Securing International Growth Without Increasing Overhead
MarketFully’s technology is superb. It allows us to develop new sites quickly so we can enter new markets faster.
Marti Gahlman
Director of Digital Strategy and Web Services
Over the years, The Master Lock Company, a leading U.S. manufacturer of security and safety products for both retail and commercial customers, has expanded globally by following major retailers into new markets and by supplying American manufacturers with advanced security products for their international facilities.
Nearly half of Master Lock’s revenue is generated from its industrial solutions. As its business footprint grew across Europe, Master Lock recognized the need to provide localized websites to better support its operations in the region.
Marti Gahlman, Director of Digital Strategy and Web Services, explained: “We wanted to quickly roll out websites in German, French and Dutch. But as a small web team with multiple responsibilities, we needed outside expertise and a complete solution to accelerate and streamline the process.”
Faster Speed to Market
Master Lock partnered with MarketFully to translate, launch and manage its websites for Germany, France and the Benelux Union countries of Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. These websites were deployed in under 90 days, aligning perfectly with Master Lock’s speed requirements. Another distinguishing factor noted by Gahlman was that, because of its advanced technology and human translators, MarketFully’s solution was fully turn-key at launch and remained that way over time.
Since that initial rollout, MarketFully has continued supporting Master Lock’s growth by launching and operating five additional websites in nine languages, including Chinese, Japanese and Italian.
“MarketFully technology works so smoothly, it just becomes a normal part of doing business. We don’t even have to think about it”.
Marti Gahlman
Director of Digital Strategy and Web Services
Many Websites, Minimal Effort
“MarketFully’s technology is superb,” Gahlman said. “It allows us to develop new sites quickly so we can enter new markets faster. And once a site is live, MarketFully does a very nice job of maintaining it. The first challenge is to get it translated, but then the automated solution ensures it’s updated regularly.”
Master Lock’s websites undergo routine updates, including monthly revisions and major updates tied to new product or segment launches.
MarketFully’s turn-key solution also plays a vital role for Master Lock’s small e-commerce group, which includes a content manager and a front-end engineer in addition to Gahlman. “MarketFully makes it easy for our lean organization to support many localized sites with minimal effort,” he noted.
Localized Websites Deliver Strategic Value
For Master Lock, localized websites provide meaningful strategic benefits. For example:
• Large distributors and customer service teams use the sites to describe products to customers in their regions
• Local sales teams gather product details to support expansion efforts
• Consumers and buyers in global retail channels access essential product information
“Providing websites in local languages demonstrates that Master Lock is investing time and money to make sure each online visitor understands our products and has a good experience with our brand,” Gahlman said. “It demonstrates our commitment to those local markets.”
He continued: “When you’re trying to grow share in a new market, it’s important to show respect for the people and their culture, instead of taking the attitude that they should experience the site in English because you’re a U.S.-based company.”
Ongoing Partnership for Omnichannel Translation
Gahlman has reviewed other website translation providers over time but has not found any solution as complete and stress-free as MarketFully’s. As a result, Master Lock has expanded the partnership to include document translation initiatives.
“I received feedback that documents translated by MarketFully are very well-received,” Gahlman said, referring to a recent project. “Our Japanese distributors complimented their professionalism.”
“MarketFully’s sales and project teams take the initiative to assist us, and the company does a great job of communicating openly and proactively. It’s what I expect from trusted strategic partners.”
