Essay · ~20 min read

Marketing Malpractice: The Cause and the Cure

Clayton Christensen, Scott Cook, Taddy Hall · Harvard Business Review Freemium Intermediate

This is the original milkshake essay: researchers sat in a parking lot and watched who bought milkshakes and when, instead of asking customers what flavor they preferred, and found the real job was keeping a bored commuter's one free hand busy. It is the founding case study for researching the job someone is hiring a product to do rather than their stated preferences.

  • Segment by the job a customer is trying to get done, not by their age, income, or stated preferences.
  • Direct observation of purchase moments revealed a job no survey had ever surfaced.
  • A product that nails the real job can outsell a technically superior competitor that answers the wrong question.
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The question it answers

  1. How do I do user research when I'm building something nobody has seen before and can't describe what they want?

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