Optimizing Sales of Candied Mangoes through Digital Martketing on the Whatsapp Business Platform

This research aims to investigate the potential for optimizing sales of candied mango fruit through digital marketing strategies using the WhatsApp Business platform. With the emergence of information and communication technology, the use of digital platforms has become important for small and medium businesses, including candied fruit producers. This research uses a qualitative approach with in-depth interviews and observations of mango candied producers who have implemented WhatsApp Business in their marketing strategy. The collected data was analyzed using the content analysis method. The research results show that using WhatsApp Business can increase consumer accessibility to candied mango products. Through features such as product catalogs, automated messages, and discussion groups, manufacturers can effectively communicate product information to potential customers. Additionally, WhatsApp Business enables direct interaction between manufacturers and customers, which can increase customer trust and loyalty. However, challenges faced include the need to ensure consistent product availability and quality, as well as managing orders efficiently. This research concludes that using WhatsApp Business as a digital marketing platform can be an effective strategy for candied mango producers to increase sales and expand their market reach.


INTRODUCTION
Various factors ranging from expanding the internet coverage area, increasing internet bandwidth, using the latest internet and communication technology which is faster and more efficient, the development of smart phones, the emergence of various types of social media and e-commerce, as well as the increasing number of people who understand and actively use the internet (Khasanah F. N. , 2020) Whatsapp business is a free application on Playstore, whatsapp business can be used for messaging using only the internet.This WhatsApp business application can also send images, videos, audio, files, and can even make video calls and voice calls for free as long as it is connected to the internet.The benefit of WhatsApp business itself is that it is a means of communicating with customers in the business world because communicating with customers is very important.
Based on the background above, it can be concluded regarding the marketing communication strategy at Toko Intan Manisan in expanding market segments through the Whatsapp business platform?This research aims to find out the marketing strategy at the Intan Manisan store in expanding market segments using the WhatsApp platform The main objective of this research is assistance and implementation of Whatsapp Business for Candied Fruit MSMEs.This training is about effective and applicable marketing strategies for candied fruit products to be implemented on the Whatsapp Business application.Researchers chose the Intan Manisan Shop as the research object because the shop has quality mangoes and a distinctive taste.
Intan Manisan was founded in 2002 and is known as candied mango fruit sprinkled with chili powder.In 2012 Intan Manisan innovated by creating branding and complete legality.Currently, the Intan Manisan brand is no stranger to culinary lovers in the city of Cirebon, of course there is no doubt about the taste which always follows the Indonesian tongue which is dominant with spicy, sour and sweet flavors.Intan Manis stands under the auspices of the Cooperatives Service, Industry and Trade Service.In 2019 Intan Manisan created and simultaneously carried out new innovations.Creating the Mango Cup sweet product, which to this day is still very popular.The legality of Intan Manisan is very complete, from PIR-T, Halal, Copyright and Nutrition Lab.
I am very interested in doing research on Toko Intan Manisan, because Toko Intan Manisan is not active on social media such as Instagram, Facebook, Shopee and other market places.But Intan Manisan is in great demand and even does Po often because it doesn't fulfill orders for the amount it produces every day.Intan Manisan only carries out a marketing strategy using WhatsApp.Businesses are already flooded with orders.After I learned that Intan Manisan often participates in international bazaars such as the National MSME Day EXPO held by Mr. Gibran Rakabuming Raka, B.Sc. on 10 -13 August 2023 at Pamedan Mangkunegaran Field, Surakarta City.In accordance with the Intan Manisan theme, we met many business people such as the biggest souvenir shop in Central Java and East Java and still carry out PO until now only relying on Whatsap Business.
Marketing communications or Digital Marketing at Toko Intan Manisan uses segmentation to select target markets according to targets, look for opportunities, formulate communication messages using the WhatsApp business platform and serve consumer behavior well to design a product.Company Market to provide information and make consumers aware of products or brands that have been created by MSMEs.Market segmentation has various kinds of customers so it is important for MSME owners to fulfill customer desires and satisfaction, in achieving goals or targets, but the company or MSME cannot completely satisfy all customers.

