Implementation of Digital Inbound Marketing as an Integrated

Marketing Communication Strategy in Maintaining Customer

Loyalty during the Covid-19 Pandemic at Rumah Sehat Walet Puti

Medan

Maulia Rahmah Triani and Onan Marakali Siregar

Faculty of Social and Politic, Universitas Sumatera Utara, Medan City, Sumatera Utara, 20222, Indonesia

Keywords: Digital Inbound Marketing, Integrated Marketing Communication Strategy, Loyalty

Abstract: The main goal in doing business is to create and maintain the loyalty of its customers. This case shows the

traditional medical service business actors, namely Rumah Sehat Walet Puti Medan. Tighter competition,

changes in technological developments, and the entry of the Covid-19 pandemic have required Rumah Sehat

Walet Puti Medan to update the marketing strategy used. The purpose of the research is to describe the

application of digital inbound as a marketing communication strategy in maintaining customer loyalty

during the Covid-19 Pandemic at Rumah Sehat Walet Puti Medan. This research will also see whether the

strategy adopted by Rumah Sehat Walet Puti in Medan is the right one. The form of research is descriptive

research with a qualitative approach. Research data were obtained from interviews and documentation. The

theory used to support the digital inbound marketing method is an integrated communication marketing

strategy using the mixing elements of marketing. The result shows the application of digital inbound

marketing methods as an integrated marketing communication strategy in maintaining customer loyalty

during the Covid-19 pandemic. Rumah Sehat Walet Puti attracts elements (attracting attention) by giving

discounts to customers who review on Instagram. No fees are charged for the customer consults. At the

stage of the engaging element, hold a live chat via Instagram and communicate intensively through

Whatsapp, Facebook Messenger, and Instagram direct messages. The last stage is the element of delight

(Giving Experience) by providing customer testimonials on the treatment of Rumah Sehat Walet Puti

Medan through Instagram, Facebook, and Blogs.

1 INTRODUCTION

Medical treatment is one type of treatment that uses

tools, methods, and materials that are modern and

made from chemicals that are included in the

standard of modern medical treatment. While

traditional medicine is a healing effort that comes

from tradition and uses natural ingredients where the

treatment system is very different from the system of

medicine in the field of medical science.

Each group of people who believe in medical and

traditional medicine has a different view of the two.

In reality, at this time, the development of modern

medicine (medical) both held by government and

private institutions is always followed by the

development of traditional medicine practices. This

is shown by the existence of traditional medicine

that is still alive and becomes a model of alternative

medicine in society in Indonesia, especially in North

Sumatra by 4.8% (Bps, 2021).

Traditional medicine practices themselves also

have various healing methods such as massage,

fractures, reflexology, acupuncture, cupping or

cupping, apitherapy, courage, acupressure, blood

acupressure, and others. With so many traditional

medicine practices, the competition for traditional

medicine service business actors in it is getting

tougher.

Loyal customers are the most valuable asset and

must be owned by business actors for the services

and products offered. Khairunnisa et al., (2021:120)

in their research explain that without a good

relationship and a strong sense of trust by customers

in a business or company, it is certain that the

relationship is short-term and does not include loyal

customers.

134

Triani, M. and Siregar, O.

Implementation of Digital Inbound Marketing as an Integrated Marketing Communication Strategy in Maintaining Customer Loyalty During the Covid-19 Pandemic at Rumah Sehat Walet Puti

Medan.

DOI: 10.5220/0011558500003460

In Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Social and Political Development (ICOSOP 2022) - Human Security and Agile Government, pages 134-137

ISBN: 978-989-758-618-7; ISSN: 2975-8300

 2023 by SCITEPRESS – Science and Technology Publications, Lda. Under CC license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

The main purpose of doing business is to create

and maintain the loyalty of its customers. This goal

can be realized through methods that can attract

potential customers. During the Covid-19 pandemic,

this can be done by maximizing digital marketing

using the digital inbound marketing method.

Saifuddin (2021:122) in his research found that

marketing techniques using relevant and solution-

based content and interactions can make a business

easy to find by customers who want to consume

products or services. This means that when

customers want to find information on goods or

services on internet media such as Google, it will

automatically appear according to what the customer

wants.

