Personal Branding Strategy with the Johari Window Model for MSMEs in Indonesia to Increase Consumer Trust
Dimas Cahya Ramadhan1*
1 Faculty of Economy, Universitas Negeri Jakarta, Jakarta, Indonesia
*Corresponding Author: [email protected] Accepted: 15 August 2022 | Published: 1 September 2022
DOI:https://doi.org/10.55057/ijaref.2022.4.3.6
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Abstract: This study aims to show the importance of personal branding for MSME businessmen. This study background is the increasing interest in doing business among the Indonesian people as well as the increasing digitalization of business during the Covid- 19 pandemic. Personal branding that can be done by MSMEs includes brand creation activities as the main identity of a business, managing social media as a platform to promote the products or services offered, to managing e-commerce pages as a center for buying and selling transactions. When detailed, there are work steps that can be optimized so that a positive image can be formed. One way that can be done to analyze and detail the steps in building personal branding for SMEs is to understand the Johari Window Model which consists of open areas, blind spots, hidden areas, and unknowns. That way, MSME businessmen can understand deeply about the business that is run in the eyes of the business people themselves and in the eyes of consumers. If a positive personal branding has been formed, it is highly likely that consumer trust will be built which will also have an effect on increasing sales.
Keywords: Personal Branding, Johari Window, MSMEs, Consumer Trust
___________________________________________________________________________
1. Introduction
Indonesia is a country with a population of more than 270 million people making Indonesia the fourth most populous country in the world (Aeni, 2022). This makes the number of available jobs needed is also very large. The number of workforce in Indonesia with available job opportunities is considered to be still less balanced. In 2021, the total workforce in Indonesia will be 140.15 million people, an increase of 1.93 million people compared to August 2020 (BPS, 2021). Meanwhile, with an inadequate number of job opportunities and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, there are 21.32 million people who are forced to become unemployed and experience a reduction in working hours (BPS, 2021).
Various problems in the field of employment that exist in Indonesia are one of the reasons that encourage Indonesian people to start a small business. Based on data from the Indonesian Ministry of Cooperatives and SMEs, in March 2021 the number of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Indonesia was recorded at 64.2 million with a contribution to Gross Domestic Product of 61.07% or Rp. 8,573.89 trillion (Kemenkeu, 2021). This indicates that the interest of the Indonesian people in doing business is increasing, especially in running micro and medium scale businesses. The contribution of MSMEs is also quite large to the value of
Indonesia's GDP, even more than half of the Gross Domestic Product itself is a contribution from MSMEs.
Although the number of MSMEs has increased and contributed greatly to the Indonesian GDP, in fact there are still some obstacles faced by MSMEs. Lack of working capital, lack of knowledge about how to develop a business, low level of product innovation, and the ability of digital marketing are some of the obstacles faced by MSMEs (Luthfa, 2021). Obstacles in marketing products digitally require serious attention because the use of the digital marketing concept gives hope for MSMEs to develop into centers of economic power because they are able to increase sales of MSME products, which will then be followed by an increase in MSME production (Purwana, Rahmi, & Aditya, 2017).
However, to be successful in marketing products digitally, we need an ability known as branding, both branding for businesses and personal branding that can be done by business owners. In carrying out the business activities of a product or service company, a branding strategy is needed so that the public can find out description of the product owned by the product or service company it produces (Oktaviani, 2018). Besides of product branding, personal branding carried out by business actors is also needed because a business owned by an entrepreneur who is well known to the public can provide a higher level of trust from consumers in the business than a business owned by an entrepreneur who has not been recognized (Engel, 2014).
One of the important marketing communication efforts of any entrepreneurial activity is personal branding through digital platforms because it allows visibility in the general public, especially for potential consumers (Hutabarat, 2021). One of the personal branding techniques that can be done by business actors is the Johari Window Model which can be used to understand intrapersonal and interpersonal relationships (Akeyodia, 2020). The Johari Window model is also suitable to be applied in the business field because this theory helps increase one's awareness and understanding with other parties so as to create good relationships and increase trust (Junaedi, 2021).