THEORETICA REVIEW
Digital marketing in it (Chaffey, Dave, & Mayer, 2015) Actually digital marketing is a development of traditional marketing where traditional marketing is a marketing process through offline communication media such as through distributing brochures, advertising on television and radio, and so on.After the rise of the internet and the ease of communication it offered, marketing applications in companies began to adopt internet media, which was then referred to as digital marketing.
According to (Asriani, 2011)."The marketing system via the internet (internet marketing) is a form of technological progress that makes it possible to realize one-on-one marketing, where consumers can interact directly, in real time and in two directions (interactive) with companies selling their products or services."(Siagian, 2020) said the characteristics of the internet as a marketing tool can be seen from: 1. Communication style.Communication style on the internet is more interactive and direct (takes place quickly) or indirect (there is a time difference between message and feedback).2. It is social.Communication takes on a more personal role.3. Consumers can control the relationship.Consumers are able to control the time and place where they can access this information, they are more interested in participating in the process of getting information from machines (the internet).4. Consumers can control the content of the message.If consumers can control the content of the message, then communication will run very interactively."

A. Understanding WhatsApp Business
WhatsApp as a part of social media is a messaging or chat application created around social networks for communication on mobile phones with a limited number of people but has more features than traditional SMS.Social media currently has a very high impact on communication (Floreddu, 2016).WhatsApp is a user friendly subscription instant messaging service via smartphone.
Meanwhile (Hartanto, 2010) states that Whatsapp is an application that serves its users to send and receive messages without requiring credit fees, because Whatsapp is the same as email which uses an internet package.The features that Whatsapp has that make it unique compared to other messaging applications include status, where users can see the status of other users and also create statuses for other users to see.WhatsApp also serves sending and receiving messages in the form of sounds which are usually called voice notes.

B. Relationship between Digital Marketing and WhatsApp Business
The WhatsApp application is one of the many types of digital marketing nowadays.One advantage of the WhatsApp application is that it is tied directly to one telephone number and provides a business profile of the brand, not in the form of a series of digits.So, consumers immediately know who they are talking to or having a dialogue with.Simply put, WhatsApp Business allows companies to message their customers personally safely and conveniently via the WhatsApp messaging platform.WhatsApp also gives companies another added benefit of knowing what messages have been sent and ultimately, read them in real time.A growing trend today, sales teams answer customer product or service questions with rich contextual messages for business messaging purposes so that customers are comfortable and happy.(Sharif, 2020) In designing WhatsApp Business so that it becomes Digital Marketing, we use promotion, which is done to communicate and influence customers to accept the products produced.Marketers can also design promotions in various ways, such as advertising, sales promotions, individual sales publicity and attractive packaging.(Tasrudin, 2021) The things that can be done in promotion are:

1) Advertising
The marketer or marketing strategy will create a message content that must previously be designed and created a visual design before being projected.That is, it can convey messages to consumers in the form of product information, in the form of images or product descriptions.

2) Publicity of Individual Sales or Personal Selling
3) A form of direct communication between two or more parties using text via devices connected to a network.Whatsapp technology users have advantages over electronic mail (E-mail), namely that communication can be established directly, selling products directly to each consumer, this can be done by communicating directly with consumers, either by sending messages.or by having a chat directly or face to face.Internet Marketing Online marketing can be a very effective way to identify target markets or discover the needs and wants of marketing segments.Internet marketing is a process of building and maintaining customer relationships through online activities which are an exchange of ideas, products and services that can meet consumer satisfaction.
In this research, qualitative researchers used a descriptive approach.This qualitative research aims to understand a phenomenon or problem experienced by research subjects involving behavior and perceptions, then describe it in the form of words in a specific context.This research uses qualitative with a descriptive approach allowing the author to search for and explore Digital Marketing using Whatsapp Business for the sale of Candied Mango Fruit.In expanding market segments through digital marketing using the Whatsapp Buness platform, to strengthen this research, the author carried out data collection methods by conducting observations and interviews.
The interviews conducted in this research are used when the researcher finds a problem that is required to be researched, so the researcher uses interviews to be able to understand the information in detail.In the process of collecting data collection analysis.Data collected by researchers in the field, both observation and interview data, will then be divided into several categories to consider the validity of the data that has been obtained in considering the research subject.If the research subject conveys information that does not match the researcher's expectations, the researcher must re-match the data that is less valid and interpret the data with other researchers to obtain more in-depth data about communication strategies using Whatsapp business (Widiawati 2019).

METHODOLOGY 1. Interviews, Observations, and DocumentationMetode Pengumpulan Data
The data collection method used in this research consists of interviews, observation and documentation.a. Interview An interview is a conversation between two or more people that takes place between a source and an interviewer with the aim of collecting data in the form of information.Therefore, interview techniques are one way of collecting data, for example for certain research.

b. Observation
In language, the meaning of observation is paying attention or looking.When explained, observation is an activity carried out to directly observe a particular object with the aim of obtaining a certain amount of data and information related to that object.However, based on several experts, the meaning of observation is very complex.
Quoting the Study Smarter page, according to Merriam-Webster, the word 'observation' can be defined as "the act of recognizing and recording facts or events that often involve measurements with instruments", or "records or descriptions obtained."c.Documentasion Documentation is a systematic activity in collecting, investigating, searching, using and providing documents.The aim of this activity is to obtain information, knowledge and evidence, and disseminate this to interested parties.

