Evolving Beyond The Yellow Pages Mentality

The problem with most small business websites is that they treat the web like a yellow pages directory. They slap up a quick website and are content to be “listed” on the web, missing out on most of the advantages of doing business online.

This backwards mindset runs rampant in professional service industries like accounting and law. Perhaps this because of the habit of marketing through listings like a phone book where they are just one entry competing with many other listings, and there is not much they can do about it.

Competing Online

Some of the more savvy small business owners are starting to catch on to the idea that it’s not enough just to be online, you need to successfully compete online.

I recently posted a case-study on the effectiveness of a law firm website we designed, and over the next three days received contacts from several different law firms.

One of the firms I met with mentioned that the quality of clients that come through the web is much better than any other source. Their Internet clients are easier to work with, more educated, and more likely to pay promptly. They were anxious to increase their online leads, and these were some of the ideas I shared with them.

1. Dress Your Website For Success – First impressions are critical when meeting with potential clients. Your website is frequently the first impression clients receive of your company, so make it a good experience for them.

   Just because your nephew or secretary knows a little HTML doesn’t mean they will be able to build you a professionally designed site. Going with a professional web designer might cost more, but the investment will pay for itself.

   As mentioned in our case study of Long Okura, P.C., most of their clients said they selected them over other firms they found on the web because they had a better website.

   If you were hiring from several applicants that seemed to have about the same qualifications, it would make sense to hire the one that was better dressed and presented a more professional image than the others. That’s what potential clients do when they shop for professional services online.

2. Make It Unique – A website isn’t limited to a crammed box in a phone directory, so add something personal and unique. It could be an award, interview, media coverage, or personal interest.

   The Long Okura website has a section that explains their environment-friendly practices and the green organizations that they passionately support. This unique perspective helps differentiate themselves from other law firms and has generated contacts from the magazines, radio, & TV stations looking for interviews, and even a contact from a well-known figure in the global “green” community.

3. Blog – A blog allows you to keep your website updated with fresh content without having to hire a developer to make the updates. It also helps share information, establish you as an expert, and start dialogs. Blogs also help you show up on search engines for the topics you write about.

   The Long Okura website picked up several new clients in just their first several blog posts. If you’re looking for new cost-effective marketing ideas, it’s hard to beat blogging.

4. Customer Self-Service Tools – Let your customers help themselves. By giving them online tools, you increase customer satisfaction and reduce the operating costs of having these functions handled manually by your staff.

   Some of the self-service tools I’ve worked on include:

   • Online bill-pay, downloadable forms, & “click-to-talk” phone call button for Long Okura
   • Telephony account administration (manage voicemail, faxes, etc) for I-Link.
   • Print Job management (define, submit, approve proofs, track shpiping) for Vision International.
   • Seminar/conference online registration & payment for ManageMen.
   • Product surveys, sponsored athlete application & shopping cart discounts for First Endurance.

   Almost any manually intensive task can be streamlined by creating an online tool to manage it.

There are lots of other ways to make your website outshine your competitors, but these 4 should give you a good start.

If you have any questions or comments on increasing the effectiveness of your small business website, please leave them in the comment section below. I’d love to hear from you.

Photo credit: How Can I Recycle This

“Open Source eCommerce Has Officially Evolved” was boldly declared on a blog post announcing the release of Magento version 1.0.

Since 1997 I have worked on a variety of eCommerce systems and for the last several months have been working with Magento. While Magento is very new and lacks the maturity of some of the more established eCommerce solutions, I do agree that Magento has taken open source eCommerce to the next level.

Here are the top 4 reasons why I feel Magento has changed the game:

1. Solid Business Model for Free Software
2. Gifted Designer in Development Team
3. Incredible Community Outreach
4. Brilliant Framework Under The Hood

Solid Business Model

Many open source projects start off with a bang and fizzle out. If the backbone of the project depends on a few passionate developers donating their time with no financial incentive, their commitment to the project is often unsustainable.

The company behind the Magento project, Varien, has setup several ways to monetize their open source project.

• Professional Services (installs, customizations, etc.)
• Commercial Support
• Commercially licensed extensions that offer new functionality.
• Certified Partners Program (other companies pay annual fees to be listed as an offical partner)

Varien CEO Roy Rubin says “Magento is at the core of Varien’s business model”. This statement suggests longevity and stability for the Magento project, critical factors that potential users look for before investing time in an open source project.