2. Literature Review
2.1 Branding & Personal Branding
Branding is a combination of various businesses or communication activities planned by a company to be applied to build or expand a brand so that it is known to the public (Oktaviani, 2018). Branding activity in business is an important thing to do with the aim that the public can find out a picture of a product or service that is owned by a company.
Personal branding is an image or thought that appears in people's minds about something that is seen or heard (Butar Butar & Fithrah Ali, 2018). Personal branding can also be interpreted as a process when a person uses themself or their career as a brand (brand), systematically markets themself to others, while actively attracting public perception (Ruth & Candraningrum, 2020).
2.1.1 Benefits of Personal Branding for MSMEs
By definition, personal branding is an attempt to introduce something to a wide audience. Thus, the benefits of personal branding carried out by MSME actors are to maintain the existence and credibility of the business being run, strengthen brand identity, brand voice, and brand awareness and increase consumer trust (Redcomm, 2021).
2.2 Johari Window Model
The Johari Window theory is one of the psychological theories initiated by two psychologists from the United States named Joseph Luft and Harrington Ingham in 1955 which is also known as the self-awareness theory regarding behavior and thoughts that exist within oneself and in others (Astuti, 2021). Quoted from Kusuma (2014), the Johari Window Model consists of four parts, including:
1) Open Area
Describe a situation or thing that is known to oneself and others. These include the traits, feelings, and motivations.
2) Blind Spot
Called "Blind" because the person does not know about his own traits, feelings and motivations when others know it.
3) Hidden Area
There are things or parts that themself know, but others do not. This is often observed, when someone describes the state of his relationship with someone.
4) Unknown
It is said to be "Unknown", because neither the person concerned nor the other people in his group know about it individually.
Figure 1: Johari Window Model (Source: Medium.com)
2.3 Consumer Trust
Consumer trust is a matter of trust when one group, that is company and the customer or consumer have trust in one another to be able to create a mutually beneficial relationship, that is in maintaining a relationship, in this case a buying and selling relationship (Pratiwi, Rahmanto, & Slamet, 2019). Trust that grows from the consumer side will certainly increase brand loyalty which is a consumer preference consistently to make purchases of the same brand on specific products or certain service categories (Kusuma, 2014).
3. Discussion
Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in Indonesia are increasingly moving towards digitization. There were at least 9.2 million MSME actors who switched to digital platforms during the pandemic and in total there were 17 million MSME players who actively transacted on digital platforms (Setyowati, 2022). Not only SMEs have experienced an increase in the use
of digital platforms, the general public as consumers also have a large percentage of using e- commerce. Data on e-commerce users in Indonesia can be seen in the figure below:
Figure 2: Top 5 Marketplace in Indonesia (Source: Compas.com)
Some of the reasons that make Indonesians switch to e-commerce are increasing population growth accompanied by increasing internet and smartphone users (Ramadhani, 2022). Of course, this is an advantage as well as a challenge for MSME actors in Indonesia. It can be said as an advantage because digitization in buying and selling activities makes it easier for both parties to make transactions. However, apart from being an advantage, the rapid development of e-commerce in Indonesia is also a challenge, especially for SMEs. The reason is that MSME actors are required to be more creative and innovative, not only in creating products, but also in marketing these products to the market. In addition, the personal branding strategy is also important to do. As described in the introduction section, personal branding carried out by business people will certainly increase consumer trust.
Several ways that SMEs can do in building good branding are by creating a brand identity, managing social media well, and managing e-commerce pages optimally. Quoted from Suhaeni et al. (2020), Brand identity is something can be seen, touched, held, heard, and moved about a business brand. Brand identity creates clear recognition and distinction from competitors.
Brand identity can include logos, colors, layouts, packaging designs, web designs and so on.
Everything that can be seen from a business brand is called brand identity. A strong brand has a high influence in terms of purchasing decisions, as the identity of the company, is a differentiator of products from one another, builds consumer perceptions of a product, and provides reasons for consumers to make purchases. (Suhaeni et al., 2020).
In addition to building branding through the creation of a brand identity, MSME actors can also manage social media as a platform for doing business while building a positive image for potential consumers. The implementation of social media for MSMEs provides benefits such as product galleries, surveys of target consumers, and monitoring consumers. In addition, social media is also useful as a discussion forum, assisting decision making, responding to consumers, recording consumer needs, as a marketing and advertising medium, and as a suggestion for personal contact with consumers (Mukhsin, 2019). By maximizing the power of social media, MSME actors can also build consumer trust with various approaches.
