We hear a lot about being “customer-centric.” It’s on slides, in strategy decks, and peppered into pitches. But too often it’s a buzzword. The real test is this: do we truly understand why customers choose our products—or why they don’t?
The Jobs-to-be-Done (JTBD) framework, shaped by thinkers like Alan Klement, offers a clearer lens. Customers don’t buy products because of features alone. They “hire” them to make progress in their lives. That progress is the movement from a current state (frustrated, stuck, inefficient) to a preferred future state (empowered, satisfied, more capable).
Think of the classic example: people don’t want a drill, they want a hole. But it goes further. They want the shelf, the organized room, maybe even the peace of mind that comes from reducing clutter. The “job” isn’t drilling, it’s creating order. Products that succeed do so because they deliver on that progress better than alternatives.
The Four Forces of Progress
Alan Klement describes four forces that shape demand:
- Two generate demand: Push and Pull.
- Two reduce demand: Inertia and Anxiety.
This first post focuses on the demand generators—the forces that create the conditions for adoption.
Push: Dissatisfaction with the Status Quo
Change rarely happens without discomfort. Push is the dissatisfaction that propels customers away from their current situation.
- A broken phone creates an urgency to replace it.
- An accountant buried in spreadsheets feels the pain that sparks interest in automation.
- A manager tired of misaligned meetings seeks a better collaboration tool.
Without push, there is no energy for change. Customers content with the status quo will not seek alternatives.
Case study: Slack’s rise
Before Slack, workplace communication relied heavily on email, chat tools, and fragmented systems. The push came from frustration: endless email threads, siloed knowledge, and poor transparency. Slack didn’t invent communication, but it crystallized dissatisfaction into momentum. The pain of old workflows became the fuel for change.
Takeaway for PMs: Ask yourself—what specific frustrations are customers experiencing today? If they had no complaints, would they still seek you out? If not, your push may be too weak.
Pull: The Attraction of a Better Future
Once there’s a push, customers look outward. Pull is the magnetism of your solution—the perceived ability to deliver progress.
- Tesla created pull by making electric cars aspirational: fast, stylish, and high-performing.
- Duolingo pulls learners by making language study playful and rewarding.
- Spotify pulls users by offering endless music access in one place, not just songs, but also discovery.
Pull is vision. It’s not features—it’s the promise of a better future state.
Case study: ChotuKool’s lesson
Godrej launched the ChotuKool, a small refrigerator designed for rural India. The product was affordable and cleverly engineered. But there was no real pull. Rural families already had solutions: daily vegetable markets, boiling milk for preservation, and cultural habits. Without a compelling future vision, the fridge became irrelevant.
Takeaway for PMs: Ask not “what features should we build?” but “what future does this product promise?” If customers can’t picture progress, pull is weak.
Push and Pull Work in Tandem
Push without pull leads to frustration without resolution. Pull without push leads to indifference. Together, they create demand.
Example: The smartphone transition
- Push: Flip phones limited internet access, apps, and usability.
- Pull: The iPhone promised a handheld computer with a touch interface, media, and apps.
The combination ignited one of the biggest product shifts in history.
Example: The Segway’s failure
- Push: Limited (few people felt daily frustration with walking).
- Pull: Weak (the future vision wasn’t clear or broadly appealing).
Despite hype, there was neither a broad push nor a strong pull to sustain adoption.
Avoiding the Delivery Trap
Product teams often measure success by delivery: story points completed, features shipped. But shipping is meaningless without demand.
JTBD forces a different question: what progress does this feature enable?
- A new dashboard isn’t progress unless it reduces decision-making friction.
- A faster checkout isn’t progress unless it helps customers save time and reduce stress.
Practical JTBD Questions for PMs
- What push factors exist in my customers’ lives?
- How does my product create pull by painting a better future?
- If the product disappeared tomorrow, what would customers miss most?
Integrating Push and Pull into Strategy
Understanding push and pull isn’t just for discovery—it should guide strategy.
- Prioritization: Work on features that address the biggest push and strengthen pull.
- Positioning: Frame your product in terms of progress, not features.
- Alignment: Ensure engineering and design know the “job” being solved, not just the requirements list.
Example: Dropbox’s early pull
Dropbox didn’t market “cloud storage.” It pulled customers by showing instant access across devices. The push (emailing files was painful), combined with the pull (files everywhere, instantly), created explosive demand.
Closing the Loop
Push and pull forces explain why products get hired. Without them, products may exist but never find adoption. For product leaders, the discipline is clear:
- Diagnose the push with customer research and observation.
- Define the pull via vision, design, and communication.
- Measure progress not in shipped features, but in adoption, usage, and customer transformation.
In Part 2, we’ll turn to the forces that reduce demand—Inertia and Anxiety—and explore how systems thinking helps overcome these hidden competitors.