Situation: After several months, Dr. Taylor notices tangible benefits, including more time with patients and fewer errors.
Progress-Making Forces: Positive feedback from patients and staff. Satisfaction with improved workflows.
Hindering Forces: Concerns about long-term scalability.
KR: Increase the percentage of GPs reporting improved patient relationships from 50% to 70% by Q4.
KR: Increase the percentage of GPs actively using key features from 60% to 80% within three months.
Example Intervention: In-app tutorials and progress tracking.
Example Intervention: Regular surveys and tailored recommendations for advanced features.
10. Judging Satisfaction
Description: The customer feels confident in their choice, experiencing pride and accomplishment, which strengthens trust and advocacy.
Cause for Transition: Consistent value delivery (pull) and positive experiences (push) establish trust, leaving no room for doubt (anxiety).
Description: The customer feels confident in their choice and begins advocating for the solution to peers, reinforcing their trust and loyalty.
Dr. Taylor’s Situation: Dr. Taylor becomes an advocate for the software, sharing his success story with peers.
Progress-Making Forces: Pride in achieving professional goals. Enhanced reputation among colleagues and patients.
Hindering Forces: None, as confidence is fully established.
KR: Increase Net Promoter Score (NPS) among GPs from 75 to 85 by the end of the year.
Example Intervention: Collect testimonials and offer referral incentives.
Conclusion
This story illustrates how the JTBD Timeline and 4 Forces of Progress can guide a GP’s journey from initial struggles to adopting a transformative solution. By addressing anxieties and habits holding customers back and amplifying the push and pull forces, organizations can ensure their solutions align with customer needs. The integration of OKRs as measurable behavioral changes ensures every intervention is purposeful, driving both customer and business success.
Would this approach resonate with your team?
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