Another strategy that can be done to build consumer trust is to manage e-commerce pages well so that prospective customers and existing consumers can be interested in visiting and buying
products. Some things that can be done are to include complete information regarding the products or services offered, service information, detailed payment and delivery steps, respond well and quickly, to give discounts, promos, and other attractive offers. These various things can certainly increase consumer interest and trust.
From the various things that have been described above, it is very clear that personal branding that can be done by MSMEs has various positive impacts, one of which is being able to increase consumer interest and trust. Consumer trust is certainly an important thing that must be built by MSME businesses because in the current digitalization era, transactions that take place are without meeting face to face. Therefore, it is important for MSME actors to pay attention to various things that can support the good image of the business they run in order to gain the trust of customers. In addition, personal branding for business people also has other advantages, such as increasing product credibility, facilitating the promotion process when releasing the latest products, and brands can be remembered well by consumers so that they can also affect sales (Redcomm, 2021).
The personal branding strategy carried out by MSME businessmen will be easier to implement by understanding the Johari Window concept. The reason is, the concept combines the understanding of business actors and also involves other people, that is prospective consumers, in understanding the strengths and potentials that can be developed from a business in order to build positive branding. There are several ways that can be done by using the Johari Window Model as follows:
Table 1: Personal Branding Strategy with Johari Window Model
Open Area Blind Spot
• Knowing the trend of goods and services that are commonly known by business actors and consumers.
• Set a price that is generally known to both parties.
• Being open to consumer demands and tastes.
• Conduct surveys regarding what consumers want.
Hidden Area Unknown
• Develop a unique marketing strategy or special approach where other business actors do not know and do not do this strategy.
• Find out things that are not yet known by business actors and are still foreign to consumers in order to find new formulas in terms of branding.
4. Conclusion
Indonesia with a population that exceeds 270 million people in fact still has problems in terms of employment. This is one of the reasons that encourage Indonesian people to open small businesses. This can also be seen from the increasing interest in doing business among the Indonesian people. During the pandemic, many Indonesian MSMEs have turned to digital platforms due to conventional sales delays. Therefore, a good personal branding strategy is needed because transactions take place without meeting face to face so that consumer trust needs to be built properly.
There are several ways that can be done in building personal branding, such as creating a brand identity, managing business social media, to optimally managing e-commerce pages. Some of these steps can certainly increase consumer trust, increase product credibility, facilitate the promotion process when releasing the latest product, and the brand can be remembered well
by consumers so that it can also affect sales. Through the Johari Window Model approach, MSME businesses can easily analyze and plan what steps must be taken to build a positive image in the eyes of consumers in order to increase consumer trust.
References
Aeni, Siti Nur. 2022. “7 Negara Dengan Penduduk Terbanyak Di Dunia, Indonesia Nomor Berapa.” Katadata.Co.Id https://katadata.co.id/sitinuraeni/berita/61fca09c.
Akeyodia. 2020. “Mengenal Teori Johari Window Untuk Diri Dan Bisnis.” Akeyodia.Com https://akeyodia.com/teori-johari-window-bisnis.
Astuti, Anisa Sawu Dwi. 2021. “Menemukan Dan Mengenali Diri Melalui Teori Johari Window.” Kampuspsikologi.Com https://kampuspsikologi.com/cara-mengenal-diri/?am.
BPS. 2021. “Tingkat Pengangguran Terbuka (TPT) Sebesar 6,49 Persen.” Bps.Go.Id https://www.bps.go.id/pressrelease/2021/11/05/1816.
Butar Butar, Christhoper Rafael, and Dini Salmiyah Fithrah Ali. 2018. “Strategi Personal Branding Selebgram Non Selebriti.” PRofesi Humas : Jurnal Ilmiah Ilmu Hubungan Masyarakat 2(2):86. doi: 10.24198/prh.v2i2.12029.
Engel. 2014. “済無No Title No Title No Title.” Paper Knowledge . Toward a Media History of Documents 55(2):3562–74.
