CREATIVE MARKETING STRATEGIES IMPLEMENTED IN ATTRACTING CONSUMER ATTENTION IN LEMANG BATOK BUSINESS TYPICAL TEBING TINGGI CITY

This study aims to determine the Creative Marketing Strategy Applied in Attracting Consumer Attention (Case Study in the Lemang Batok Souvenirs Typical City of Tebing Tinggi). The implementation of creative marketing is very important considering that it has been stated that online media will greatly benefit because of the level of effectiveness and efficiency it promises. The development of creative marketing has seen rapid growth in income every year from before using online media and after using online media in its marketing strategy, the implementation of online media that has been carried out is in accordance with the benchmark: the application of creative marketing through online media to consumer buying interest, according to lemang shell business goals, they try to market their products to keep up with the times. The impact of implementing creative marketing has a positive impact, with a measure of achieving business goals, easy integration with other businesses, easy adaptation to the environment and businesses have a dependence on the use of online media, even implementing creative marketing does not have a negative impact seen from various aspects, this make an answer that successful creative marketing is applied as one of the marketing strategies for the lemang shell business in supporting the marketing of its products, of course this can also be developed by other typical food producers.


INTRODUCTION
iMicro, Small and Medium Enterprises play a very important role iniimprove people's welfare and help sustain people's economic growth.iCity of high cliffs as a city of services and tradeialso has many MSME businesses based on the people's economy, such as the iconic lemang shell souvenirs typical of the city of Tebing Tinggi, and has become one of the people's businesses that has been widely developed in the city of Tebing Tinggi, Wulandari. (2018).Good marketing methods are urgently needed in developing this community-based MSMEs, one example is the creative marketing method carried out by Lemang Batok traders in Tebing Tinggi City, they create a community and a special location when selling lemang, namely the Lemang cultural village which is of course a special attraction in the process of introducing the lemang product.Hose, problems do not rule out the possibility that MSMEs, especially in the city of Tebing Tinggi, will continue to experience development. The development of MSMEs, especially in the city of Tebing Tinggi, continues to fluctuate from 2019 to 2021.
The city of Tebing Tinggi has superior products such as lemang shells, peanut bread, etc. because these products dominate the MSME industry typical of Tebing Tinggi city. The development of MSMEs can be seen from the number of visitors and customer growth that are included in the superior product cluster of the city of Tebing Tinggi. and visitors in the city of Tebing Tinggi had decreased from the previous year, but in terms of the number of MSMEs visitors in 2019 the average had increased but decreased in 2020 due to the impact of the covid 19 pandemic which resulted in certain sectors experiencing decline. One of the ways the Tebing Tinggi city government develops MSMEs is by providing moral support to every entrepreneur where lemang batok is located on Jln. Chong A Fie is across from Tebing Tinggi Grand Mosque.
In line with what was done by the Mayor of Tebing Tinggi, he invited Tebing Tinggi residents to jointly use business products originating from the City of Tebing Tinggi. This invitation is an effort to support economic recovery efforts in the MSME sector. With the support and awareness of the community members in using local products, economic recovery efforts in Tebing Tinggi can be realized(www.tebingtinggikota.go.id).Besides that, of course, with innovation and creativity, MSME actors are expected to be able to increase productivity.Franky S, at. Al, (2016) "Currently there are many Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Tebing Tinggi whose income has decreased in 2021 which are still recovering from the pandemic. Through innovation, assistance and business development must be encouraged to increase purchasing power in the community, and there will be several innovative policies that we will do so in the near future." The strategy used by Lemang Batok Tebing Tinggi City is to retain old customers or attract new ones. One of them is the implementation of E-Commerce applications as a function of marketing, sales and service which aims to increase customer satisfaction, especially to get, retain and increase the number of customers. And the sales system that is carried out still uses traditional methods and is limited to selling on the spot, Donni, PP (2017).And now the presence of online marketing media makes one of the efforts made by lemang shells. Currently, a business field is certainly less competitive if it does not have online marketing media such as a website. Consumers will find it difficult to obtain information about lemang shells which causes the lemang shells to be known by many people.
The development and implementation of a marketing strategy is very important to be carried out by business actors so that the marketing process can run optimally as intended. Sunyoto, D. (2014)For example, the stages in planning and implementing the marketing mix, entrepreneurs need to design an integrated marketing mix, consisting of the four P's, namely product, price, place, and promotion. By referring to this 4P, what business actors need to pay attention to is planning a creative promotional strategy wisely and maturely. Tjiptono, F. (2011)If the strategy used is not much different from other promotional strategies used by business competitors, then it is possible that these promotional activities will have a significant sales impact, but only incur additional costs for creative promotional purposes so that the risk of loss can be avoided. the business you run.