By having a for-profit company back the open source project, developers are guaranteed paychecks and have access to resources that other commercial development teams have. This allows them to release commercial quality software without charging for licenses.

Gifted Designer

Drop-dead gorgeous graphic desgin.

The most obvious way Magento has set itself apart from other open source eCommerce projects is the drop-dead gorgeous graphic design.

Most open-source projects looks like the interface was designed by an engineer for other engineers. Magento made the right move by making talented designer Minu an integral part of the development team.

Check out the beautiful screenshots at http://www.magentocommerce.com/media/screenshots.

Community Outreach

Less than a month after the first production release of their software, the Magento online community boasts 14,905 registered users with 351 members currently logged in as I write this post.

Magento has done a fantastic job of integrating their community tools into their website. A single sign-on gives access to Wiki, Forums, Bug Tracking, & Sub-project development groups.

Members of the Magento development team can be found answering questions on the forum, updating entries in knowledge base, and occasionally providing free training via live webcasts.

The Framework Under The Hood

Not only does Magento look sexy, but it was built on a solid object-oriented framework.

As an eCommerce consultant I felt that if I wanted solid code I needed to use a Java-based enterprise solution like OFBiz or Opentaps. But sometimes that was overkill for simple little cart projects and I’d end up using crappy free php carts with spaghetti-like code.

Magento now offers a solution to fill that middle-ground vacuum. Based on the Zend Framework, the code is all PHP so doesn’t require a special application server like the java solutions do and should run on almost any simple hosting solution.

The code can be easily customized using rewrites of existing code to a local repository of customized codes. This keeps custom code separate from base code and simplifies upgrades.

Magento code is object-oriented, so classes inherit all of the methods from the parent class they are extending and you only need to define the methods you’re adding or modifying. No more cloning vast amounts of code.

Other PHP developers have told me that learning the Magento framework was a big paradigm shift
for them, but any developer with a java web application background should be able to dive right in.

Stay Tuned For Free Giveaway

Sometime in the month of May, I’ll be announcing a contest for free setup of a Magento Cart with a free year of hosting, compliments of Bizlift. If you’ve wanted to try selling something online, this will be your chance.

** Update **
Sorry for the delay on announcing the contest.  I’m working on becoming a certified Magento Partner.  We’ll announce the contest shorty after the new 1.1 release due out in July.

If you have any questions of comments on Magento, please let me know below:

The freedom to work from anywhere is a wonderful benefit of being an internet-based freelancer.

But what if your significant other has a career that is paper intensive and demands constant face-to-face interactions?

This was my situation when I met my soulmate Rebecca four years ago.

I’d been self-employed for years and was used to traveling and working. Rebecca was an attorney working for a law firm that required frequent in-person meetings and court appearances.

Breaking Free

We’ve taken many trips over the last couple of years and Rebecca has been able to continue her work remotely for weeks at a time. We’d like to share how we were able to break free from the traditional demands of one of the most paper-intensive professions.

With a bit of creativity any couple can find a way to work remotely.

While our techniques for remote work as a lawyer will apply to other occupations, our solution won’t work for every situation. We want to demonstrate that with a bit of creativity any couple can find a way to work remotely.

Here are the steps Rebecca took.

1. If necessary, fire your boss.
2. Simplify through technology.
3. Develop strategic relationships.

After achieving the ability to work remotely, Rebecca developed a 4th step: Little tips & tricks can have a huge impact.

1. Fire your boss

Rebecca left her job to start her own firm.

This step is not necessary in all situations. Tim Ferriss’s Four Hour Work Week offers step-by-step advice on how to convince your boss that you are more productive when not working on-site in the office.

For those of you who don’t want to bother with bosses, going self-employed is a great option.

The right technology should feel like magic.

2. Simplify through technology.

The right technology should feel like magic. It should simplify tasks and make life easier.

We researched law firm management software and went with one called Amicus Attorney. This gave Rebecca a solution for digitally managing all of her client files.

The next step was reducing paperwork. She started off with a small scanner and a sheet feeder, but it frequently jammed. Eventually she upgraded her photocopier lease to include one with a network scanner. Now her paralegals can quickly scan all incoming letters and documents and associate them to the proper file in Amicus.

