Talking about Websites, Quote Baskets and Glass-blowing with GPE’s Marketing Manager 

Exploring the journey of a Rob Williams, the marketing manager for GPE Scientific, through a passion for science, and innovative online user experiences. This interview was first published in Lab Horizons Digital Edition Issue 4.

Could you start by sharing a bit about your background, and what led you to work in your current role? 

I fell in love with science over the family dinner table. For the veteran readers amongst the audience, you may remember Jencons Scientific, which was managed by my grandfather Claude Williams, and later my father and uncle, Rob and John Williams. Listening to tales of the fascinating equipment that they were able to put into labs seemed like magic to my younger self’s brain that failed to comprehend the complexity of the science taking place. 

I spent my early years learning as much as I could about chemistry and life science before realising that if I wanted to fill the great shoes of my father, who had now moved on to lead GPE Scientific, some operational prowess would be necessary. I went on to study business management with computer science at the University of Birmingham, and after graduating went straight into the family business, slowly proving myself enough to take the helm of our marketing activities as Marketing Manager. 

Can you give us a short summary of what GPE Scientific does and what it can do for research labs? 

GPE Scientific is a specialist Chemistry and Life Science equipment supplier for research laboratories, universities and the pharmaceutical industry across the UK and Ireland. We’re also known for owning and manufacturing the J Young® range of high vacuum greaseless stopcocks worldwide, which are used in a variety of laboratory and scientific glassblowing applications. 

Our biggest asset to the laboratory is our team of technical application specialists, who work from the science backwards to create bespoke laboratory solutions. This gives researchers peace of mind that their equipment is in safe hands and means they can focus on what matters – the science. 

You’ve just launched a new website, do you think developing a website for scientific supplies is uniquely challenging? 

Selling research equipment is like no other market out there. Typically, your customers are hyper-intelligent PhD scientists and know more about their processes than you ever could. Our objective is therefore to “fit the hand to the glove” so to speak. Considering this in a vast world of different scientific products, many of which we provide as completely custom designs, the challenge is to fully enable the end user by providing a smooth navigational experience and access to a bank of information about the products at their fingertips. 

How have you tried to change your new website vs your old one to make it up-to-date and current? 

My main objective when starting the new website build came down to a fundamental shift in purpose – moving away from a library/catalogue site towards a functional tool to help researchers find the information they need and then either request a quotation or be put in touch with a specialist as quickly and painlessly as possible. This includes an enhanced search tool, streamlined user experience, and an optimised quotation basket to create a completely smooth user journey from thought to quote. 

Anything that makes things smoother and easier for users sounds good, can you explain a little more about a ‘quote basket’? 

We took some decisions early in the development process that focused on meeting our objectives to a very high level, rather than being a Jack of all trades. One of these decisions was to implement a Quote Basket instead of using e-commerce.  

Being application specialists means that we provide exceptional service and support, both pre and post-purchase, which often leads us to take on highly complex and bespoke projects compared to other vendors. We want our customers to feel fully confident that when they place and pay for an order, they will receive something completely fit for purpose. The quote basket shortens the journey to order the product, whilst also allowing us to step in and ask any technical questions that we may deem necessary to guarantee that the customer has the perfect solution to achieve their research objectives. 

From your perspective, what are the biggest difficulties that a company can face when they try and get their work or products on the web? 

Much like writing a book, you never really finish building a website. There is therefore a delicate balance to be had between speed and cohesiveness when implementing new features. Unlike a book, however, your website is a completely dynamic system. It can be changed within seconds even whilst live, meaning that features can be published fast and then continuously improved on until you’ve nailed them. The difficulty is finding the right tempo to achieve this, especially when working with a large team, where UI, functionality and the customer experience need to seamlessly gel together. 

Is there any training or skills you would recommend to people trying to understand some of these issues? 

There are a range of different personalities and skill sets involved in the construction of a website. Extremely logical programmers, artistic graphic designers, and business-minded strategists all need to be led in the same direction to create an exceptional website. The most important trait is to be a good leader and have a strong vision of your ideal end product, and importantly, never compromise on that vision. In terms of training, it’s important to understand the language that each technician is speaking. If you’re approaching a website build without any previous experience, I’d highly recommend enrolling in some basic programming and web design courses so that you’re equipped to ask the right questions to the experts. 

What final bit of advice would you give to other leaders in the lab industry who are beginning their journey towards better online presence? 

Your website is the digital face of your company and a crucial part of its identity. The most important thing is to be proud of the brand you work for and its values. If you truly believe in your company and its mission, everything else will fall into place when you create your digital presence. 

You can check out GPE’s new website at this link.