IMPLEMENTATION METHOD
Qualitative research is the researcher who becomes the instrument. Qualitative research as a human instrument functions to determine research focus, select informants as data sources, analyze data, interpret data and make conclusions on the findings. In qualitative research, there is no other choice but to make the researcher the main research instrument.
The source of data used in this study is primary data. The source of data in a study is an important thing that must be considered. In this case the data source that is used as a reference or reference is a primary data source where the data is obtained from first-hand or first-hand data sources in the field. This data source is usually obtained from informants, interview results, test results, observations, or other data. In this study, the primary data was in the form of data on the results of questions and interviews conducted by employee and owner researchers.
To obtain valid research information data, researchers determine data collection techniques that are appropriate to the problems to be studied. There are several techniques that can be used in collecting research data. According to (Sugiyono, 2015)that method of data collectionare the methods used by researchers to collect data.
In this study, researchers used data analysis techniques, namely the Mails & Huberman model (Sugiyono, 2017)with the stages of data collection, namely: Data Collecting (data collection) is the stage of collecting data by observation, interviews and documentation. Data reduction ( data reduction) namely choosing and focusing on what is important and summarizes the main data. Data Disply (Data Presentation) according to Miles Hubermandalam (Sugiyono, 2017)mentions that what is often used in presenting data in qualitative research is with narrative text. Data Classification (Conclusion and clarification) Since the beginning, researchers have been trying to find the meaning of the data they have collected. According to (Sugiyono, 2017)mentions that in testing the validity of qualitative research method data, using different terms with quantitative methods. test: credibility (validity interval), transferability (external validity), dependability (reliability) and confirmability (objectivity).

ProfileLemang Shell Typical City of Tebing Tinggi
Lemang is a traditional Malay food. Lemang can be found and sold in Tebing Tinggi. Even along Jalan Lintas Sumatra Kota Tebing Tinggi, many sellers of lemang can be found. Lemang is made from glutinous rice wrapped in bamboo covered with banana leaves. Usually lemang is mixed with coconut milk and other spices so that it adds a savory taste in it. One of the famous lemangs in Tebing Tinggi is the Lemang Batok. This lemang is called Lemang Batok because it uses the shell (coconut shell) as cooking fuel. In Indonesia, coconut shells can be used as fuel like charcoal. This is what makes the lemang in Tebing Tinggi City a little different from other lemangs. According to stories from various sources, the existence of lemangs in Tebing Tinggi has existed since the 1950s. Lemang entered Tebing Tinggi City brought by Minang migrants from West Sumatra. This lemang was later developed by the Malay tribe in the City of Tebing Tinggi so that it is slightly different from the lemang of West Sumatra. If the lemang is roasted with fire (not hot coals) then the resulting lemang is believed to be unpleasant. The next uniqueness is how to eat it. This lemang is more delicious eaten with jam, curry sauce, curry sauce, or rendang sauce.
The process of making Lemang Shell in Tebing Tinggi City, which the author took in the kitchen of Mrs. Rosmiati, Entrepreneur of Lemang Shell, on Jalan Badak, Neighborhood 1, Kampung Semut, Tebing Tinggi. Source: Research Documentation (2023) Figure 4.

The Process of Burning a Typical Lemang Shell of the City of Tebing Tinggi
In fact, it is not uncommon to eat it combined with tapai ketan. Many Lemang Batok are sold in the City Center of Tebing Tinggi and Lemang sellers, including Lemang Batok, are usually in outlets around the Great Mosque of Tebing Tinggi City.

Creative marketing strategies are applied to the lemang shell business
The Corona Virus Disease (Covid-19) pandemic a few years ago resulted in the disruption of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) businesses. This is a challenge for business actors. However, the needs of the people's lives are still running and the fulfillment of needs is in accordance with crisis conditions. With this, business actors must understand what consumers need to survive in the face of the Covid-19 outbreak and take opportunities to maintain their business.
Innovation is the ability to find creative solutions to current problems and opportunities to improve business performance. While creativity is a person's ability to develop fresh ideas and new ways to deal with problems and opportunities in business. Another explanation of creative marketing is as a step or strategy taken by a person or group to market their products or services, relying on various innovations and new creations that are always being developed from time to time.
With the growing era, you also have to adjust the marketing strategy that is made. Currently, there are many platforms that you can use to market your products, from print media, television, billboards, to social media and the internet. Apart from the container, you also need to create a creative and quality marketing strategy so that potential buyers can see your product. Here are some marketing strategies according toMoneysmartwhich you can apply.

