With industry newcomers entering the market with strong capital backing, how do established companies manage to remain standing?

This article contains 3028 words and is estimated to take 8 minutes to read.

Markets and Markets data shows that the global 3D market revenue reached $15 billion in 2023;

It is projected to continue growing at a compound annual growth rate of 18.1% over the next few years, potentially reaching $34.5 billion by 2028.

And Chinese companies certainly won't be absent from this market—

my country's 3D printing equipment is highly competitive in the global market. As can be seen from this ranking, 7 out of 15 seats are from China, and only 1 of the top 5 is a foreign company.

Previously, I wrote a case study on the international expansion of domestic 3D scanning equipment manufacturers. Those interested can take a look:

Chinese 3D scanners raised over ten million US dollars in overseas crowdfunding, "capturing" the top spot in multiple international markets.

The subject of this article, "Flashforge," was ranked 11th last November, but its new product, released in August this year, topped the Amazon BS list.

Those who frequently follow our official WeChat account know that the three key elements of international expansion in foreign trade are: China's supply chain advantages, user-oriented product development, and heavy investment in technological research and development.

Unlike ordinary consumer products, 3D printers are more complex to use. You need a three-dimensional model of your idea before you can print it, and you also need to keep buying consumables.

This means that interactions and communication between brands and consumers tend to be quite frequent.

Therefore, whether it's eliminating intermediaries and directly facing users, or collecting user data and feedback, a business website is clearly a crucial platform .

I. Viewing Flashforge from a business website

The table shows that Flashforge's visits were less than half those of the second-ranked brand, Creality (Creality 3D).

However, the number of pages visited per user, the average visit duration, and the bounce rate are all a level higher than those of the top 1 and top 2 users.

This suggests that the "Flashforge" brand website's traffic is a precise target customer group, and may also be highly loyal consumers.

While Prusa   and Creality   had bounce rates hovering around 60%, Flashforge had already dropped to 38.82%.

Regardless of the industry, a bounce rate of less than 40% is considered excellent for a business website, which also means that the conversion rate of the "Flashforge" brand website is above the industry average.

Xiao Chuang believes this is entirely due to Flashforge's years of brand building and dedicated efforts in cultivating its overseas user base.

II. Flashforge Brand Operation

Founded in 2011, Flashforge's founding team had a strong sense of "international expansion" from the beginning, actively exploring overseas markets. As early as 2012, its overseas sales accounted for two-thirds of its total sales.

Currently, Flashforge products are sold in more than 200 countries and regions around the world, with over 1,000 global brand distributors, and its international influence continues to grow.
To better serve its global customers, Flashforge prioritizes brand building and localized operations.

They have established offices and after-sales service centers in multiple countries, providing multilingual support and localized technical training to ensure that users can enjoy a high-quality product and service experience.

At the same time, they also attach great importance to overseas internet operations and user feedback.

Traffic on its brand website shows that "Flashforge" business website's social traffic is mainly concentrated on YouTube and Reddit.

According to our understanding, Flashforge's operational strategy on YouTube involves collaborating with influencers to showcase products through unboxing videos, reviews, and creative works using the products, thereby leveraging the influencers' reach to enhance brand awareness.

Reddit , often jokingly referred to as an overseas online forum, has a dedicated discussion section called "Flashforge," with resident staff specifically assigned to answer users' questions.

"Building an open, inclusive, and vibrant community ecosystem effectively encourages users to share ideas and exchange technical knowledge. Through high-quality content output and interaction, we gradually build up private traffic, enhancing user engagement and brand loyalty."

Flashforge's practices in this regard are exemplary, providing other companies with successful experiences to learn from.

This user-centric community operation model has given companies an advantage in a highly competitive market.

III. Analysis of the Three Business Websites

Compared to the minimalist style of Creality   , "Flashforge   " is much better arranged in terms of product display, promotion guidance, and consultation window .

Let's first look at the promotional guidance in the red box. "Flashforge   " uses "Best Value 3D Printing Gift Bundle" and "Valid until October 15".

Although the discount wasn't explicitly stated, it actually piqued users' curiosity; coupled with the expiration date of the offer, it was very likely that users who were still hesitant about their needs would immediately click to learn more.

Creality's [Promotional Guidance] -

“A HAUNTING DEAL IS COMING!

Prepare for Spine-ChillingDiscounts up to 45% off!”

Using " HAUNTING " here is too general, and I think it's harder to hit the pain points of its target users than " Best Value ".

But none of them can compare to the top-ranked Prusa   brand website's homepage design—

Although at first glance, the visual presentation of Prusa's website is not as aesthetically pleasing as the previous two, it may be because it is not a style familiar to Chinese people.

Let's first look at the text in the middle of the image:

First, the first line reads "Just announced! Original Prusa MK4S 3D Printer".

It indicates that it is a new product and model, allowing users to understand the latest product trends and arousing their curiosity;

Secondly, the second line states, "High-quality 3D prints faster than ever!"

The prominent emphasis on high quality and faster than ever is likely to appeal to potential users who demand high performance and quality.

Finally, the third line reads "High-Performance 360° Cooling. Manufactured in EU".

The orange color highlights the product's specific advantages: "High-Performance 360° Cooling," and provides assurance of trust: "Made in the EU (High-Performance 360° Cooling)."

Prusa's brand website homepage copy and design are impeccable.

The equally important promotional guidance was placed by Prusa in the top two banners, especially the second banner which read "Shipping to United States MK4S kit shipping from $50 (DHL)";

It not only thoughtfully informs users of shipping costs but also promotes shipping discounts for purchasing the whole set, thereby guiding users to place multiple orders at once, killing three birds with one stone.

Furthermore, note the content in the yellow box on the first screen of the homepage; Prusa's homepage still has remaining space to display its product series.

It must be said that, despite its simple and unadorned visuals, the Prusa brand website almost perfectly presents a wealth of necessary information and targeted marketing.

It is important to emphasize that a foreign trade website built according to the detailed standards of foreign thinking and conforming to Google's best practices for business websites is the foundation of all the above.

Epilogue: Little Creator Has Something to Say

YesWelder primarily sets up two lines for its B-end customers—the supermarket line and the distributor line. These two lines are largely leveraged by YesWelder's recognition and brand awareness among C-end customers.

From January to June 2024, the number of domestically produced 3D printers exported reached 1.829 million units (excluding parts), a year-on-year increase of 40.3%; the export value was 4.27 billion yuan (excluding parts), a significant year-on-year increase of 77.2%.

3D printing is a highly promising sector and one of the few industries that has maintained high growth rates and international expansion in recent years. However, with the continuous influx of new players, the market is turning from a blue ocean to a red ocean, and a new round of industry reshuffling has begun.

As one of the earliest domestic 3D printing brands, Flashforge has witnessed the rise of the domestic 3D printing industry and is also experiencing industry turmoil.

Looking ahead, we anticipate that Flashforge will bring us a new chapter.