Fast Facts
History in Brief: Founded in 1956 to help bring modern business technologies to organizations; has over 33,000 customers throughout the United States (primarily in the Midwest) and markets document imaging hardware and IT-related software and services
Headquarters: Madison, Wisconsin
Locations: 16 (Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Wisconsin)
Employees: Approximately 560
Hardware Partners: (A3, Production) Canon, Sharp; (A4) Kyocera, Lexmark
Noteworthy Software Partners: Canon (uniFLOW), Laserfiche, Nuance (eCopy, Equitrac), PaperCut
Practically any organization can claim that it’s in “growth mode,” but only a small percentage of them have the proof to back it up. And it’s not just about adding locations, increasing headcount and boosting revenue—there has to be more in the recipe before the true definition of that oftentimes overused term is met. Enter the Gordon Flesch Company.
“Years ago, my grandfather told me that when he started this company, his name was on the door and that meant his reputation was on the line,” said Mark Flesch, GFC’s Vice President of Sales, Eastern Region. “He wanted premier customer service, that’s what he thought was the best way to grow business. Gordon’s vision is alive and well today, and it has been throughout our journey from traditional equipment reseller to integrated business technology solutions provider.”
GFC boasts a customer retention rate of about 88 percent, which Flesch attributes to a variety of factors. The company has nearly 160 service techs (average tenure, 18.5 years) and 80 account executives (9.5 years)—consistency personified. Its tech support staff is comprised entirely of GFC employees, so no outsourcing here. “We couldn’t have gotten to the point we’re at, if we hadn’t taken such good care of our clients, who we urge to contact us whenever and however, for anything major or minor,” he said.
Customer engagement also falls under the service umbrella, and the company has taken many steps forward on this score. Since the end of last year, GFC has built a social media audience of more than 1,500 users (through Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube) and is now publishing its own content (articles, blogs, reports and videos). Business Process Optimization Workshops (consultative sessions to help fix broken processes, sometimes by implementing software), Lunch & Learns (focused on a single topic, like security) and Technology Summits (all branches have at least one per year, each with about 50 attendees; keynote speaker, breakout groups, networking) are critical parts of the strategy, too.
“Running myriad ads and commercials and hoping the needle moves isn’t as efficient as our current inbound approach,” Flesch said. “People want information, content drives usage, and we strive for a deeper level of engagement with our customers today—it will help us both satisfy all of their needs and maintain those partnerships.”
“Years ago, my grandfather told me that when he started this business, his name was on the door and that meant his reputation was on the line. He wanted premier customer service… Gordon’s vision is alive and well today, and has been throughout our journey from traditional equipment reseller to integrated business technology solutions provider.” –Mark Flesch
Aside from hanging out with friends and hitting the links, Flesch spends most of his time outside of the office with his wife and two daughters (he described his younger girl as “a wonderful little handful”). However, because his brother Patrick (VP of Sales, Western Region), father Tom, and two uncles are all active in the company, the statement could be made that he’s always among family.
“This year marks our 60th anniversary, and a big reason why the company has been around for that long is the family-oriented culture that Gordon established,” Flesch said. “While my grandfather firmly believes in the power of superior customer service, he’s also a firm believer in taking care of his own people. Hopefully GFC employees feel that and, with the third generation in place, know that the company isn’t going anywhere.” Flesch then noted that before any family member can work at GFC, he or she must attain a bachelor’s degree and have a minimum of three years of experience outside of the company—a rule that’s been in GFC’s handbook since 1956.
 |
As Flesch explained, the company saw dramatic growth beginning in the late eighties and carrying through the nineties. Business has been steady for the last five years. GFC had $156 million in revenue in 2015, up from $143 million in 2010. “We sell plenty of office equipment, but we obviously need to create new streams of revenue to ensure long-term success,” he said. “So far in 2016 we’ve landed 120 new customers, but we’re still short of our goal. Things like IT and ECM are going to play a bigger and bigger role in growing our business.”
Just last year the company started a consulting group designed to bring direct focus and attention toward managed IT (MIT). AEs sell both hardware and IT, but if the latter is part of a deal, a member of Director Jeff Dotzler’s team will be a vital cog in the process. GFC then acquired Cambridge Connections to build out its ECM offering, taking this responsibility off its AEs’ plates but giving AEs an incentive for bringing leads to the ECM division. “Cambridge is adjacently possible to what we’re doing,” Flesch said. “Its staff is writing integrations with SAP, Salesforce, Laserfiche and others. Cambridge works with cloud platforms from Amazon and IBM and is developing relationships with VARs.”
The MIT push began in 2012 (that year, total revenue and unit placements were 12 and 22 percent higher YOY), and GFC brought in $2 million in revenue in this space last year, which was 36 percent higher than in 2014. According to Flesch, there hasn’t been any vertical trend, and the company has both expanded in existing customers’ accounts and won new clients thanks to MIT. “It’s a serious opportunity, but due to that growth we’ve tapered off a little in one specific space,” Flesch said. “Basically everything with us is a managed service at this point. Right now, we’re focused on deepening that engagement with clients and getting the consulting group even more involved as well.”
“Running myriad ads and commercials and hoping the needle moves isn’t as efficient as our current inbound approach. People want information, content drives usage, and we strive for a deeper level of engagement with our customers today—it will help us both satisfy all of their needs and maintain those partnerships.” –Mark Flesch
Over the last decade, because of requests from Canon, the company has built offices in Appleton, Wisconsin, and Indianapolis so the manufacturer would have representation in those markets. “Sales of Lexmark A4 printers and MFPs continue to grow, but not at the expense of our A3 base,” Flesch said. In fact, for U.S.-based Lexmark dealers in 2015, GFC ranked first in hardware placements in the North Central region and first in solutions sales for the entire country. And last year alone, between the Canon and Sharp brands, the company put 100 production devices in the field.
“Our business analysts have been huge in the growth process, too,” Flesch said. “They truly are specialists at what they do, and it’s been amazing watching how all these AEs, BAs, IT and ECM consultants, techs and everybody else have come together to make an exceptional team.” La famiglia, as Vito Corleone would say.
“We sell plenty of office equipment, but we obviously need to create new streams of revenue to ensure long-term success. So far in 2016 we’ve landed 120 new customers, but we’re still short of our goal. Things like IT and ECM are going to play a bigger and bigger role in growing our business.” –Mark Flesch
The company is unique in that it has its own leasing program, instead of outsourcing or reselling loans. “The same dealer that’s servicing your devices is financing them, which is certainly a form of engagement. You rely on us, and we contribute to your success.”
GFC also does more than its fair share with charities, having donated $1.5 million to date (at least $125 thousand per year). The committee is managed by company employees, with one rep in each of the six major branches (Appleton; Chicago; Dublin, Ohio; Indianapolis; Madison; Milwaukee), who decide which causes to support. To boot, GFC has awarded college scholarship money to 363 kids of its employees—in excess of $1.2 million—since 1995.
“We admit we can be slightly more expensive than our competition,” Flesch said. “So we have to add value elsewhere, and we do that through a customer-first mindset and incorporate that into new segments, like IT. Because of an increase in direct manufacturer competition, declining prices and lower aftermarket rates, we consistently experience price pressure in our markets.
“We see it as a challenge,” he continued. “An important challenge. To not only retain clients but also to recruit new ones.”
 |
