ANALISIS PENERAPAN STRATEGI PENGEMBANGAN PRODUK & STRATEGI PENJUALAN DALAM MENINGKATKAN VOLUME PENJUALAN PADA MEDIA REMAJA PT. SUARA MERDEKA PRESS

Abstract

Business competition is tighter and tighter, so that consumers become more selective in making decision of purchasing. Various products and sales programs in a market have offered chances for the consumers to decide their choice as well. Therefore, a company must be able to make a policy of product and that of good sales, by selecting properly the goods that will be produced and sales programs offered, in order to attract the consumers’ purchasing interest. Tren is a teenage tabloid as a product of Suara Merdeka Press Inc. It is expected to be a Market Leader in a local level, especially in Central Java. However, on last semester of the year 2005, a sales fluctuation happened. This tended to be a decrease. The decrease average are Rp. 822.000,- per month at product sales and Rp. 6.050.000,- at advertisement space sales. To face the decrease of sales, Suara Merdeka Press Inc.has made a policy of developing product by modifying the tabloid into Olga Magazine, and also applying a better sales strategy that is expected to be able to attract consumers’ purchasing interest by creating a new product and sales program, which are really in accordance with consumers’ appetite. The aims of this research are to investigate the development of sales volume after applying product and sales strategies and to know whether those strategies (developing product and sales) applied are able to increase sales volume. This research uses explanatory research method by making use of secondary data source, which is company’s internal data. The method of collecting data is interview. The data obtained, then, is analyzed quantitatively by using Wilcoxon mark ranking and SPSS 11.5. Based on the data analysis, it shows that developing product and sales strategies applied by Teenage Magazine Suara Merdeka Press Inc. have a real effect in increasing product sales, advertisement space, and income volumes. The increased amount is 35,28% permonth in product sales and 73,4% permonth in advertisement space. The increasing Shows that the strategies are accepted by the market succesfully. In summary, the applying of developing product and sales strategies is able to increase sales volume (product and advertisement space volumes) and income volume (total product sales and advertisement space volumes). The writer suggests that the policies the company takes should be based on consumers’ appetite, in order to face product obsolescence and lengthen life cycle product. The company should always make an effort to improve an effective sales attraction power, in order to attract consumers to do long-term purchasing or increase the purchasing volume (both frequency and quantity). The company always tries to increase the other factors that are able to raise its power of competition, for instance by expanding the scopes of marketing via internet network (e-commerce).