The Brand Builder Podcast · Capitalism.com

The Product Development Philosophy of the World's Largest Brands

January 27, 2021·19 min·1 clip

Nine-figure entrepreneurs revealed their number one secret for building strong brands: the 'jobs to be done' concept.

The frame is practical. Max is talking to founders who already run a physical product brand, or who are using Q1 as the moment to finally build and launch one. The move is simple, but easy to skip. Before tuning a product around the obvious category feature, he wants the operator to name the job the buyer needs done. Coffee carries the lesson. People grab it in the morning because they want energy to get over the first hump of the day. But that job is bigger than coffee. Tea, energy drinks, five-hour energy, pre-workout, and even burpees can all compete for the same morning job. That changes the brand lens. A coffee company is not only up against other coffees. It is up against every option a tired customer might choose instead. That shift matters for product development. If the small job is energy, the easy answer is more caffeine and a stronger roast. Max pushes past that. The medium job is helping someone move through the day more effectively, which gives a founder more room than raw stimulation alone. The point widens from there. When a founder sees the job clearly, they can build for the real customer situation instead of copying the category's obvious features. That is the operator takeaway. Better products come from knowing why customers keep hiring the brand, and what might make them fire it. The episode stays aimed at founders building toward seven figures, eight figures, and beyond, with an eventual sale still in the background.

As heard by us

A practical solo lesson on designing consumer products around the job customers hire them to do.

Max Kerwick turns product development into a question of repeat purchase: what job is the customer hiring this product to do, and what would make them hire it again? His coffee example keeps the idea grounded.

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Want a sharper way to think about what your physical product brand is really hired to do?

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