Hutabarat, Peny Meliaty. 2021. “Podcast Dan Personal Branding: Potensi Podcast Sebagai Media Untuk Membangun Personal Brand Pelaku UMKM Dengan Pendekatan Content Marketing.” Jurnal Sosial Humaniora Terapan 4(1):20–27.
Junaedi, Nur Lella. 2021. “Mengupas Teori Johari Window Untuk Meningkatkan Kolaborasi.”
Ekrut.Com https://ekrut.com/media/johari-window-adalah.
Kemenkeu. 2021. “Pemerintah Terus Perkuat UMKM Melalui Berbagai Bentuk Bantuan.”
Kemenkeu.Go.Id https://www.kemenkeu.go.id/publikasi/berita/pemeri.
Kusuma, Yohanes Surya. 2014. “Pengaruh Brand Experience Terhadap Brand Loyalty Yohanes Surya Kusuma.” Jurnal Manajemen Pemasaran Petra 2(1):1–11.
Luthfa. 2021. “Masalah UMKM Dan Solusinya.” Oyindonesia https://oyindonesia.com/blog/maslaah-umkm-dan-solu.
Mukhsin. 2019. “Manfaat Penerapan Marketing Online (Menggunakan E-Commerce Dan Media Sosial) Bagi Usaha Mikro, Kecil Dan Menengah (Umkm).” Teknokom 2(1):1–10.
doi: 10.31943/teknokom.v2i1.25.
Oktaviani, Femi. 2018. “Strategi Branding Public Relations ‘Jendela Alam’ Dalam Mengembangkan Produk Agrowisata.” Mediator: Jurnal Komunikasi 11(2):203–13. doi:
10.29313/mediator.v11i2.3950.
Pratiwi, Puspita Noor, Andre N. Rahmanto, and Julius Slamet. 2019. “September 30, 2019.”
INTELEKTIVA : Jurnal Ekonomi, Sosial Dan Humaniora 1–10.
Purwana, Dedi, R. Rahmi, and Shandy Aditya. 2017. “Pemanfaatan Digital Marketing Bagi Usaha Mikro, Kecil, Dan Menengah (UMKM) Di Kelurahan Malaka Sari, Duren Sawit.”
Jurnal Pemberdayaan Masyarakat Madani (JPMM) 1(1):1–17. doi:
10.21009/jpmm.001.1.01.
Ramadhani, Farah. 2022. “Ini 5 Faktor Pesatnya Perkembangan E-Commerce Di Indonesia.”
Compas.Co.Id https://compas.co.id/article/perkembangan-e-commer.
Redcomm. 2021a. “Keuntungan Personal Branding Bagi Pebisnis UKM.” Redcomm.Co.Id https://redcomm.co.id/knowledges/personal-branding.
Redcomm. 2021b. “Keuntungan Personal Branding Bagi Pebisnis UMKM.” Redcomm.Co.Id https://redcomm.co.id/knowledges/personal-branding.
Ruth, Debra, and Diah Ayu Candraningrum. 2020. “Pengaruh Motif Penggunaan Media Baru Tiktok Terhadap Personal Branding Generasi Milenial Di Instagram.” Koneksi 4(2):207.
doi: 10.24912/kn.v4i2.8093.
Setyowati, Desy. 2022. “Hampir 10 Juta UMKM RI Beralih Ke Digital Saat Pandemi Covid- 19.” Katadata.Co.Id https://katadata.co.id/amp/desysetyowati/digital/6.
Suhaeni, Tintin, Sri Raharso, Ivon Sandya Sari Putri, Abdul Malik Sayuti, Tangguh Dwi Pramono, Marceilla Suryana, and Chandra Budhi Septiyandi. 2020. “Program Kemitraan Masyarakat: Pembuatan Identitas Merek Dan Pembinaan Penerapan Branding Untuk Meningkatkan Penjualan Usaha Mikro Kuliner Kupat Tahu Padalarang Di Kecamatan Batujajar.” JURNAL PENGABDIAN KEPADA MASYARAKAT (AbdiMas) 2(2):63–72.
doi: 10.30871/abdimas.v2i2.2528.