Strategic Rebrand Empowers OSE Optics to Bring in New Business

David Tourjee had been working as an optical engineer for almost a decade when he felt the itch to move on to his next challenge. “I wanted to tackle real issues in the industry that weren't being addressed,” he said. “So in 2015, I started what at the time was Optical Sourcing Experts, which served as a bridge to provide companies that didn't have optical engineers with support for ordering different optics assemblies.”

Over time, the company evolved into a contract manufacturer, delivering optical assemblies for sectors including biomedical, defense, and aerospace. “We've worked with startups that are at an idea phase that need help doing an optical design and doing manufacturing work…and we've also worked with very large prime contractors that are well-established that supply directly to U.S. government legacy programs that have been around for 20 or 30 years,” Tourjee said.

Partnering with Thomas has been transformative for OSE Optics. Its polished new website boosted the brand’s credibility, making it stand out as a serious contender in the optical manufacturing sector. 

OSE went from receiving practically no inbound leads to bringing in opportunities that led to multiple projects totaling over $1 million, with more on the horizon. “I've got three or four projects right now that are close to closing that I got from Thomas that would probably add another million dollars in revenue,” Tourjee said.

OSE has continued to see its profile views and website traffic grow. In its second year working with Thomas, profile views increased 31%, and links from Thomasnet to the OSE website grew 19% year over year. The following year, profile views grew by 53%, and website sessions are projected to grow by more than 300% compared to when OSE started working with Thomas.

This measurable success provided a clear business case for further marketing investment, helping convince upper management of the value of strategic marketing spend. The value of OSE’s Thomas marketing program is “worth a lot more than what I pay Thomas, so the business case is easy to make,” Tourjee said. “All I have to do, if someone starts asking about the budget, is say, ‘Hey, remember that project that we did that was worth $300,000 that came from Thomas? If I didn't use Thomas, I wouldn't have that project. So it's given me a lot more room to allow myself to have a marketing budget due to the success that I've had with Thomas.”