Monetization Playbook #17: To increase monetization; solve a different customer problem

Solve a different customer problem

You can solve a customer problem in a different way or to increase monetization, solve a different customer problem.

The Henry Ford comment about customers wanting a faster horse is a cliche, but it still resonates today. On the one hand, engaging customers is the norm for most product designers–yet customers rarely know what they want. 

But perhaps that's unfair. So let's amend. Customers do know what they want–but they don't know what medium will best deliver this want.

The JTBD–' jobs to be done' model helps resolve this desire v's delivery dilemma. However, this analysis alone does not lead to a paradigm shift in the delivery and monetization mechanism required for a new offering.

Before digitization, the core 'job to be done' around music ownership was to enjoy listening to music with physically purchased albums and singles.

When Apple came along–they changed the distribution model and unbundled the offering without affecting the ownership model. 

Spotify completed the shift by asserting–don't buy when you can rent.

By making the entire library available on-demand, they solved a different customer problem–the problem of selecting which tracks to buy.