Create an attractive website to promote Lemang Batok
Most businesses now have their own website to market their products. The website contains a catalog of products being sold, and buyers can also buy directly through the website. This makes it easier for potential buyers to see what products are being sold, as well as to get to know the lemang shell business. To make it more interesting, you can also include interesting promo information that is ongoing. You can also include positive testimonials from customers who have previously purchased the product. Don't forget to design the website as attractive as possible so that potential buyers feel interested in buying the products you offer.

Conducting a Specialty Food Exhibition
This one way makes a business have a greater opportunity to be known by the public.

Figure 4.3 The Government of Tebing Tinggi Introduces the Lemang Icon of Tebing Tinggi City
Then another way is to find out information on exhibitions or bazaars that will be in the city, and immediately register a business to attend the exhibition. Of course, in the bazaar, there will be many competitors who may be similar to the business. Therefore, it is necessary to decorate the stand as attractively as possible so that people are interested in visiting the stand.

Give Discounts To Customers
One way to keep customers loyal is to provide special discounts or gifts. For example, buying 3 free coconut shell lemangs. This marketing strategy can be implemented if a customer has purchased a product many times. Usually, this method is implemented through a membership system, so you can see the customer's transaction history to determine what promotions or gifts to give.

Using Media Social
Source : Social Media Instagram and Facebook (2023)

Figure 4.4 Promotion Through Social Media
Social media has become a promotional strategy that brands need to have because currently social media has a huge influence on people shopping. The use of social media as a media for promotion and sales can convey messages or products to consumers more quickly, easily and efficiently.

Take Advantage of Free Ads
The internet this time has provided many platforms to be used as media for advertising products for free. The use of free advertising on the internet is also more efficient and reaches a wider range of consumers. By taking advantage of this free advertising feature, the costs for product promotion will be smaller and more economical.
Source : Google Reference (2023) Strategic location is still an example of a marketing strategy that should be considered. Because with a strategic point of sale, your product is of higher quality and of course triggers high sales.
The criteria for selecting this strategic place must be in accordance with the targets and the ease of reaching them. For example, if you decide to sell boarding school equipment needs, then selling near the campus or school area will make it possible for your product to sell quickly and be seen.

Establish Good Relations with Consumers
By establishing good relationships with consumers so that Lemang Batok products are liked by the market or the public. Considering that loyal customers are an important company asset. They have repeatedly purchased your product and contribute to income regularly. If you don't want to lose a purchase, in the midst of competition for many similar products, then there's nothing wrong with rewarding customers who are loyal to the company. One of them is by responding to consumer input and giving gifts directly for the purchases they make. This is quite an effective way of marketing food products because this type of product relies on the loyalty of its buyers to survive in the business world.

Take Advantage of Word of Mouth Marketing Techniques
Direct promotion strategies can be carried out using this word of mouth marketing technique. This way your marketing team communicates directly with consumers. After a consumer buys a product and is satisfied with the product, the consumer will tell other consumers who have the potential to buy the product. A marketing strategy is needed so that the products you sell can be widely known by the public and of course get a lot of consumers. So, in order for the product to be liked by the market or the public, producers need to pay attention to the following, namely some of the things mentioned above. Because direct promotion strategies can be carried out by using some of the things that have been mentioned, such as through social media, 9. Include an Acknowledgment A thank you note that can be inserted every time a customer buys a product can mean a lot to them. Most customers find small touches like that make them happy and feel exclusive. You can use greeting cards that have been specially designed with the brand, and don't forget to include the customer's name.

CONCLUSION
Based on the results of the discussion of the results of research on creative marketing strategies that are applied to lemang shell business by typical Tebing Tinggi City to attract the attention of consumers, it can be concluded that the results of the research are as follows: 1. The implementation of creative marketing is very important considering that it has been stated that online media will greatly benefit because of the level of effectiveness and efficiency it promises.
2. The development of creative marketing has seen rapid growth in income every year from before using online media andAfter using online media in its marketing strategy, the online media implementation that has been carried out by the business is in accordance with the standard: the application of creative marketing through online media to consumer buying interest, according to the lemang shell business objectives, they are trying to market their products following the current developments.
3. The impact of implementing creative marketing has a positive impact, with a measure of achieving business goals, easy integration with other businesses, easy adaptation to the environment and businesses have a dependence on the use of online media, even implementing creative marketing does not have a negative impact seen from various aspects, this make an answer that successful creative marketing is applied as one of the marketing strategies for the lemang shell business in supporting the marketing of its products, of course this can also be developed by other typical food producers.