Case Study
Solo 20-week project done for my Master Thesis at TU Delft in collaboration with Kollekt.fm (2023)
This is a condensed case study that should take ~ 15 minutes of your reading time. If you are curious about the details, you can check out my thesis at the TU Delft repository or reach out!
Kollekt.fm is an Amsterdam based B2B music agency providing brand-tailored & human-curated background music for businesses. This project began with the team's strong belief that their current assets are being underutilized, and the brief was to discover new opportunities for them to expand their business.
MARKET
Primarily Europe, along with a growing global presence
KEY VALUE PROPOSITION
Bespoke and 100% commercially licensed brand-tailored music
TYPE OF BUSINESS
B2B Agency Model
ASSETS
Commercial Licensing, Proprietary tech to enable provision and use of music, Exclusive curator network
MY CHALLENGE
Find novel and actionable opportunities that help Kollekt.fm grow their business.
The design process, inspired by the Double Diamond and Lean UX principles, was a comprehensive approach from initial research to strategic implementation. The journey began with Preliminary Research, setting the foundation through literature reviews, informal discussions, and observations. As the ideas broadened, the Research phase dived deeper, segmenting into two blocks focusing on competitor analysis, field research, and iterative ideation cycles.
The Design phase then took the center stage, emphasizing concept development and validation. This iterative approach ensures that solutions are both creative and viable. Following this, Testing was conducted to refine the user experience through individual and collaborative feedback sessions. Finally, the Strategize phase tied everything together, focusing on integrating solutions within the company, making recommendations, and exploring future opportunities.
This process, depicted across macro and micro timelines in the diagram, reflects a dynamic and iterative workflow that prioritizes continuous learning, adaptation, and user-centered outcomes.
Due to the sheer length of the project, this case study will not go chronologically through the whole process. Instead, a simpler flow has been created to make information more digestible in a short format.
The goal of this part is to show what is out in the market, how it works, if it satisfies the market’s demands, and where we can intervene. The research phase covered market analysis, user interviews, company intakes, and concept designing and validation. Through all of this, insights were constantly drawn which informed the final product.
I conducted an in-depth market research analysis on 19 global SaaS companies to gain insights into their value propositions, business models, and pricing strategies. My research covered a diverse range of attributes, including the companies' regions of operation, sizes, customer experiences, and notable clients. By systematically comparing these elements, I aimed to identify key trends and best practices within the B2B SaaS music industry.
To present my findings, I created a comprehensive table that encapsulates all these attributes, offering a clear comparison of each company. Additionally, I also created a tier-based system that showcases the general industry trend based on pricing and features. Combined, this table and tier system provide a straightforward way to understand the competitive landscape and the value currently being offered in the market.
I also obtained subscriptions to five of these SaaS products and conducted hands-on testing. I organized testing sessions with Kollekt employees, gathering diverse perspectives on customer experience, value propositions, and the specific needs these services addressed. This practical approach provided valuable insights into how these platforms perform in real-world scenarios and highlighted areas where they excel or fall short.
From this research, it became evident that the current market offerings, though dense with competition, offer the same inherent value: a service focused on the business owners with large catalogs of commercially licensed music and some business tools.
Though Kollekt had the assets to offer the service in a SaaS format, it was recognized that the current market is highly saturated with mature players who have deep expertise in delivering this value. To successfully enter this space, it would be essential to address a new and unmet market need.
Contextual Inquiry was done in the form of field research in the Netherlands to study a market closer and more accessible with the directions in the above conjectures in mind, and insights were drawn. In total, I talked to employees, business owners and managers of 18 small to medium businesses in various neighbourhoods of Delft, Den Haag and Amsterdam. These businesses varied according to types of service provided (considering a broad selection of businesses to get rich insights) and type of neighbourhoods (For example, high/low income, expat/local communities, etc.), with size as a constant (should not have more than 3 venues). Additionally, 3 venues of one of Kollekt’s current client were also visited, as they have been exploring employee involvement in music and their insights could prove valuable.
Before going into the field, a few things were prepared. Firstly, a brief semi-formal interview guide was created. The mode of finding participation and conducting research was of a walk-in format instead of taking prior appointments. The nature of such a process has an inherent time constraint, and hence the questions needed to be clear, concise, and direct. To create incentive and express warmth, chocolates were offered to anyone giving me time to talk (regardless of their participation in the research). The questions asked were related to their current way of playing music in the business, their role and approach, and their pain points. Additionally, some ideas were created (informed from previous conjectures and research) in the form of mini proposition cards and shown to the participants (in the picture attached). The goal behind these was not to validate any ideas, but to get the participants to think beyond their current services and spark new thoughts.
I conducted an in-depth market research analysis on 19 global SaaS companies to gain insights into their value propositions, business models, and pricing strategies. My research covered a diverse range of attributes, including the companies' regions of operation, sizes, customer experiences, and notable clients. By systematically comparing these elements, I aimed to identify key trends and best practices within the B2B SaaS music industry.
To present my findings, I created a comprehensive table that encapsulates all these attributes, offering a clear comparison of each company. Additionally, I also created a tier-based system that showcases the general industry trend based on pricing and features. Combined, this table and tier system provide a straightforward way to understand the competitive landscape and the value currently being offered in the market.
I also obtained subscriptions to five of these SaaS products and conducted hands-on testing. I organized testing sessions with Kollekt employees, gathering diverse perspectives on customer experience, value propositions, and the specific needs these services addressed. This practical approach provided valuable insights into how these platforms perform in real-world scenarios and highlighted areas where they excel or fall short.
From this research, it became evident that the current market offerings, though dense with competition, offer the same inherent value: a service focused on the business owners with large catalogs of commercially licensed music and some business tools.
Though Kollekt had the assets to offer the service in a SaaS format, it was recognized that the current market is highly saturated with mature players who have deep expertise in delivering this value. To successfully enter this space, it would be essential to address a new and unmet market need.
I conducted an in-depth market research analysis on 19 global SaaS companies to gain insights into their value propositions, business models, and pricing strategies. My research covered a diverse range of attributes, including the companies' regions of operation, sizes, customer experiences, and notable clients. By systematically comparing these elements, I aimed to identify key trends and best practices within the B2B SaaS music industry.
To present my findings, I created a comprehensive table that encapsulates all these attributes, offering a clear comparison of each company. Additionally, I also created a tier-based system that showcases the general industry trend based on pricing and features. Combined, this table and tier system provide a straightforward way to understand the competitive landscape and the value currently being offered in the market.
I also obtained subscriptions to five of these SaaS products and conducted hands-on testing. I organized testing sessions with Kollekt employees, gathering diverse perspectives on customer experience, value propositions, and the specific needs these services addressed. This practical approach provided valuable insights into how these platforms perform in real-world scenarios and highlighted areas where they excel or fall short.
From this research, it became evident that the current market offerings, though dense with competition, offer the same inherent value: a service focused on the business owners with large catalogs of commercially licensed music and some business tools.
Though Kollekt had the assets to offer the service in a SaaS format, it was recognized that the current market is highly saturated with mature players who have deep expertise in delivering this value. To successfully enter this space, it would be essential to address a new and unmet market need.
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© Tanai Mathur 2024