To work remotely, we needed a VPN (Virtual Private Network) solution that would allow her to access her server from anywhere. We found a solution that was absolutely magical.

Hamachi is an amazing zero-configuration VPN solution. It doesn’t require any hardware or access to routers. We started off using the free version, then eventually went with a commercial version for only $40/year.

After testing and working through any issues of remote access from home, we were able to start traveling and working from other places.

When we first started traveling, we used a tiny travel wireless router to share my Sprint broadband connection. Now Rebecca has her own Sprint broadband device.

3. Strategic Relationships

When Rebecca first went self-employed, it was just her and a secretary. She developed relationships with other sole-practitioners so they could cover for each other in court as needed.

Rebecca was soon able to hire several associate attorneys. Now she has lawyers who can not only cover for her in court, but also meet with existing clients and sign-up new ones.

One of the most valuable employees is Rebecca’s Office Manager. She keeps everything running, manages accounting, and handles initial communications with clients. This allows Rebecca to only deal with critical issues while away from the office.

4. Little tips & tricks can have a huge impact.

Rebecca offers this advice:

While running a law firm remotely, I’ve picked up a few tricks that make working remote much easier.

1. Cord Bag – Having duplicates of all of my power, usb, and sync cables makes life much easier. I keep them in a travel bag and never have to remember to unplug a cord from my office and pack it.It sounds so simple, but it makes traveling much easier.
2. Portable Printer – Lawyers are used to dealing with paper. With my portable travel printer, I’ve been able to print up documents to sign on the spot. This has saved many mediations by having both parties sign before leaving mediation and later changing their minds.Sometimes I find it easier to make global edits to long documents by using pen and paper. My portable printer makes this a breeze while traveling.
3. Quickbooks Online – When I first started my firm, Quickbooks Online was a handy way to keep track of the firm’s finances while traveling. Now my office manager does such a great job of running things, I rarely have to look at it. But it’s always there if I need it.

Rebecca Long Okura
Managing Attorney
www.longokura.com

Rebecca has been running her own law firm for three years now. The steps listed above didn’t happen overnight.

Don’t worry if you are not immediately able to quit your job or hire reliable employees. Start planning things out and take one step at a time. You’ll be amazed at what is possible when you combine desire, planning, and creativity.

Learn More About Remote Working

Anywired -Blogging legend Skellie provides information on working from anywhere. Check out the article on mobile offices.

The Newly Rich – Four Hour Work Week, family style. The author shares his experiences on moving to Mexico with his family for 2 months in this article.

Location Independent Living – Taking remote work to the next level, this blog offers information on how to be truly location independent. I enjoyed the article on marketing your business online.

Do you have any questions or experiences in working remotely that you’d like to share? Please leave a comment below.

Are you opening a new web-store? Perhaps starting a Timothy Ferriss style 4HWW “muse”?

If you are launching an online store with the anticipation of being wildly successful, this article will explain why open source enterprise software is right for you.

Enterprise Software vs Shopping Carts

Enterprise Software provides tools for managing all aspects of your business.

A typical online shopping cart handles only the ordering part of your business. It might also have basic support for inventory and customer service.

So why would you need more than a basic shopping cart?

1. Room To Grow

Moms buy clothes their teenagers can grow into.

You should do the same with your web store.

As a teenager, I went through a growth spurt one summer. I grew an inch each month.

My mother bought pants several inches too long and would hem the cuff. As I continued to grow she’d let down the cuff inch by inch.

Moms buy clothes their teenagers can grow into. You should do the same with your web store.

Early in my career a boss explained that trying to upgrade a business’s information system while keeping it running is like trying to change the tires on a moving car. The company was moving from a hodge-podge collection of apps to a more robust solution. They actually had to shutdown for a few days to make the switch.

Having to shutdown to handle growth is a good problem to have. But it can be avoided with a little foresight.

Several of my clients have enjoyed explosive growth in recent years. Our open source enterprise solutions have played a vital role in achieving and handling that growth.

These clients started their business running on a scalable system that they could grow into and that would continue to grow with them.

Several years ago I setup Apache Open For Business (OFBiz) for Citydeals.com. The shopping cart had a trickle of orders for the first few months as online sales slowly picked up.

Eventually it reached the point where we had a multi-server load balanced solution handling 1000+ views per minute during peak periods.

