UNS – The Faculty Member of the Faculty of Art and Design (FSRD) Universitas Sebelas Maret (UNS) Surakarta and an advisor for Solo Creative City Network (SCCN), Ahmad Adib, Ph. D suggested that economy creative actors to orienting their business based on the changes in consumer behavior. Consumer behavior referred to Ahmad Adib, Ph. D is changing the business orientation on meeting the primary needs of consumers.
In an interview with uns.ac.id, Sunday (14/6/2020), he stated that several actors in the economic sector will be affected directly by the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic. This sector is the business that is not oriented to the primary needs and all businesses which involve a large number of people, for example, tourism, hotel, transportation, cafe, event organizer, exhibition, competition, league, and music concert, except if it is shifted into an online event.
This is likely not a baseless opinion since Covid-19 pandemic has changes consumption pattern, taste, and community purchasing power from buying what they want to buy what they need, from non-essential to the essentials, from emotional (lifestyle) to rational (benefit).
However, there is also a prospect of business that is promising amid the Covid-19 pandemic, such as basic needs, health (medicine, vitamins, herbs and sports equipment), frozen foods, food delivery services, communication hardware and software, education, and online training.
“The players in the economic/creative industry must be able to dodge in the Covid-19. In the crisis, (they) should think and do something unthinkable during the normal situation. The most important thing is to be oriented on consumer behavior, improve managerial quality, and maximize marketing communication,” Ahmad Adib, Ph. D who is also a founder of Lestude Creative Start-Up Center stated.
Ahmad Adib suggested that creative industry actors, both new and old, to provide managerial knowledge, especially for start-ups, business plans, visual branding, and marketing communication. For him, this is vital and becomes a challenge and opportunity for creative industry economy actors.
Ahmad Adib who also has many small businesses in the creative field sees that creative economy actors cannot move alone. They have to work together with the other business owners, cooperative, and financial institution.
The role of the government, according to Ahmad Adib, Ph. D is indispensable to prepare the economy/creative industry in facing the new normal. Besides assisting with financial capital, the government is also suggested to assist in building the mindset, concept, knowledge, strategy, hard skill, and soft skill to become a successful entrepreneur.
“Thus, the government’s target is not limited to spending how many funds and for how many people, but the success and growth of the business for the sustainability as an independent family in the economy. The creative industry in Indonesia has started to develop well, especially in Jokowi era, in which economic and creative industries are assigned special room. At the community, especially the millennial generation starting to understand and take a role,” Ahmad Adib, Ph. D. stated. Humas UNS/Yefta/Dwi
