Consumer Satisfaction Levels Towards Hydroponic And Conventional Lettuce Vegetables in the Seberida Sub-District of Indragiri Hulu

Abstract

Lettuce is commonly consumed raw as a salad, besides, it also contains high nutritional value and is highly favored by the community. Basically, the purpose of marketing is to create customer satisfaction. It is necessary to understand well what factors influence consumer satisfaction so that product improvement can continue. The research objectives are 1) Analysis of characteristics of consumers, farmers, business profiles and product descriptions of hydroponic and conventional lettuce systems. 2) Analysis of the level of consumer satisfaction with the products and sales services of hydroponic lettuce and conventional lettuce. 3) Marketing strategies for hydroponic lettuce and conventional lettuce. A survey method was used in this research with the accidental sampling technique involving 120 respondents, consisting of 60 hydroponic lettuce consumers and 60 conventional lettuce consumers. Data analysis was conducted to determine the level of consumer satisfaction using IPA (Importance-Performance Analysis) and CSI (Customer Satisfaction Index). The research results indicate that the age range of hydroponic lettuce consumers is between 32,03 years, while conventional lettuce consumers are between 36,72 years. Both hydroponic and conventional lettuce consumers are predominantly female 91,67% and 81,67%. The average number of dependents for both types of consumers is 4 people. Based on the IPA analysis, the attributes that need improvement for hydroponic consumers are discounts, the number of promotional media, promotional intensity, and promotional quality, while for conventional consumers, the attributes that need improvement are lettuce freshness, lettuce cleanliness, the number of promotional media, promotional intensity, and promotional quality. Meanwhile, the strategy to enhance satisfaction among conventional lettuce consumers involves improving product freshness and cleanliness levels, as well as increasing product sales promotions. The CSI index valu for hydroponiclettuce is 75,78% (Satisfied), on conventional lettuce namely 59,45% (Not satisfied) Entrepreneurs in both hydroponic and conventional lettuce businesses should continuously innovate and develop themselves.