Milkshake Business Plan

First, he spent a full day in one of the chain's restaurants, carefully documenting who was buying milkshakes, when they bought them, and whether they drank them on the premises.He discovered that 40 percent of the milkshakes were purchased first thing in the morning, by commuters who ordered them to go.

First, he spent a full day in one of the chain's restaurants, carefully documenting who was buying milkshakes, when they bought them, and whether they drank them on the premises.He discovered that 40 percent of the milkshakes were purchased first thing in the morning, by commuters who ordered them to go.

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"Looking at the market from the function of a product really originates from your competitors or your own employees deciding what you need," he says.

"Whereas the jobs-to-be-done point of view causes you to crawl into the skin of your customer and go with her as she goes about her day, always asking the question as she does something: Why did she do it that way?

The problem often is that their creators are using an ineffective market segmentation mechanism, according to HBS professor Clayton Christensen.

It's time for companies to look at products the way customers do: as a way to get a job done.

"The fact that you're 18 to 35 years old with a college degree does not cause you to buy a product," Christensen says.

"It may be correlated with the decision, but it doesn't cause it.

They weren't yet hungry, but knew that they'd be hungry by 10 a.m.; they wanted to consume something now that would stave off hunger until noon.

And they faced constraints: They were in a hurry, they were wearing work clothes, and they had (at most) one free hand." The milkshake was hired in lieu of a bagel or doughnut because it was relatively tidy and appetite-quenching, and because trying to suck a thick liquid through a thin straw gave customers something to do with their boring commute.

Next, the marketing department asked people who fit the demographic to list the characteristics of an ideal milkshake (thick, thin, chunky, smooth, fruity, chocolaty, etc.).

The would-be customers answered as honestly as they could, and the company responded to the feedback. The company then enlisted the help of one of Christensen's fellow researchers, who approached the situation by trying to deduce the "job" that customers were "hiring" a milkshake to do.