SMEs are one of the sectors most affected by Covid-19. With restrictions on direct activities, it is difficult for SME actors to sell their products and it decreases their income. Thus, SME actors should utilize digital technology to sell their products.
Dr. eng. Manahan Siallagan, Director of the big data and business analytics laboratory of SBM ITB, said that during the Covid-19 pandemic, many SMEs were forced to close their physical stores and offices due to the implementation of Community Activity Restrictions (PPKM) in Indonesia. “There is no interaction, and it decreases the revenue of SME owners because they cannot sell directly,” said Manahan in a webinar entitled “Strategies to Increase Sales in the Pandemic Era with Digitalization: Digital Marketing,” Friday (10/9/2021).
The webinar was held by the Big Data and business analytic laboratory of SBM ITB in collaboration with LPIK ITB and FESMUS. In his presentation, Manahan explained the importance of digital marketing to SME owners to adapt to the current pandemic.
According to Manahan, digital marketing has several advantages: adaptation during Covid-19, cost-effectiveness, increasing credibility, staying ahead of competitors, and increasing consumer engagement. Several things could be done by SME actors in doing digital marketing.
The first thing is to conduct a webinar. Manahan revealed that webinars can attract new customers. “Webinars help businesses connect with large, geographically dispersed audiences. In addition, with webinars, they can also provide information about new products, discuss market trends and at the same time serve as a platform to offer products to consumers,” said Manahan.
Furthermore, SME actors can also create blogs or business websites to provide more value to brands by offering relevant product information. In addition, Manahan added that blogs or websites can also be used in search engine optimization, brand building, and increasing consumer trust.
The third strategy for digital marketing for SMEs is to utilize email marketing to increase business visibility, increase customer retention, and promote products personally. Finally, Manahan explained about Google my business and Whatsapp business as digital marketing efforts. With WhatsApp business, communication with customers becomes easier.
