Service Innovation for N Stuff Music

N Stuff Music Service Innovation

In 1968, Bob Sarra founded Pianos N Stuff. It has provided Pittsburgh-area musicians with the best selection of musical instruments and pro-sound gear for sale and rental.

In 2018, with Bob’s two sons now part of the business, the store was rebranded and became N Stuff Music. The Sarra Brothers wanted to offer customers a comprehensive experience by expanding the lesson program and debuting the Next Door Cafe to provide a venue for students and local musicians.

In Spring 2022, N Stuff Music started collaborating with service design students at Carnegie Mellon University.

My Role

I was part of a student team to design an innovative service for N Stuff Music. I led the design and research part of this project. I also managed the project by crossing out all possible risks that might stop the team from reaching the milestones. I worked with a Human-Computer Interaction graduate student and a Product Management graduate student for eight weeks.

Research

I conducted research methodologies including contextual inquiry, directed storytelling, and semi-structured interviews to understand the client’s current business status and unveil possible service opportunities. I defined a feasible service proposition for our client with teammates. We also designed and ran user testing sessions based on our proposition to gain critical insights from users that helped us iterate the design.

Design

I designed the persona, idea prototyping, concept video, and service poster to bridge our team, the client, and customers. Our team did critique sessions with other teams, pitched to the client and instructors, and addressed the feedback to renovate the service.

Project Management

I led the team to write a premortem to identify some potential risks of the project. As the team's product manager, I was responsible for aligning everyone and maintaining a shared folder for all work. I managed the project by running a to-do list, distributing the work to everyone, and adding new tasks based on the milestones. To ensure the quality of our work, I proofread the text and made sure we met all design principles before submission.

The Challenge

“Innovative service within N Stuff’s existing ecosystem.”

Project Timeline

The Discovery

“N Stuff offers a wide range of rental gears to address different musical needs. However, for non-expert renters, this experience can be intimidating.”

Comparing the journeys for expert renters v.s. non-expert renters

Existing Resources to Help Non-expert Renters

Call for a consultation if customers are not sure about what to rent.
A color-coded diagram to guide customers in setting up the system(lighting, DJ system, etc.)
Remote troubleshooting if customers need help during set up.

The existing resources alleviate some of the customers’ stress. However, it increases touchpoints between customers and staff. Staff members may receive unpredictable calls from the customers, interrupting their work at hand.

The Vision

“A hassle-free concierge service option.”

In the current status, non-expert renters need to worry about selecting equipment, picking up, setting up, and returning. They are involved basically from the start to the end. Although the current rental service provides customers with remote troubleshooting and color-coded diagrams to help setting up, it is still stressful and risky for those non-expert renters. When they step out of the store, they are on their own. On the staff side, their work time may be often interrupted by unpredictable phone calls, while being unpaid by assisting these renters.

We envision a hassle-free concierge service option. The concierge will take care of all the needs, from choosing equipment, shipping, and setting up to returning it with an agreed-upon plan and price. Customers can be less anxious and focus more on the event they are arranging. On the staff side, their work time is more dedicated while getting extra pay.

“Who the potential customers are.”

We identify three potential user segments:

Student event organizers: members of student clubs in high schools or colleges may need to rent speaker and microphone systems to organize specific events.
Educators: High school or college educators may want to rent equipment to organize events for their students. They make decisions for the schools, so there is an opportunity to regularly establish collaboration with the schools.
Event Planners: Specifically, non-musical expert organizers. They may need lighting and microphone systems, but they don’t have any prior knowledge.

“Why non-expert renters matter.”

As shown in the stakeholder map, student club event organizers will recommend through word of mouth and stick to reliable past choices, which increase the recurring customer base. There are 39 schools and colleges within a 10-mile radius of the store. If we assume there are about 780 events per year, and N Stuff charges about $800 per event, the possible revenue opportunity per year is above $500,000. We can see a high-potential market from this estimation. Based on the guerilla research, we found there is no rental service nearby that is dedicated to non-expert renters, so this can be a competitive edge for N Stuff.

The Process

Our team hypothesized a concierge service option that charges users to take care of equipment selection, shipping, setting up, and returning. We want to ensure the overall experience for non-expert customers is more satisfactory and frictionless than in the current state. We ran a bodystorming session that provided participants with an immersive experience with role-playing and simulation. We presented participants with the current state and the preferred state and sought reasoning and attitudinal feedback from them.

