The US market for LED strip lights generates 1.4 billion yuan in annual sales; Anker's CTO's departure to start his own business ignites a new market segment.

Track Disassembly and Cleaning: Apparel Category - Footwear

Author: Xiao Chuang

This article contains 3034 words and is estimated to take 8 minutes to read.

The story of Chinese brands' booming international expansion in foreign trade is probably no longer new to our readers.

These pioneers in cross-border trade have mostly identified a specific vertical industry segment where overseas users have strong demand but existing products clearly cannot meet it.

In addition, the strong domestic supply chain and technical team ensure product quality and relatively low prices, and enable products to be planned and designed from the user's perspective to meet user needs.

The reasons why Chinese brands that have achieved top-three sales in a particular product category overseas are nothing more than the three reasons mentioned above.

But while everyone understands the principles, to replicate the success of these foreign trade brands, we need to delve deeper into the stories behind them.

This article shares the brand story of how they carved out a niche for themselves in the traditional field of home lighting abroad .

Govee   entered the US market in 2018 and became a smart home brand with annual sales exceeding $200 million (approximately RMB 1.4 billion) in less than six years. How did Govee achieve this?

I. Understanding market demands and supporting R&D to achieve [goals].
The Govee team conducted in-depth research on the home lighting needs of American consumers and found that simple functional lighting fixtures on the market could no longer meet the individual needs of American consumers.

For example, in everyday home settings, holiday celebrations, family gatherings, and other similar scenarios, cool lighting with adjustable color temperature and the ability to even change to the rhythm of music is something that functional home lighting fixtures cannot achieve.

Furthermore, in the past, smart lighting systems in the European and American markets were often expensive and inconvenient to operate, showcasing more of a technological achievement than a practical solution for everyday use. The Govee team identified and filled the market gap for relatively affordable, more personalized, and easily controllable decorative smart lighting fixtures .

Govee is the international expansion brand of Zhiyan Technology. Zhiyan Technology was founded in 2017 by Wu Wenlong. Prior to founding Zhiyan Technology, Wu Wenlong was one of the founders and former CTO of Anker Innovations .

Zhiyan Technology places great emphasis on investment in product research and development. The company has over 600 employees, with R&D personnel accounting for more than 70%, and also has a production plant in China. They concentrate most of their resources and talent on product development, continuously exploring new technologies, new products, and innovative solutions, and achieving continuous breakthroughs.

In the past two years, Govee has frequently participated in the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), winning more than 10 CES Best of the Best awards and obtaining 436 patents. This ensures that Govee's market insights and research can be translated into real products that meet user needs.

II. Business websites help brands expand internationally.
Like many Chinese brands expanding internationally, Govee launched its products on Amazon at the beginning of its international expansion in 2018.

The difference is that Govee built and launched a brand website at the same time as it went online on Amazon.

Because Govee understands the importance of a brand website for brands aiming to expand overseas and operate sustainably.

Wu Wenlong, the former CTO of Anker Innovations, didn't just want to be a seller on Amazon's e-commerce platform; he wanted to build a "brand." A brand website is key to creating a brand image, retaining users, and converting them into customers.

(a) Sweeping aside competitors: From January to June 2024, Govee's brand website received more than 6 million visits in the past six months, leaving smart lighting brands such as Nanoleaf, Lifx, Sengled, and Yeeligh more than double.

Compared to other competitors, Govee's brand website does invest heavily in paid exposure, but Govee's brand website's single "organic search traffic" metric of 1.36 million already far exceeds the total traffic of other competing business websites except Nanoleaf.

(ii) Secondary dissemination
Considering that Govee and its phrases are ranked first in the natural search keywords, such a high volume of natural search visits may be related to Govee's paid brand display or word-of-mouth dissemination by users.

As expected, the number of visits from both new and existing customers to Govee's business website is very stable and substantial, demonstrating that Govee's brand promotion is not only effective and precise, but also that its product quality and reputation are quite good.