9.
Use the Voice Note feature on WhatsApp Business 10. 1Use the order format in WhatsApp chat to make it more systemized 11.Use of WhatsApp Business status as a medium for information between customers

DISCUSSION
Marketing Strategy Using Whatsapp Business at Intan Manisan: Setting up a Whatsapp Business profile.Several things related to the marketing mix for Intan Manisan can be done by business owners, for example: a) Post an attractive business profile photo b) Fill in the location of Intan Manisan's business address c) Enter Intan Manisan's business email d) Upload the best and appetizing product photos Setting up automatic messages on WhatsApp Business The auto-reply feature is a feature that allows the system to send messages automatically when a customer sends a message to the seller.One element of a marketing strategy is setting up automated messages.There are three types of automatic messages, namely greeting messages, quick replies, and distant messages.The goal is to create automated messages designed so that potential buyers don't have to wait long to get a response to their conversation.
Frequently used automatic notifications are: a) Introduce yourself and ask where the customer is from b) Ask about the product ordered or problems encountered with the product c) Matters regarding the product d) Ask whether potential consumers need more detailed information or just want to see the price of the product e) Displays the product price list Thank customers or potential customers when they have finished asking

Collecting WhatsApp Contacts
The more numbers you save on Whatsapp, the more people will see Intan Manisan's Whatsapp status.If an attractive marketing strategy is applied to this status, sales of Intan Manisan products will increase.Collecting contact information on Whatsapp is one part of the advertising marketing strategy.According to an interview with Mrs. Nur Hasanah, owner of Intan Manisan, there are several methods used to collect WhatsApp contact information.

From Other Social Media
On other social media platforms, Intan Manisan shows products that can be accessed for free.Intan Manisan provides a WhatsApp Business Number that can be used to market its products.Therefore, anyone who sees Intan Manisan's content and needs a product can save the Intan Manisan company's Whatsapp number and start a chat.After receiving the message, Intan Manisan will record the prospective buyer's Whatsapp number to obtain additional contact information.

Using Contemporary Technology to Create WhatsApp Business Status Content
Part of Menwari's marketing strategy is to use applications such as Canva to edit images or photos and CapCut to convert images into videos, to create status update content on WhatsApp Business as well as advertising and entertainment.

Update WhatsApp Business Status with Interesting Content
Intan Manisan refused to recognize Business WhatsApp as a product.Apart from selling content, Intan Manisan also adds status updates containing content.Such as entertainment content, educational content, motivational content, content that is currently popular and other content.Updating WhatsApp Business status with interesting content is one strategy in advertising marketing.

Create Promotions on WhatsApp Business Status
After updating the status on WhatsApp Business with interesting content, Intan Manisan then updated the status with an advertisement.One way of promotion that is often carried out by Intan Manisan is by buying certain products and getting bonuses, for example buying 4 bottles of Aqua and getting 2 free Fried Rice.Create advertisements not only through WhatsApp Business, but also through advertising and pricing strategies.Interact with prospective buyers on Whatsapp Business before mentioning the product price.Before buyers ask the product price, prospective buyers may first ask prospective Intan Manisan: "May I know, what fruit does the sweet use?"After receiving the answer to candied mango fruit, Intan Manisan sent a message: "Okay.Several customers have tried our sweets and they are satisfied.Do you want to know the price of our special candied mango fruit now?Or do you want to know more about candied mango fruit?Please find out."For more detailed information, please send an automated message to Menwari with ready-to-use product information or send a link to a predefined landing page.

Using the Voice Note Feature on WhatsApp Business
This voice feature is used to answer customer chats effectively.It will be easier for sellers to provide information to customers about orders or other questions by speaking rather than having to type on an electronic device.From a customer's perspective, they will be more satisfied because they get a response quickly.

Using the Order Format in Whatsapp Chat to Make It More Systematic
To run a business smoothly, clear information about food and drink orders and delivery addresses is essential.Therefore, using an order format that includes the customer's name, customer address, payment method, and list of means starting to make new innovations in how to promote candied fruit to make it more attractive by utilizing existing social media so that sales volume can continue to increase and develop.