A radical solution to a Fortune 50’s most dire sales problems.

Uncovering the Real Jobs

Prudential’s marketing department came to us with a clear request: Port their online ‘Bring Your Challenges’ quiz to the iPhone. They already had the creative, the quiz questions, and even the basic UI ready. However, during our intensive, on-site strategy session, we realized what our client needed was more than just a simple solution.

“BiTE developed an iPad app for us that delivered features and creative that were exactly what our customers wanted and our sales teams needed.”

Jennifer Putney

Vice President Total Retirement Solutions

Jobs-to-be-Done

We always open strategy with the Henry Ford quote, “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.” Prudential Sales was asking Marketing for a quiz app as a unique way of communicating their value propositions. But what the customers so urgently demand is rarely what they really want. Using the Jobs-to-be-Done methodology, we learned the Sales team was struggling with declining sales and a host of logistical issues surrounding onsite client pitches. The old way of selling had stopped serving their needs.

By determining the real jobs the Sales team was hiring this product to do, we discovered a better solution. One that gave the team a clear and decisive way to communicate Prudential’s value propositions while demonstrating the company’s creative and technical prowess.

A New Direction

Following our strategy session, we proposed a radical departure from Prudential’s original request. Sales specifically requested a Behavior Quiz app, but the quiz simply did not do any of the jobs that needed to be done. We lobbied for a sales tool platform designed for the iPad Pro to transform the way Prudential Sales presented to clients while flaunting both technical innovation and beautiful creative. We understood and documented their requirements, had strategic level discussions with the leadership at Prudential and presented deliverables accordingly. Our recommendations were trusted and a proof of concept was approved.

From Prototype to Product

The prototype we presented was a far more ambitious approach to solve Prudential’s sales problems. Soon after, it was approved by Prudential’s management including the Vice President of National Corporate Strategy & Distribution. Our strategy team had successfully distilled our client’s real needs into a solid roadmap with a clear route to MVP, resulting in an app that was far beyond what they had originally hoped for. Prudential’s CMO met with us to say that in her 20 years at Prudential, she had never seen such excitement about a product. It was a good meeting.