It’s performed so well in its own metro area that parters are anxiously opening up new markets nationwide.

Citydeals originally used OFBiz as a shopping cart. They now also use it for the following:

• Customer Service team tracks who last talked to customer, what was resolved, and when that contact happened.
• Sales team uses a CRM/SFA module from Opentaps.
• Management tracks inventory levels and views sales reports.
• Accounting reconciles sales, returns, inventory transfers, etc.
• Partners have a portal to check on consignment sales and reports.

The entire company with 30+ employees and hundreds of partners use this system to run the business.

The Citydeals founder has often expressed amazement and appreciation for the software. Time after time he has requested new functionality and I could happily inform him that it already existed in the system or could be made available with a little bit of tweaking.

2. Available Anywhere

I setup OFBiz for an endurance supplement company over 5 years ago. Now they’re the king of their niche. They sponsor the top Cyclists and Triathletes in the world. Their product is carried in hundreds of retail stores, they have international distributors all over the globe, and the direct sales from their website is cranking.

Apache OFBiz is web-based so works with any browser. The two owners are able to login from home and place orders and check on the fulfillment process and look-up customer/order notes.

They also painlessly switched from one fulfillment center to another. It was as easy as disabling old logins and creating new ones, then trucking the goods over to the new warehouse.

A web-based enterprise solution like OFBiz is perfect for business owners that want to outsource to virtual assistants or other service providers without being tied to them for life.

3. The Price is Right

My clients love that OFBiz saves them a ton of money in licensing.

I’ve launched eCommerce solutions for corporations ranging from a VoIP pioneer with 300 employees to a $1 billion/year world leader in their market. I worked with expensive high-end Oracle systems and was recognized by IBM as the first to commercially deploy their eCommerce solutions on an AS400e midrange server.

When I left the corporate world to go self-employed I couldn’t afford those advanced systems that cost 6 to 7 digits. But I was frustrated by the poorly built open source shopping cart software that was available.

Then I found OFBiz and was floored by the elegant service-based architecture. It was open, free and built with solid framework, data model, and accounting practices.

My clients love that OFBiz saves them a ton of money in licensing. They love that it’s wide open and they don’t have to wait for software vendors to add functionality. They can hire any java developer to make the changes they want.

OFBiz is java-based so will run on almost any type of server. It is database agnostic, so will run on any major database. There is no vendor lock-in with this solution.

Summary

• Open Source Enterprise Software is a great solution for small businesses looking to grow.
• Web-based solutions allow you to run your company from anywhere and outsource to anyone.
• Open Source Enterprise Software is much more cost effective for small businesses than commercial software.

Stay tuned next week for a follow-up post titled “Wide Open – Apache OFBiz Reviewed”.

If you have any questions on this article, please leave a comment below.

The business world has always venerated warriors and studied their strategies. The Art of War and The Book of Five Rings can be found in many business management libraries.

Now a new breed of warrior has arrived. Mixed Martial Arts (the proper term for cage fighting) has exploded out of the underground to emerge as the hottest sport in the world. What might be learned from these modern warriors?

My Training As An Amateur Fighter

Yes. Computer geeks can learn to fight.

I’ve learned a lot while training with some of the toughest athletes in the world. I’m not talking about choking your opponent unconscious or splitting open foreheads with well-placed elbow strikes (although they are fun techniques to learn). We’re talking about tools for success that can apply to any aspect of life, especially business.

Here are the top 5 things I’ve learned while fight training:

1. Competing in the Information Age

The question of “which martial art is most effective?” is no longer relevant.

When the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championships) started over 14 years ago, it was like something out of an old Bruce Lee flick. Each contestant represented a country and a fighting style. Sumo wrestlers, kickboxers, jiu-jitsu black-belts, and savate artists all wanted to prove that their style was most effective.

Now it’s completely different. Every top fighter in the UFC cross-trains in the 3 Pillars of Mixed Martial Arts: Striking, Submissions, & Wrestling. Fighters may specialize in one discipline, but will train in all of them. The question of “which martial art is most effective?” is no longer relevant.

Cross-training helps you compete. The need for additional training to remain competitive is not unique to martial arts. Take a trade like Graphic Design.

