01

After doing indie development for a while, I slowly realized something: if you want to sell something to users, you first need to understand why they buy.

Harvard professor Clayton Christensen, who studied user behavior deeply, wrote in Competing Against Luck that users are not simply buying products or services. They are bringing those products or services into their lives to make some kind of progress.

In other words, when we buy something, we want it to do something for us. It needs to bring some kind of benefit. Maybe it solves a practical problem. Maybe it eases an emotion. Maybe it helps us look better in our own eyes or in other people's eyes. We do not randomly buy meaningless things for no reason.

That benefit, that meaning, is the Job. So let's look at these 3 Jobs.

02

1. The Functional Job: What can it help me do?

This is the easiest layer to notice. For example, when you are sick and buy medicine, the product solves physical discomfort.

When I buy prunes, it is not because I simply love eating them. It is because they help me cool down and feel physically better. When I feel irritated and uncomfortable for days, that is the real reason I buy them.

I buy Codex to improve my work efficiency. I buy a bubble machine because it helps me relax and briefly step away from a state of continuous work.

2. The Emotional Job: How does it make me feel?

Once the function is satisfied, there are still emotional needs: joy, happiness, ease, reassurance, groundedness, satisfaction, healing, comfort, relaxation, romance, lightness, warmth, calm, excitement, stress relief, stability, a sense of control, certainty, companionship, order, even a sense of quality.

When I buy durian, it is not entirely because it is good for the body. It is because the rich, creamy texture makes me feel happy, comfortable, and satisfied.

When I play with a bubble machine, I watch the bubbles float freely in different colors. It looks beautiful and romantic. It gives me a sense of freedom and lightness. That is not function. That is feeling.

My Pay4SaaS gives me peace of mind after I use it. I can sleep well and do not have to worry too much about waking up at midnight to fix bugs. That feeling of reassurance is an emotional Job.

3. The Social Job: Who do I become in my own eyes and in other people's eyes?

This layer is the most hidden, but it often drives the highest-value purchases. It has 2 directions.

Outward: becoming a certain kind of person in other people's eyes.

When I play with a bubble machine, others may think, this person is fun and cute, not someone who only knows how to work.

When I share a screenshot of a note about dried tofu sauce, I am telling my friends, "The real match for tofu, carrot, and soup dumplings is sweet and spicy dried tofu sauce." In other words: I have taste. I noticed something others did not.

Then I suddenly understood why so many merchants can make money from trend-based tools whenever a hot topic appears. They make money because users are willing to spend. But why are users willing to spend?

Because beyond function, the product also satisfies a social signal: I am stylish. I do not want to fall behind. I am using something novel and current.

Inward: becoming a certain kind of person in my own eyes.

When I buy a Bvlgari fragrance, nobody else may know. But I know. I recognize myself as "someone with taste, someone who gives life a sense of ritual, someone who deserves beautiful things."

When I play with a bubble machine, I feel like I am still pure, playful, and able to keep a bit of childlike wonder.

When I frequently order from the same healthy meal delivery place, I feel like I am someone who treats myself well and pays attention to health.

The inward social Job does not need validation from others. Self-recognition is enough.

03

Many products start with a functional Job. But for some products, what users are really buying from the beginning is emotion, identity, and imagination. Think of astrology, personality tests, MBTI, or other similar products. Functionally, they may not change reality. But they can ease the emotions of the present moment and give people confidence about their future selves.

This is also why the "emotional economy" is becoming more popular. Function is easy to copy. Emotion, identity, and feeling are much harder to copy. Truly strong products often do not satisfy only one Job. They stack multiple Jobs at the same time.

The same cup of coffee can satisfy the functional Job of staying awake. It can also satisfy the emotional Job of relaxing, healing, and recovering your state. It can also satisfy the social Job of "I am someone who understands life, likes taking photos, and has my own lifestyle."

The same bottle of fragrance can satisfy the functional Job of smelling good. It can also satisfy the emotional Job of feeling happy, pleased, and confident. It can also satisfy the social Job of "I am someone with taste and aesthetics."

The same SaaS can satisfy the functional Job of building a payment system. It can also satisfy the emotional Job of feeling reassured, certain, and less anxious. It can also satisfy the social Job of "I am a developer who takes product seriously."

So in many cases, what really makes users willing to pay, willing to stay, and even willing to share is not only function. It is that the product makes me comfortable. It makes me feel reassured. It gives me identity. It makes me look forward to the future again. Sometimes, it even makes me like the current version of myself more.

The more these 3 Jobs stack together, the harder it becomes for users to judge the product only by "is it expensive?" or "how many features does it have?" That is where many products' real pricing power comes from.