‘LINK-ed’ up: ITC business partnership leads to sales expansion

Located in Branson, Missouri, LINK Electronics (LINK) was founded in 1989 by Bob Henson and Jim Timberlake to develop and distribute industry-leading broadcast encoding solutions and services. Today, under the ownership of David Kendall, LINK leads the industry in broadcasting and encoding products. The company takes pride in the 200+ products it currently produces in-house, the new products in development, and the excellence and innovation it delivers to customers.

In early 2020, LINK Electronics partnered with the International Trade Center at University of Missouri’s Robert J. Trulaske, Sr. College of Business to help evaluate international sales demand for its closed captioning product line so it would be better positioned to proactively guide sales expansion activities moving forward.

Tricia McRae, national sales manager for LINK, recently shared how global market research completed by ITC helped the company build an effective strategy moving forward:

Was there value gained from the research that was completed?
“Absolutely, YES. The research helped us uncover global market opportunities we hadn’t previously considered, specifically in regions like Singapore, Hong Kong, China, and the UAE. It gave us a clearer understanding of where demand for our captioning products exists internationally and what adjustments we need to make to be competitive in those spaces.”

What key actions has LINK Electronics taken as a result of the research?
“The research directly influenced the direction of our product development. Since the study, we’ve updated and expanded our product line to better meet the language and regulatory needs of the international markets identified. For example, we added support for Arabic, Mandarin, and Hindi, which opened the door to new regions. We also made strategic shifts in how we market and position our solutions abroad, focusing on accessibility standards and regional compliance.”

What impact has the company seen in its export activities?
”We’ve seen measurable growth in several markets, including new business in Canada, Mexico and India. Additionally, we’ve strengthened our presence in South America through new channel partnerships resulting in around 15% year-over-year growth in that region since 2020. The insights provided by the research played a key role in shaping this international expansion and our continued success in global markets.”