Nowadays in addition to design skills, designers need to understand how to use image editing software like Illustrator and Photoshop. Designing for web and Flash require an understanding of user-interface theory and many designers have learned HTML and CSS. To compete at a high level, designers need ongoing training to keep up with the latest software, theory and design trends.

Cross-training is critical for the self-employed. When you’re self-employed you wear a lot of hats. You need to handle marketing, accounting, and other aspects of business while juggling multiple projects. Inc Magazine reports that cross-training is especially helpful for start-ups and continues to be of value as the company grows.

2. Globalization Changes Everything

Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) is a good example of the effects of Globalization. For many centuries it was enough to train in the same discipline that your fellow countrymen trained in. But as fighters traveled the world learning new styles and sharing their knowledge, eventually all fighters needed to train in other disciplines to remain competitive.

As this requirement for more knowledge grew, it also became easier to travel to other countries to learn new fighting styles. Now most athletes can train in MMA or any martial arts style without having to travel out of their city.

You are no longer limited by geography. Just as you no longer have to go to Brazil to learn or teach Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, you no longer have to be anywhere specific to provide your services. With the Internet, you can work from anywhere and have clients from anywhere.

During the past 7 years of being self employed I’ve spent a lot of time working while traveling. I’ve outsourced to India and have several clients that I’ve never met in “real life”.

For additional information on working from anywhere, check out this well-written article.

3. It Takes A Team

Behind every great fighter is a great training camp. Watch any “UFC All Access” program on Spike TV and it becomes obvious that it takes a team to prepare for a fight.

…it’s too easy to get lost in the vacuum of your own little world.

I’ve heard horror stories from other fighters who were so nervous before their first fight that they were choking back vomit as they walked into the cage.

I’m not a great fighter, just a guy with a huge passion for MMA. Fortunately, my instructors and training partners at the Mushin MMA gym prepared me so well for my first fight that I experienced an incredible sense of confidence and energy as I walked towards the cage. I could never have done it without them.

One of the drawbacks to being self-employed is that it’s too easy to get lost in the vacuum of your own little world. As a developer I felt I could learn anything I wanted by researching on the web. To some extent, it’s true.

But it was only after working with jiu-jitsu instructors David Heaps & Darius Andrews that I realized how much more effective it was to learn from a hands-on teacher than by trying to learn from instructional videos or books.

When I joined the Mushin gym to learn Muay Thai & Combat Submission Wrestling, that appreciation for teachers was reinforced. I also realized that each training partner brought something different to the table. The more good partners I had, the more my MMA game evolved.

These realizations prompted me to reflect on my business life. I had been blessed with wonderful mentors back when I worked in the corporate world. But after several years of being self-employed my career was starting to stagnate. With guidance from my Professional Development Coach (and Zen Master), I started reconnecting with former mentors and asking for business advice from some of my more successful clients.

I also started connecting with other developers and designers to bounce ideas off each other and share new discoveries.

The effects were remarkable. I became more excited about my career and received new and bigger opportunities.

4. Flow with the Go

“Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless – like water. Now you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup, you put water into a bottle, it becomes the bottle, you put it in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Now water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend.” – Bruce Lee

When I first started jiu-jitsu training, my instructor Darius would often tell me to stop using my muscles and use technique instead. He’d tell me to act as if my opponent was a tree and to move myself around him, but not to muscle my opponent around.

When you “flow with the go” in business, you’re operating in that productivity sweet spot.

I experienced a similar lesson when I started Muay Thai training. After many years of working on a heavy punching bag by myself, I knew I could hit hard. One of my training partners told me I “hit like a train”.

So when my instructor Brian told me my striking technique was all wrong, it was hard to take. He said I was using too much muscle and was too tense. I needed to loosen up and let my arm whip out more.

Over many months Brian helped me drop some of my bad habits in punching, and learn to be more fluid while striking. Now my punches are quicker and I can throw many more of them before tiring out.

During one training session, an instructor introduced the idea of “Flow with the go”. It’s that balancing act of not trying to force everything around you, but also not being completely at the mercy of everything else.

It’s very similar to “going with the flow” but the subtle difference is instead of bobbing along being carried by the flow, you are flowing and mixing your energy with what’s going on around you.

When you “flow with the go” in business, you’re operating in that productivity sweet spot. You’re neither forcing things to happen nor waiting for things to happen. You’re simply facilitating things happening.

