There’s a silent killer in marketing and product strategy. It’s not poor execution. It’s not a bad idea. It’s not even the competition.
It’s Job Drift, and most teams don’t see it coming.
What Is Job Drift?
We talk a lot about Jobs-to-Be-Done (JTBD): “Customers hire products to get a job done.”
The job often stays the same. But the struggle to get that job done? That moves as time progresses.
That’s what I call Job Drift.
It’s the moment when your customer’s pain shifts, but your messaging, product, or positioning doesn’t. You’re still solving something that no longer feels urgent.
The job remains. The context has changed. The friction has evolved. And if you don’t evolve with it, you quietly become irrelevant.
A Quick Example: Netflix
Netflix’s original job: “Help me relax with a movie I want to watch.”
In the 2000s, the struggle was:
- Late fees
- Out-of-stock DVDs
- Driving to the store
Netflix nailed that struggle and crushed Blockbuster.
But now? The job is still to relax with something good. Only now, the struggle is:
- Too much junk content
- Endless scrolling
- Decision fatigue
- No one you trust to say “this is worth your time”
Same job. New pain. If Netflix or a challenger wants to stay relevant, they need to realign to the current friction.
That’s the heart of Job Drift.
Why Job Drift Happens and Why It’s Dangerous
When we find product-market fit, we etch the pain point in stone. We write headlines. Run ads. Build funnels. All around the same old problem.
But time doesn’t stand still. Customers adapt. Competitors copy. New habits form. Expectations rise.
The pain you solved yesterday? That might now be the bare minimum. Or it may no longer feel painful at all.
Yet your copy is still shouting about it. Your team is still investing in features around it. But your customers have moved on.
This is why messaging that once crushed now feels flat. Why ads that used to convert underperform now. Why founders sense something is “off,” but can’t quite name it.
It’s Job Drift. And it needs a fresh response.
How to Solve Job Drift
Let’s get practical. Here’s how to realign your strategy:
1. Revalidate the Job
Don’t assume you know the current struggle. Run new JTBD interviews. Ask:
- “What’s hard about doing this today?”
- “What annoys you about [category] right now?”
- “What’s the last thing that made you try a new solution?”
You’re not looking for generic answers. You’re listening for fresh friction.
2. Map the Struggle Shift
Build a simple table:
| Old Struggle | Old Message | New Struggle | New Message |
|---|---|---|---|
| Late fees | “No more late fees” | Endless scrolling | “No more junk content. Curated to your watching habits.” |
This helps you visualise where the message broke. It gives your team permission to let go of what used to work.
3. Update Your Copy Everywhere
Take the new struggle and echo it back in:
- Landing pages
- Ads
- Emails
- Sales decks
- Product onboarding
- Customer success
Speak to what’s hard right now. That’s what grabs attention, builds trust, and converts.
4. Test and Iterate
You’ll know it works when:
- Click-through rates go up
- Conversion rates rise
- Your team hears “that’s exactly what I’m dealing with”
Struggle-aligned messaging always performs better.
A Final Thought
The most dangerous position in business is having a great product that solves an outdated problem. So take a beat. Step back. Ask:
- “Has the job drifted?”
- “Are we still solving something that feels painful?”
- “Would a new entrant beat us by speaking to today’s friction better than we do?”
Because no one buys based on what used to be frustrating. They buy to fix what hurts right now.
Find the new struggle. Name it. Speak to it clearly. That’s how you stay relevant, resonate deeper, and convert.