3D printing is more accessible and popular than ever, and its technology has a broad range of practical uses, especially for businesses. Many people picture 3D printers as effective solutions for prototyping or quality assurance, but you can make your business stand out with this technology in many more ways, including marketing. Marketing is the backbone to a business’s success, and with 3D printing on your side, you can turn a decent marketing strategy into an incredible one. In current times, successful marketing requires creativity, interactivity, and personalization. With 3D printing, you can meet all of those metrics instantly.
Unique Promotional Products
Promotional products are extremely popular marketing tools for most companies. They make excellent gifts for employees, partners, and clients alike. Most companies offer typical swag like water bottles, pens, shirts, or bookmarks with a company logo on them. With 3D printing, you can make your promotional materials stand out among the crowd. Instead of the traditional items, you can diversify your promotional product lineup—your imagination is the limit. Imagine custom gadgets, miniature figurines, planters, or even multi-purpose devices, all with your logo or name on them. You can even make traditional items like business cards or postcards stand out with 3D printing technology like custom lenticular printing for a holographic effect. 3D printing on your promotional products puts an innovative spin on a tried-and-true marketing strategy.
Better Product or Service Demonstrations
If your business offers services or products that aren’t easily understood, demonstrations are a must. 3D printing can not only make your demonstrations better, but you can create them much faster, too. You can use 3D-printed props or miniature prototypes of your products to give customers or partners a better idea of the services you can provide. 3D printing is fast; you can practice your demonstrations much quicker for a more effective presentation. By offering your audience a miniature 3D prototype, you’ll also receive more useful feedback to improve your business exponentially. When companies have a tangible prototype or demonstration, they’re more memorable—that translates to more customers.
High-Speed Prototypes
If your business constantly adds new or improved products, you’ll love having 3D printing technology at your disposal. You can create new prototypes or product adjustments faster than ever, allowing you to test quickly and put more products in customers’ hands sooner. You can test ideas rapidly and productively, allowing you to scrap unhelpful ideas and prioritize innovation without delay. Research and development are incredibly easy with 3D printing. The ability to print out a hands-on prototype at a moment’s notice can help you diversify your business or create the most improved design possible. Design flaws are more easily noticed and addressed, reducing harm to your business further. Proper prototyping gives you a lot of bragging rights in your marketing material—think about how much testing and tailoring your prototypes can go through with the use of 3D printing.
Immersive Packaging
Packaging is a major part of brand experience, and with the popularity of social media “unboxing” videos, it’s smart for businesses to adapt to these trends. You can add 3D-printed gifts to your products or test out immersive packaging options to make those unboxing videos trend far and wide. You can customize and visualize any type of packaging you want, from flat mailers to large boxes. You might save money on shipping and fulfillment when you use 3D printers to optimize packing strategies and cost-effective materials as well. A custom 3D-printed box or a uniquely shaped product holder can grab the eye and help you skyrocket past your competition.
Eco-Friendly Manufacturing
Since 3D printing doesn’t use excess resources, it’s a great way to operate conservatively. 3D printers offer biodegradable and recyclable materials as well, allowing you to bypass harmful plastics that consumers are trying to avoid. You can incorporate these eco-friendly benefits into your marketing strategy, drawing in more eco-conscious customers and helping the environment in one go. As a bonus, you can prioritize a more ethical supply chain with 3D printing at your side.
Cost-Effective and Attractive Displays
Product or brand displays are a solid marketing tactic. From trade shows to grocery stores, you can make a lot of sales or conversions with the right presentation. Not only can 3D printing allow you to get creative and efficient with your display, but you can also save money on materials. 3D printing your own displays is the most cost-effective way to create an innovative display for your products or trade show demonstrations. With the wide variety of 3D materials and technology, you can make an incredibly unique and attention-grabbing display, too.
Conclusion
3D printing is more than just product prototypes or company swag; it’s an innovative method to help you stand out among the competition and catapult your brand to greater heights and broader horizons. Not only can 3D printing make your marketing strategies more effective, but it’s also more creative, attractive, and interactive, too. With some outside-the-box thinking and 3D printing technology, you can transform your demonstrations, inventions, packaging, and marketing campaigns.
Aleena (Author)