An example of flowing could be in a sales meeting with a prospective client. Perhaps the potential client is expressing doubt that you’re the right one for the job. If you follow along with his current negative flow you could lose the sale. If you try to impose your will and force the sale, you’ll probably offend the client and lose the sale. But, if you mix your flow into what’s going on, address his concerns and make the effort to understand the needs of this person, you have a better chance of saving the sale.

Will-power is wonderful. It can accomplish a lot. But will-power with flow will accomplish even more.

For a good example of kinetic flowing, check out this video clip. It’s of one of my favorite mixed martial artists, Genki Sudo, competing in a submission grappling tournament.

5. It’s All In Your Mind

“There are two types of people in this world. Those who believe they can and those who believe they can’t. They’re both right.” -Khru Brian Yamasaki

The most important thing I learned while fight training was how to develop the muscle of your mind. During brutal conditioning drills, instructor Khru Brian would bark “You’re not working your muscles…you’re training your mind not to give up.” Somehow we’d find a way to squeeze out a few more push-ups or run another lap even when our bodies were telling us to stop.

At one point during training, I was puking in the bathroom and the one-minute rest period was almost over. I couldn’t go on. Coach Brandon Kiser made all of the other students do push-ups until I came back out. As soon as I realized what was going on I came running out and found the strength to go another round rather than make my teammates suffer.

I hated training. But after each completed session the sense of accomplishment was so great, I couldn’t help but love it.

Slowly I learned to believe in myself and my abilities. After graduating from the Mushin Fighter Corp training program, I felt like could do anything. Many things now seem easy in comparison. Even the actual fight was easy compared to the training.

This mental training to never give up and fear nothing has drastically changed my attitude about work. Staying up all night to make a deadline now seems easier. When a client is slow to pay or a project falls through, I never even consider going back to a full-time job as an employee for someone else.

I saw Donald Trump on TV a few months ago. Someone asked him what the secret to success is. He said “Never, never, never give up”. I felt thankful for that reminder, thankful for the experience of living that message while fight training, and thankful for the opportunity to learn how to apply it to other aspects of my life.

Summary

1. Competing in the Information Age. Self-employed business owners can benefit from cross-training and ongoing education.
2. Globalization Changes Everything. There are no geographical limitations; you can work from anywhere and have clients anywhere.
3. It Takes A Team. If you work for yourself, it pays to cultivate mentors and a community of peers.
4. Flow With the Go. Will power is effective. Will power while flowing is even more effective.
5. It’s All In Your Mind. Believe in yourself and never give up.

As this has been an unusual topic for a business development blog, I would love to hear your thoughts on it. All questions, comments, and criticisms are welcome. Please leave a comment below.

You love your website visitors. You experience “warm-fuzzies” every time you see your web stats climb up a notch. So prove your love and give your visitors what they all want: a targeted homepage.

Many websites feature multiple services or products for different audiences. With limited space on the homepage, a commonly used web design element is to rotate and highlight different offerings within a designated highlight area.

Customize their homepage view to help them find what they want

Examples of a rotating highlight area are the article slide-show panel at the top of AOL and the random featured phone at Sprint.

When you know where your visitor is coming from, there is a good chance you know what they’re looking for and can customize their homepage view to help them find what they want.

To see how this works, let’s take a look at law firm website www.longokura.com (a client of ours). They offer several different practice areas, each with different audiences. Their homepage has a highlight area that randomly displays one of three practice areas. There are buttons that users can click on to manually display the other highlights.

The targeting works when the visitor is coming from a specifically designed ad on another site that highlights a specific practice area. For example, a child-custody banner ad that runs on a local newspaper website has a special link that tells the homepage to display the family law highlight rather than randomly selecting one.

The law firm also advertises through Google AdWords and has different ad campaigns for each practice area with their own set of keywords. Each campaign has it’s own link that tells the homepage which highlight to display.

Use these links to see how it works:

Family Law
Estate Planning
Real Estate Law

Some of the benefits of targeted homepages are:

• Provides visitors with an easy linear path from ad to homepage to specific information to online sale.
• Allows you to treat multiple audiences as “special” instead of focusing on only one audience and neglecting the others.
• Lets visitors link to homepage to get full branding experience of your company rather than linking directly to a specific product or service page.

Next time you build or redesign your website make sure to discuss setting up a targeted homepage with your your web developer.