How Progress Making Forces are influencing my decision to buy the iPhone 7
In this article I will explore the role of Progress Making Forces. They are one of the key ideas behind Jobs To Be Done (JTBD), a framework that sets out to understand what ‘job’ people are hiring a product to do.
The Progress Making Forces act upon a customer to change her perceptions around a product. They subliminally push and pull against each other over a period of time, and are ultimately responsible for determining if the customer sticks with what she has or switches to something new.
If a product team can discover these forces and understand how they are influencing the customer, they will be in a much stronger position when prioritising features, designing a successful solution, and building a marketing story that will resonate.
But first, let’s talk about the iPhone…
Apple are in a remarkable position with the iPhone. The product is now so fundamental to people’s lives that it attracts huge scrutiny before the next version has even been announced!
As a tech geek, I keep my eye on tech news; and as somebody with an almost 2 year old iPhone 6 (who is used to upgrading every other year), I’ve been watching the iPhone 7 rumours with interest. I tend to buy my phone outright. This makes sense economically, but means shelling out for a new phone is a significant (and anxiety inducing) purchase.
Let’s look at my decision on whether to purchase an iPhone 7, and examine how the four Progress Making Forces are currently affecting me and my decision.
Push
How is my current phone affecting my life in ways I am not happy with?
The main complaint about my current phone is the battery life. It struggles to get through the day without topping it up at some point. At the weekend this is merely frustrating. During the week when I need my phone for work and it’s out of juice, it’s critical!
The Lightning port has also started to become a little temperamental. It doesn’t always register when it has been plugged in. I might need to wiggle the plug a bit to ensure it starts charging. I’m worried that this is only going to get worse as the phone gets older, eventually causing me to have to get it fixed or buy a new phone.
Pull
How do I imagine the iPhone 7 will change my life for the better?
New phone models always receive a performance bump over previous generations, and the iPhone 7 will be no different. With twice as much RAM as the iPhone 6 and a newer processor, everything will feel snappier.
Waiting for pages and apps to load, (however small that load time is) can be frustrating so having a speedier experience is attracting, especially when I’m in a hurry to get certain information. For instance, getting hold of today’s weather forecast when I’m rushing around getting ready to cycle to work would make my life that little bit easier.
I have a young daughter and love taking and sharing videos and photographs of our family time. Any improvements to the camera is a big attraction for me. The new (rumoured) duel camera will allow for better low-light performance and optical zooming. My hope is that I will be able to capture precious moments that previously would have been too dark or far away.
Last, but by no means least, it’s my 40th birthday this September, the very same month that the iPhone 7 is due out! What better present could I get myself?
Anxiety
What uncertainties do I have?
It has been highly rumoured that the iPhone 7 will remove the headphone jack. Whether this will make space for more battery or something else is not yet known.
I listen to a lot of music and podcasts so this feels like a big deal. Replacing my expensive Shure earphones is a non-starter and plugging them into the Lightning port via an adapter feels like a pain. How comfortable is that going to be in my pocket when listening to music on the go? How often am I going to forget to bring the adapter with me? (Knowing me, quite a lot).
The iPhone 7 is also rumoured to have largely the same design as the iPhone 6/6s, whilst the iPhone 8 will feature a significant redesign. This is more a niggle than an full-blown anxiety, but I wonder how I’m going to feel next year when the new phone is unveiled. Should I have just held on one more year before upgrading?
Apple, seemingly aware of this anxiety, will apparently make the iPhone 7 available in a brand new Space Black colour. This could be very nice and would go a long way towards alleviating my concerns.
Habit
What position am I in today that negates the need to make the upgrade?
Even though my current iPhone 6 is almost two years old, it still looks great and works great. It doesn’t have a cracked screen or any scratches and dents. I can still do everything I need to do with it. Why shell out £600 or so for a slightly newer version? And lose the headphone port, to boot! Why not wait another year for the next phone?
Hopefully, you can appreciate how understanding these forces will help to build better products.
If you’re interested in finding out more about JTBD and how you can use it to build and market better products, head to the JTBD website and follow the JTBD Medium channel.
If you enjoyed this please hit the Recommend button. And if you think I’m an idiot for getting an iPhone over a Galaxy S7, save that conversation for elsewhere :)
A huge thanks to Alan Klement for his help with this article.
