In 1956, two engineers founded Flex Products, and since that time, there have been several corporate owners. When Flex Products President Ed Friedhoff became a co-owner in 1990, he joined a company that was not growing to its full potential.

Part of the reason was that “we didn’t have a brand,” he says. “Our customers put their products into our packaging to go to market,” so the Flex Products brand just wasn’t visible. Though the company had a national client base, they lacked a dedicated sales force to nurture existing customers and cultivate new leads. And though trade shows were an effective sales channel for them, Flex found that an increasing number of prospects were turning to the Web to find packaging providers. The Web, in fact, was creating a whole new competitive arena for them. The company had no way of knowing how many potential buyers were considering Flex, how many were bypassing them because the company was practically “invisible” online, and, of course, how many opportunities they were losing as a result.

In response to their prospects’ interest in relying on the Web for their supplier searches, Flex Products was forced to acknowledge a new reality. In response, they put up a basic Website as a “Band-Aid.” However, it was performing very sluggishly, and seemed to be holding the company back. And Flex was nowhere to be found when prospects searched for the kinds of products they provided.

In short, Flex Products offered abundant product options to their customers, but their limited approach to online sales and marketing threatened the company’s future expansion.


Solution: More Engaging and Searchable Website Content About three years ago, when ThomasNet met with Flex, they went to great lengths to understand their business and goals, and then conducted an intensive review of their Website. From this, they were able to suggest and implement a complete overhaul to turn it into a robust prospecting and sales tool.

“We wanted to provide an online experience that would attract buyers and keep them engaged until they got in touch with us,” said Mr. Friedhoff. Since so many of Flex Products’ customers place “non-standard” orders, the goal of the Website was to get them to reach for the phone, ask additional questions, and then make a purchase.

The key to revamping Flex Products’ Website was adding content, refining existing online information, and adding simple navigation features, product specs, and comparison capabilities. The original site needed more detail to be effective. ThomasNet created a new site that included thorough descriptions of the wide range of Flex Products. Features included searchability by multiple categories, and product images to make it easy for prospects to gain an immediate understanding of the kinds of packaging and containers available.

“Our goal was to be informative and succinct, so people could quickly see what we offered without getting lost in technical language. If they clicked to view our containers, they could find pictures of products that were round, square or rectangular. They’d see how easy it was to order a basic package, to decorate it, or to thread it with a screw cap. Every possibility was laid out in an easy-to-use, inviting way,” Mr. Friedhoff notes.

At the same time, working with their ThomasNet consultant, Flex Products changed the wording of their site so that the information was more visible through search engines. The original site emphasized the Flex Products name, while the new site got to the heart of what they made with words like containers, tubes, and packaging showing up right away. Prospects who were looking for the kinds of products they offered could find them much more easily. “Our content is showing up on all the major search engines, and we don’t pay to be on any of them,” he adds.

The company supplemented this content strategy by appearing on ThomasNet.com, which millions of buyers and engineers rely on to find industrial products and services. The site “logs” three million user sessions every month. And finally, Flex Products began using ThomasNet’s tracking tools to monitor leads and conversion rates. For the first time, Flex knew what kinds of buyers were coming to their Website, the companies they were from, where they clicked and what actions they took. And very quickly, the numbers of paying customers proved their strategy right.


Results: More than 20 Percent Revenue GrowthFlex Products’ new site has propelled the company to a higher level of growth. Sales revenues have risen 20 percent to more than $10 million, and Flex attributes at least 50 percent of that growth to the Website powered by ThomasNet’s technology. In addition, Flex is beginning to do international business, and that business is contributing to about 6 percent of sales. Flex Products’ customers now include companies in Italy, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Brazil, among others.

Beyond that, the site has pulled in some unexpected business from hidden markets. One client now calls on Flex to provide containers with small air holes for live crickets. That customer, in turn, ships the crickets to pet stores as food for lizards. Recycline is another interesting new market example. With a commitment to environmental preservation, the company makes razors and toothbrushes from recycled plastic products. They needed a compatible packaging supplier, and discovered that Flex’s packaging comes from trees and is renewable. The fit between the companies was so perfect that they now do a significant amount of business with Flex and Recycline has just become a supplier to a major superstore, meaning that their packaging needs are likely to multiply.

While Flex still lacks a physical salesforce, the new “rules of the road” for industrial selling make a sales team inconsequential. The new Flex Products site serves as a very reliable and effective 24/7 sales department. And just like a professional salesforce, Flex is watching the numbers to make sure that the site continues to perform beyond their expectations. The statistics tell a powerful story. Search engine referrals for Flex Products have tripled since 2005. And Web conversion actions have increased eightfold. The ability to monitor results is putting Flex Products in the driver’s seat to move toward additional growth in years ahead.

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