This also has something to do with integrated

marketing communications, which means it is a

marketing communication plan that becomes the

strategy of business people when carrying out

effective communication about products or services

to their customers. The integrated marketing

communication strategy itself has the aim of

building strong and long-term brand relationships by

using elements of the marketing mix to generate

sales profits for business actors and to survive in line

with the increasing number of competitors.

One of the business actors of traditional

medicine services in the city of Medan, North

Sumatra, namely Rumah Sehat Walet Puti Medan,

which has been established in June 2009 as

alternative medicine applying it using the blood

smear method. Initially, the marketing carried out by

Rumah Sehat Walet Puti Medan was by using word

of mouth from customers who had already come.

Before the Covid-19 pandemic in 2019, the

number of customers who came to Rumah Sehat

Walet Puti Medan was still stable at 1,440 people.

Since the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, the President

of Indonesia, Joko Widodo, issued an order, namely

the existence of Large-Scale Social Restrictions

(PSBB). The contents of the Large-Scale Social

Restriction Order (PSBB) are to recommend that all

activities be carried out from home, be it work or

study. The existence of this PSBB resulted in the

Rumah Sehat Walet Puti Medan experiencing a

significant decrease in the number of customers,

which was quite significant, namely 576 people due

to the activities of the Rumah Sehat Walet Puti

Medan which had stopped for several months and

the people who followed the advice to carry out

activities at home.

The implementation of Community Activity

Restrictions (PPKM) in 2021 still has regulations

regarding the operational time limit for business

businesses but this does not have much effect

because the Rumah Sehat Walet Puti Medan has

updated its strategy from the previous year. By

utilizing online marketing, the number of customers

who come has increased by 173 people from 2020.

2 METHOD

The form of this research is descriptive research

with a qualitative approach. Researchers conducted

direct interviews by asking questions to key

informants, main informants, and additional

informants as primary data. Then secondary data

from the documentation. Data collection in this

study was conducted through interviews and

documentation.

3 RESULT

3.1 Application of Digital Inbound

Marketing as an Integrated

Marketing Communication

Strategy During the Covid-19

Pandemic at Rumah Sehat Walet

Puti Medan

The application of digital inbound marketing

which is supported by the theory of an integrated

marketing communication strategy that uses

elements of the marketing mix during the Covid-19

pandemic at Rumah Sehat Walet Puti Medan is still

not optimal. This is due to the limitations of Rumah

Sehat Walet Puti Medan in maximizing the use of

the internet through digital media which only uses

Google, Whatsapp, Instagram, and Facebook during

the Covid-19 pandemic as well as the social media

admin of Rumah Sehat Walet Puti Medan who is

still in the process of further learning about the

world of digital media.

Although it has not been optimal in utilizing

digital media, Rumah Sehat Walet Puti Medan has a

positive influence in the form of an increase in the

number of customers who come during the 2021

Covid-19 pandemic. Attract (attracting attention)

what Rumah Sehat Walet Puti Medan does is by

conveying content through Google, Instagram, and

Facebook.

The content submitted on Google is in the form

of opening and closing times, telephone numbers,

and also the location of Rumah Sehat Walet Puti

Medan, while the content submitted on Instagram

Implementation of Digital Inbound Marketing as an Integrated Marketing Communication Strategy in Maintaining Customer Loyalty

During the Covid-19 Pandemic at Rumah Sehat Walet Puti Medan

135

and Facebook is in the form of photos and videos of

customer testimonials that have been proven to be

healed and healthy and invite Medan bloggers to

participate they create content in the form of

writings that review the experiences of those who

have tried directly the treatment at Rumah Sehat

Swallow Puti Medan through their blogs as well as a

way for Rumah Sehat Walet Puti Medan to attract

the attention of customers during the Covid-19

pandemic (Salmiah et al., 2020:195). Elements of

the marketing mix, namely sales promotions carried

out by Rumah Sehat Walet Puti Medan in the form

of giving discounts to customers who make reviews

on Instagram and also no fees are charged when

customers consult with Rumah Sehat Walet Puti

Medan during the Covid-19 pandemic. 19.

