We are in unprecedented times. In just an instant, the COVID-19 pandemic has not only claimed many lives, but also shaken up many business sectors. Everyone certainly wants this pandemic to end, but there is no other way than to #socialdistance, stay at home and avoid crowds. However, like the simalakama fruit, this preventive measure certainly has consequences.

If you are a business owner, of course you understand what the consequences are. Yes, sales decline. But Entrepreneurs, you are not alone. Many other entrepreneurs have experienced the same thing, including one user Qasir, Kawaji Kopi. Andi Maulana, one of the owners of Kawaji Kopi, said that he and his colleagues experienced a decline in sales at the beginning of the social distancing period. However, with innovation in services and products, Kawaji can now go through difficult times with relative stability.

Kawaji Kopi is a coffee shop located in Taman Sari Persada Raya Housing, Jati Bening, Pondok Gede, Bekasi. His favorite menus are iced coffee milk, Thai tea, andcharcoal coffee. Kawaji Kopi was formed by 8 people who had the same desire, namely to have a coffee business that could provide the coffee needs of the local community, both in housing and outside housing.

Kawaji Kopi Shop has been open for about 9 months. In normal times, buyers of Kawaji coffee are visitors to sports clubs in residential areas, as well as private school students in residential areas. However, when the Covid-19 pandemic began to enter Indonesia, schools and sports clubs closed, following government policy. Kawaji Kopi is gradually losing its buyers. It was at this moment that Andi and the owners of Kawaji Kopi started thinking about the right strategy so that sales continued smoothly even though customers could no longer come to the shop.

In order to be an inspiration for entrepreneurs in similar fields, Kawaji Kopi shared the strategies they implemented in QTalks via IG Live @qasir.id some time ago. The following is the strategy implemented by Kawaji Kopi.

1. Delivery by Bike

Because customers couldn't go to the shop anymore, Andi and his colleagues tried to pick up the ball. Kawaji started offering a service for sending coffee orders to homes using bicycles. This facility is only specifically for buyers who are still in residential areas, while outside housing, Kawaji uses online motorbike taxi services. For delivery orders by bicycle, menu information, promotions and orders, customers can access them via the chat group, or even direct chat to Kawaji Kopi.

2. Maintaining Hygiene

At times like this, feeling safe from being infected by Covid-19 is very important. For this reason, Kawaji Kopi provides information to its customers that Kedai Kawaji has implemented Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) on how to maintain hygiene at Kawaji shops and during delivery. That way, customers can continue to shop and consume Kawaji coffee with a feeling of security.

3. Utilizing Digital Platforms for Customer Convenience

From just a used wooden pallet cart and a 2x2 meter tent, now Kawaji Kopi has been able to change the appearance of the shop by using containers. With an appearance like this, people will automatically pay more attention to the existence of the shop Kawaji Kopi. But it doesn't just want to look good, Kawaji Kopi also utilizes digital platforms for ease of business as well as convenience for its customers.

For ease of transactions and monitoring, Kawaji uses Qasir. To promote, Kawaji also uses social media and chat applications such as Whatsapp. Kawaji has also been registered with Go-Food and GrabFood for easy delivery orders. For digital payments, Kedai Kawaji can also accept all types of non-cash digital payments.

4. Selling in Packages and Price Promotions

Kawaji's favorite menu is Milk Coffee. From the start, Kawaji had intended to make milk coffee a favorite, considering that the hype for this type of coffee was high in society. Apa lagi, Kawaji ingin menjadi ”penyuplai” kebutuhan kopi susu warga di dalam perumahan dan sekitarnya. Meski begitu, tentu saja Kawaji juga menjual minuman-minuman lain. Untuk minuman lain yang volume penjualannya tidak terlalu besar, Kawaji menerapkan strategi jual paketan dan promo harga. Misalnya dua minuman 20 ribu dan tiga minuman 25 ribu. Strategies like this have been proven to also increase sales.

5. Take Advantage of the Literan Coffee Trend

Entering the era of work from home and school from home, liter coffee has become popular. Taking advantage of this trend, Kawaji also sells coffee by the liter. Uniquely, Kawaji liter coffee also accepts refills with the same bottle, and of course, at a special price.

By using these various sales strategies, sales of Kawaji Coffee are slowly increasing, especially sales in the delivery category. "I noticed an increase of up to 25%. We divide them into 3 categories, dine in, take away, delivery. Well, delivery is what has increased sharply," said Andi Maulana when interviewed by Qasir.

Apart from the strategies above, Andi Maulana also wants to remind you that word of mouth promotion is still very effective. However, to be able to achieve promotional effectiveness in this way (word of mouth), producers must always maintain quality, both product quality and service quality.

Andi and Kawaji Kopi's message for entrepreneurs who also have businesses in the same field, don't give up easily, and stay creative. Practice efficiency as a form of survival mode. Cut some expenses that are not too important and look for cheaper raw materials as much as possible. Apart from that, always maintain customer trust. "Loyal customers is very important. So we always listen to customer criticism," said Andi.