By Chris Bucholtz

My calendar must be defective – It made no mention that this would be list week on the Inside CRM Blog. The latest list is from ISM, a Bethesda, Maryland-based CRM consultancy. ISM issued its lists of the Top 15 CRM Software Awards (actually two lists, with 16 winners in each, but “Top 32” is just so not catchy). ISM also issued a list of the top trends in CRM, which may be less sexy since no company names and personalities are attached, but are interesting just the same. The trends ISM identified were:

1. Consolidation and mergers among CRM vendors
2. CRM focus on the small- to mid-sized business segment
3. Use of analytical tools (predictive modeling) in CRM solutions
4. Number of mobile CRM offerings and a move toward Real-Time CRM
5. CRM offerings via the Software as a Service (SaaS) model
6. Availability of sales coaching tools
7. Availability of Web 2.0-type functionality
8.  Implementation of CRM software by CRM vendors

Some of these trends are more trendy than others. Numbers 1, 2 and 5 have been impossible to ignore; they were last year’s big trends. But if you’re a vendor, you’d better be thinking hard about Number 4, because any product without a robust mobile component is going to be left in the dust in the next couple of years. If you’re a CRM user, you need to think long and hard about Number 7, because it will directly impact the way you develop relationships with customers. But I’m really pleased to see Trend Number 8 on the list. I’ve been talking about this for several months, as CRM customers told me with displeasure – and often, with incredulity – about CRM vendors who don’t actually understand the concept of a customer relationship.

Do you have any other trends to add to this list (between the trend toward CRM lists, of course)? Send ‘em my way.