The strategy of culinary MSMEs in Palembang City to face COVID-19

This study aims to describe the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on culinary MSMEs in Palembang. It also describes the strategies applied to mitigate the impact of COVID-19. This research uses qualitative descriptive analysis methods. Data was collected from 7 respondents who are culinary MSME players in Palembang City. Each respondent was interviewed to reveal what impact they experienced in relation to the consequences due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The interviews were also intended to uncover the strategies they implemented to address those impacts. The strategy referred to in this study includes whether respondents use e-commerce, digital marketing, and customer relationship marketing. Each interview is recorded and a transcript is made. The analysis was carried out by identifying phrases from each interview result that indicated the phrases "impact of the COVID-19 pandemic" and "strategies to overcome the impact". The study showed that almost all respondents experienced the impact of declining income due to the COVID-19 pandemic, only one respondent said they were not affected. One respondent stated that he did not use e-commerce and relied on direct sales, while the other only used social media. In terms of marketing strategy, all respondents stated that they had used digital marketing and customer relationship marketing.