The UNAIR Mathematics Study Program hosted an online marketing training session for MSMEs in Klangon Village, Saradan District, Madiun Regency on Thursday, August 18, 2022. This exercise is a regular component of the Mathematics Study Program’s Community Service Program, which is conducted annually.
The Head of Klangon Village gave a speech to start the program. This time, he stated, “The most crucial thing for everyone is knowledge. Anytime information is useful.It is therefore anticipated that all MSME participants will find the knowledge acquired from this exercise to be beneficial.”
Prof. Dr. Fatmawati, M.Sc., Deputy Dean III of Airlangga University’s Faculty of Science and Technology, gave the following address. During his address, he mentioned that the UNAIR Mathematics Study Program was inspired to perform community service because Klangon village was well-known for its porang goods. It is anticipated that the Faculty of Science and Technology (FST) UNAIR will begin working with MSMEs through this training program, paving the way for other study programs at FST UNAIR to offer activities that will aid in the production of porang and the resulting products in Klangon village.
Three presenters completed this community service program: two students, Tania Fatma Wati, who discussed the regulations pertaining to labels and packaging; Adhimas Wahyu, who discussed the practice of product photography; and one lecturer, Drs. Edi Winarko, M.Cs., who discussed how to open a shop through an online marketplace, like Shopee.
Klangon Village presents a remarkable opportunity about Porang agricultural output. In addition to being exported, porang products have been turned into a variety of foods, including porang rice. The Klangon Village community produces other MSME goods in addition to porang plant products, such as pecel sauce, carang mas, and processed chips (such tempe and Gadhung chips). Nonetheless, direct selling remains the primary marketing strategy for all MSME products as of now, either to customers directly or through wholesalers who have partnered with manufacturers. Of course, this results in restricted consumer penetration, which hinders efforts to improve production turnover.
In order to address the issues facing MSMEs in Klangon Village, it may be possible to expand the marketing reach by promoting MSME products through social media or online retailers (E-commerce). Naturally, in order to accomplish this, human resources with the capacity to oversee the marketing and sales of MSME products via online sales channels are required.
Here is where the UNAIR Mathematics Study Program’s community service projects come into play in attempts to find answers and fix the issues facing Klangon Village MSMEs in the process of marketing their products. Specifically, these projects supply materials to MSMEs so they can use technology as a marketing tool. The information offered relates to labeling on product packaging, product photography, online marketing of MSME products, neat and beautiful informational product packaging design, and hygienic and clean production procedures.
Following the content presentation, there was direct practice to allow attendees to put their newly acquired knowledge to use right away. Participants in this session were asked to snap product pictures while being escorted by a community service team.
As one of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), it is intended that this activity will help MSMEs in Klangon village manufacture better-quality items for the market, enabling them to contribute to the welfare of the local community.