The engagement (bond) carried out by Rumah

Sehat Walet puti Medan uses elements of the

marketing mix, namely interactive marketing by

doing live via Instagram. The contents of the live

Instagram are in the form of a question and answer

session between Rumah Sehat Walet Puti Medan

and the audience present and also give a glimpse of

an example of the treatment being carried out at the

Rumah Sehat Walet Puti Medan. Elements of the

marketing mix, namely personal selling by

conducting intensive communication through

Whatsapp, Facebook Messenger, and Instagram

direct messages (Widyastuti, 2017: 135).

Delight (providing an experience) at Rumah

Sehat Walet Puti Medan is that customers will give

their testimonials about the treatment at Rumah

Sehat Walet Puti Medan through Instagram,

Facebook, and Blogs. In addition, promotions also

spur customers to get discounts if they provide a

review of their personal experience in digital media

(Salmiah et al., 2020:196).

3.2 Application of Digital Inbound

Marketing in Maintaining

Customer Loyalty During the

Covid-19 Pandemic at Rumah

Sehat Walet Puti Medan

The implementation of digital inbound

marketing makes customer loyalty at Rumah Sehat

Walet Puti Medan during the COVID-19 pandemic

in 2021, having customers whose loyalty is getting

better than in 2020 because customers are more

willing to follow the conditions set by Rumah Sehat

Walet Puti Medan and also customers accept

weaknesses. which can still be forgiven because of

the solutions provided.

Contractual loyalty (based on certain

agreements) carried out by Rumah Sehat Walet Puti

Medan is to determine how many times the customer

will come back for treatment at Rumah Sehat Walet

Puti Medan. Transactional loyalty (based on

repeated transactions) carried out by Rumah Sehat

Walet Puti Medan is to provide prices that are quite

comparable to the results that customers receive

(Priansa, 2017:496).

Functional loyalty (based on the function

owned) can be seen that Rumah Sehat Walet Puti

Medan has several differentiating factors from its

competitors. The method of treatment as well as the

tools and also the full-blooded oil used by Rumah

Sehat Walet Puti Medan are one of the

distinguishing factors from its competitors.

Emotional loyalty (based on emotional ties) at

Rumah Sehat Walet Puti Medan can be seen that

there are weaknesses from Rumah Sehat Walet Puti

such as the mattress that is used is less comfortable,

lack of parking space for customers, less active

Instagram Rumah Sehat Walet Puti Medan in

uploading on Instagram feed and lack of room

lighting perceived by customers. Despite all the

weaknesses, customers can still accept everything.

Because that weakness is not something fatal not to

be forgiven.

4 CONCLUSIONS

Rumah Walet Puti Medan is expected to further

develop opportunities through other digital media

such as Youtube, Tiktok, online advertising such as

FB ads and Google Ads, email marketing, and others

in expanding the reach of market share and

increasing knowledge about this traditional blood-

blood clotting treatment in more detail. in reviewing

the disease problems faced in each generation line,

being more consistent with the posting schedule,

collecting more testimonials, and promoting them as

natural as possible so that there is no overclaim in

digital media. In increasing customer loyalty at

Rumah Sehat Walet Puti Medan to get better, the

next step that should be done is to improve the

weaknesses of the facilities and infrastructure during

the treatment process. So far, the mattress used is

less comfortable, so that customers feel comfortable,

they replace the mattress used with a softer one.

Then the lack of parking space for customers, so by

providing additional parking space, customers will

have no difficulty parking their vehicles. The lack of

active Instagram of Rumah Sehat Walet Puti Medan

in uploading to the Instagram feed, so by making a

ICOSOP 2022 - International Conference on Social and Political Development 4

136

routine schedule for uploading on the Instagram

feed, you can provide the latest information to

customers. And by adding lighting to the Swallow

Puti Medan Healthy House.

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Implementation of Digital Inbound Marketing as an Integrated Marketing Communication Strategy in Maintaining Customer Loyalty

During the Covid-19 Pandemic at Rumah Sehat Walet Puti Medan

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