(III) Clever Strategies for Off-Site Promotion and Traffic Generation

Beyond the conventional social media marketing strategies employed by foreign trade brands today, I also found that Govee's brand website has a particularly prominent traffic share, reaching 5.9% , which is much higher than other traffic sources such as paid search, social media marketing (including paid ones), and email.

According to the referral traffic sources provided by Semrush, Slickdeals alone brought 170,000 visits to the entire site, accounting for 2.95% .

Slickdeals is the largest discount and deals sharing website in the United States, with hundreds of thousands of users actively exchanging information every day.

This demonstrates the depth of research and insight that the Govee team has gained into their target customers in the US market.

All of the above, including but not limited to social media promotion, off-site promotion, and brand image building, ultimately lead to the Govee   business website.

A brand website is the starting point for all brand companies that dream of international expansion and making money through foreign trade!

Third, accurate traffic data and conversion rates.

The brand website is also the most important link in guiding users to register, place orders, and perform other retention and conversion actions.

Govee has mastered precise traffic targeting and also performs exceptionally well in terms of conversion rates.

(a) Brand website homepage

The red-framed image highlights the discount information, product services, and call to action in the center of the top-level banner and page banner on the homepage.

Using promotional information to stimulate visitors' desire to place orders is the most basic and important step in converting a business website's sales.

The green box in the image shows the service commitments , including fast free delivery, a 30-day money-back guarantee, and lifetime customer support, precisely addressing visitors' final concerns before placing an order.

, the yellow-framed "Consultation Follow-up" icon in the lower right corner serves the same purpose, ensuring that website visitors can find professional and appropriate answers to their questions.

Looking at the bottom left corner, the blue box shows a vertical video display of the lighting effects , which intuitively lets users understand the dazzling lighting effects after the setup, greatly increasing its appeal to users.

The yellow box above the video , "NEW HERE," leads to the user registration portal. Clicking on it guides users to leave their information and register through prominent promotional information, thus achieving user retention for the business website .

The first screen of a brand website must showcase the most appealing product advantages, service features, and key calls to action to the target audience .

(ii) Product details page

The article mentions that Govee's business website receives nearly 170,000 traffic from Slickdeals.

Govee   product details page clearly shows that they've put a lot of thought into ensuring efficient conversion of these traffic flows.

Also following the principle of setting up marketing on the first screen, the top banner displays discount information and service commitments, and the sidebar displays a small blue block for user registration ;

The further steps taken on the product details page to encourage users to place an order are—

The policy prominently displays interest-free installment payment options and provides detailed service commitments, as well as educational discounts for young users within the target demographic.

One can't help but admire the depth of Govee's research in order to develop such a targeted marketing strategy.

Moreover, unlike domestic websites, clicking "Buy   Now" on Govee redirects directly to the payment page (without requiring additional registration), which greatly reduces the cost for users to place orders and can effectively improve product conversion rates.

Ordinary business websites come in all shapes and sizes, but excellent business websites are all similar. All the strategies for a business website revolve around the 11 words: "conversion rate on one hand and accurate traffic on the other."

CTMON has been focusing on overseas digital marketing for B2B companies for 10 years, dedicating itself to researching how to help clients obtain accurate qualified inquiries, and has served more than 2,000 clients.

We help companies increase their inquiry conversion rate by 103.75%-387.30% , and achieve a return on investment (ROI) of 39.55%-216.02% .

Epilogue: Little Creator Has Something to Say

Currently, Govee's business has expanded to 16 countries and regions worldwide, including those in Europe, Australia, and Southeast Asia.

Govee's rapid rise is inseparable from the driving force of the "market environment" and "external forces".

According to data from The Business Research Company, the global lighting market reached $94.08 billion in 2023 and is projected to grow to $121.58 billion by 2033, representing a compound annual growth rate of 5.7%.

However, Govee's success also stems from its comprehensive planning, encompassing market positioning, technology research and development, multi-channel marketing strategies, and capital operations.

With its precise positioning, strong R&D capabilities, and unique international marketing strategy, it has achieved rapid growth in the global smart home industry.