We also want to confirm with N Stuff employees the viability of this service: whether it can reduce their burden while making revenue from those “unpaid labors.” We presented employees with storyboards to validate price feasibility and seek their constructive feedback to polish our service further.

Bodystorming sessions

For bodystorming, we recruited two participants from the target user group: non-expert renters. We aimed to recruit these student club event planners who have organized events. During the bodystorming session, we informed them their task is to hold an important event. They are responsible for renting, shipping, setting up, and returning music gear. We started with think-aloud testing using the current N Stuff rental site to situate users into a rental scenario.

We first presented the participant with the current state. We utilized physical props such as toy cars and foam boxes to mimic the actual one and rental packages so participants could experience fitting those packages into their cars. We also had another teammate role-play the staff at U-haul, so participants could “drive” there to rent a more spacious truck. Before they drive to the event place, we provided them with a color-coded diagram so they could use it to set up. After the event, they need to return all rental gear.

Then we moved on to the preferred state. Participants had the same task, but they had the option to avail a concierge. When they chose to have a concierge with additional cost, the concierge would take care of selecting, shipping, setting up, and returning the equipment. The participants only need to wait at the event place and enjoy using the equipment.

After experiencing two scenarios, we asked the participants to share their thoughts and feelings about each one.

Bodystorming results

Participants are overwhelmed by the choice of equipment on N Stuff website. Even when they were guided on what types of equipment to rent, they found it difficult to pick the right one.
The participants readily agreed to seek help via a concierge when given a choice. It validates our proposition that customers, particularly students, would be willing to explore a concierge service.
Users were disappointed with the logistics issues associated with the current service.
With the color-coded diagram, participants were initially confident to set up the equipment by themselves. However, it turned out they were unable to do so. It aligns with Justin’s feedback that customers often misconceive that they can set up the equipment, but eventually, they need to call N Stuff for help.
Our participants were willing to pay a significant premium for the convenience of a concierge service.

Storyboards with the staff

For storyboarding, we wish to target N Stuff employee Jim, the manager of the Rental Department. We created two storyboards: one of the current customer rental journeys and one of our proposed customer journeys.

Our team paid another visit to the store to conduct the storyboarding session with the staff. We presented them with both storyboards and asked for their feedback. We prepared a list of questions to ask their opinion about service viability, price feasibility, concerns, etc. We also wanted to keep the interview open, so employees had the opportunity to share whatever came to their minds.

Storyboards Results

Jim, the employee, thinks this service has high feasibility. Although N Stuff doesn’t have this service explicit, he has provided similar services to customers if they request so.
It is not viable to have a fixed price for the concierge service. The cost will depend on time, distance, package size, etc. The price will be higher if the customer wants the concierge to be there throughout the entire event.
The concierge service is preferably offered during work hours.
Currently, Jim is the only person in the rental department. They need to hire more staff to launch such a service.
The rental department receives multiple requests per day, and rental service is a crucial part of the business.

The Service

“A concierge service option that helps non-expert renters who value a convenient and risk-free rental experience, and create value for N Stuff by unleashing implicit unpaid labor costs.”

New Hire Justification

Currently, Jim is the only person handling the rental service. Hiring one additional person is needed to expand the rental service and offer a concierge option, backed by three reasons.

#1 Low expertise needed

We understand that N Stuff is facing a labor shortage, and it is hard to find a qualified worker who is a music expert like other staff. However, we believe that the concierge doesn’t have to be a music expert to execute tasks. 90% of the concierge’s job is driving and loading equipment, while 10% is about setting up. With some training, the concierge can better set up the equipment than non-expert renters do.

#2 Revenue > Cost

Assuming that the new hire can handle 1-2 rental requests per day, with an average concierge fee of $200, they can earn $6,000-$12,000 per month. Noted, drivers' average salary in the 97th percentile is $4,000, so the revenue outweighs the cost. Not to mention that the current rental department sometimes receive multiple requests per day.

#3 Test the water with part-timers

N Stuff can invest less by testing the water with a part-time contract worker. If the service is working well, the store can hire a full-time worker.

Value for customers

Non-expert renters can enjoy a worry-free rental and a guaranteed successful event.
Reduce the risk of mishandling or damage to equipment.
Alleviate the stress of organizing an event.
Value for N Stuff
Gain recurring customer base through word of mouth
With the concierge fee, N Stuff has an extra monthly revenue stream.
Reduce the risk of mishandling or damage to equipment.