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Marketing for 3D Printing Businesses

3D printing business marketing Twindom

Getting a new 3D printing business off the ground can be a challenge, especially since 3D printing is still a relatively new technology to most consumers. While 3D printing has been around since the 90s it is only now finding its way into applications beyond just rapid prototyping. At Twindom, we’ve been uniquely positioned to see what marketing tactics have worked best for all of the 3D printing businesses that use the Twindom Cloud Platform to process full body 3D scans and Twinstant Mobile full body 3D scanner to take captures. Here are a few of the highlights:

Location, location, location

As almost anyone will tell you that has operated a physical retail business, being in a good location with foot traffic is absolutely essential. If you don’t have potential customers consistently walking by your location it can become exponentially more difficult to acquire customers. With this in mind, it may come as no surprise that some of Twindom’s highest volume customers are in tourist locations that see steady streams of people walking by them.

Local press can be a big help

Getting covered by your local newspaper or local news TV station can be a big boost whether you’re a new 3D printing business or a more established business expanding into 3D printing. Many of our customers that have gotten covered by their local news outlets tell us that even 6+ months after the initial coverage they still get new customers that coming to them from their initial article or TV segment. Here is an example of one of our customers in Georgia getting covered:

Try and scan local celebrities or community groups

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A third tactic we’ve seen employed by 3D printing businesses is reaching out to local celebrities or community groups. Putting serious time and effort into doing direct sales for people that have lots of connections in the community can be well worth it if you can then get them to share their experience on social media to their followers. To get in touch with these types of people/groups it certainly helps to have connections, but you can also try direct messages on Instagram or email. Examples of groups that our customers have targeted include:

  • Local newscasters
  • Local sports stars
  • Local politicians
  • Fire departments
  • Police departments

 

As you explore different marketing tactics, keep in mind that it may take time to find the right one that works for your business. If there is one thing that we’ve learned from customers, it’s that every market and geography is different and there is no silver bullet. You shouldn’t expect overnight success. In the early stages it’s important to experiment and iterate quickly until you find a marketing strategy that works for you.

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Free Beginner's Guide to 3D Printing & 3D Scanning