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There appears to be no end in sight to the gamification trend, and we’ve already seen examples of the concept applied to everything from fitness to home energy metering to the treatment of depression. The latest spotting? Zurmo, an open source application that brings a splash of fun to the task of CRM. Customer relationship management (CRM) technologies are widely used for managing a company’s interactions with customers and sales prospects, but using them can often feel like time-consuming drudgery. Zurmo explains: “We know long-term it makes sense documenting the notes from all of those meetings. So why don’t we do it? Fact is that short term incentives for logging in and performing these menial tasks is somewhere close to zero. CRM is a chore and no one is handing out prizes for using it!” That’s where Zurmo’s game engine comes in, with short-term rewards including points, levels, recognition and badges for performing otherwise unrewarding tasks. Now in beta, the software awards points for each action a user takes, and accumulated points can cause users to “level up” both generally and on a category basis, with badges and prizes along the way. Game achievement alerts notify users when they’ve attained new status, and leader boards track user standing weekly, monthly and overall. Language packs are available, and the app can be used on Android and iOS smartphones and tablets. Because the code is open source, meanwhile, Zurmo is highly customizable. Are there pain points in your industry or niche where a spoonful of “sugar,” so to speak, could help the medicine go down? If so, why not craft a gamification app of your own? Spotted by: Katherine Noyes