“The right tool for the right job.”

should keep in mind when helping your SMB customers. Just because something can get the job done, doesn’t mean it’s the right thing to get the job done. A great example of this is managing contacts. When SMBs are asked what software they use to track contacts, you might think a majority of them would name one of the popular CRM products like Salesforce.com, Dynamics CRM, or any one dozens more. Instead, in several surveys conducted by Microsoft over the last 10 years, the #1 answer from SMBs is Microsoft Outlook. The #2 answer is Microsoft Excel. An e-mail client and a spreadsheet. Great tools for their designed purpose, but definitely not the best for managing company contacts, tracking sales or managing customers.

So why do SMB customers use the wrong tools when there are clearly better alternatives? The simplest answer is they either don’t know about those alternatives, or they have tried some and found them too complicated, too expensive, or both. Most CRM products are expensive and require customers to change the way they do business in order to get the most benefit. Again, not ideal for most SMBs.

That’s where our friends at attachedapps can help. They have developed a set of powerfully simple apps that enable SMBs to easily track, share and sync contacts, then add sales and customer management functions as needed. The apps work seamlessly with Office 365 and Outlook, so customers don’t have to learn a completely new process. They’re inexpensive, and the first app, attachedContacts, is even free. Plus, they are a very partner-centric company, with a variety of ways for partners to make additional revenue, even with the free app.

You should check them out: www.attachedapps.com/partners.