HARIANEXPRESS – Manpower Minister Yassierli recently underscored the critical role of communication skills for entrepreneurs to achieve sustained business success. He emphasized that maintaining continuous dialogue, ensuring product quality, and meeting customer needs are fundamental for growth.
The minister also highlighted government assistance programs, providing capital and training to thousands of self-employed workers to bolster their capabilities.
Importance of Customer Connection
Minister Yassierli stated that a key to entrepreneurial success extends beyond just acquiring new customers. It involves nurturing relationships with existing clients to cultivate loyalty and encourage continued engagement with products or services offered.
He elaborated that effective management of current customers is crucial for retention, allowing businesses to concurrently focus on expanding their customer base. This dual approach is essential for continuous business growth.
“The key is for business owners to maintain continuous communication, maintain product quality, and ensure that customers’ needs continue to be met,” the minister said in a statement issued in Jakarta on Friday.
“If we have managed our existing customers well, at the very least we can retain them while focusing on acquiring new customers. That is how a business can continue to grow,” he said.
Yassierli highlighted that the ability to retain customers gains increasing significance as a business matures and expands. Therefore, he stressed the need for business owners to consistently uphold communication, maintain consistent product quality, and foster customer trust over time.
He provided an example from healthcare services, where providers often follow up with patients post-treatment to monitor their progress and confirm adherence to recommendations. This type of interaction is integral to customer relationship management (CRM) strategies that businesses can adopt to ensure customer loyalty.
Government Support for Entrepreneurs
The government, through the Ministry of Manpower (Kemnaker), has been actively supporting entrepreneurs by providing financial aid this year. The program allocated Rp15 million in business development capital to 1,000 established self-employed workers.
Additionally, a substantial 8,731 new self-employed individuals each received Rp5 million to help them start or grow their ventures. Yassierli acknowledged that while Rp15 million might appear considerable, others might view it as limited capital.
The minister emphasized that the optimal management and development of this assistance are more crucial than the initial amount itself, as this ultimately underpins business expansion.
“Our experience at the Ministry of Manpower shows that this program has been running for six years and has produced many successful new entrepreneurs,” he said.
Beyond capital assistance, participants in the self-employment program also benefit from comprehensive training sessions. These sessions are designed to bolster their business acumen, covering areas such as developing business ideas, effective product packaging, online marketing strategies, and maintaining high product quality.
Yassierli expressed his hope that the knowledge gained from this training would be consistently applied in their daily business operations.
“There is no success without serious effort and perseverance. We never know when we will succeed, but if we persevere, we are confident that we can achieve success,” he said.
