The advent of web-enabled smartphones has meant big changes forinsurance marketers. Insurance firms now can reach consumers andbusiness partners while they are on the go. That can mean moredirect prospecting, shorter sales cycles and faster servicetimes.

There's more to come. Daniel Burrus, CEO of Burrus Research (Twitter:@DanielBurrus), is predicting that smartphones will lead to an“acceleration of business-to-consumer apps for smart phones andtablets that will take geo-social marketing and sales to a newlevel of creative application, driving rapid growth.”

In the past year, some insurance agencies and trade associationshave created mobile-friendly versions of their existing websitesand/or created unique websites targeted to users who are attendingindustry events.

Three examples include:

• ASCnet, the users group fordistributors who use agency management systems provided by AppliedSystems, created a mobile version of the website for its 2011TENCon event. The process was simple and inexpensive: The contenton its existing website about the event was converted tomobile-friendly status by service provider Artizan, a unit ofApplied Systems. The result: The organization gave its meetingattendees information when they needed it, where they needed it, ina convenient way.

• Harbin Agency, anindependent agency in Fayetteville, Ga., has a mobile site. Theagency promotes it by printing a link to a quick-response (QR) codeprinted on the envelopes sent with automobile insurance cards. Whenthe mobile phone user scans the QR code, the agency's website opensin a browser.

• Inter-Company MarketingGroup, a nonprofit trade association that fosters networkingfor companies to pursue insurance strategic alliances, also wentwith a mobile website. It built a unique site for its 2012 annualmeeting, its 28^th event. It went a step further and puta QR (quick-response) code on meeting signage to help smartphoneusers navigate to the mobile site without keying in data.

Audrey Wittenburg, executive director of ICMG, noted: “Themobile site provided access to ICMG's meeting program along withadditional information where we felt it would be helpful, such aswalking directions between rooms and Google Maps images of the roomlocations.”

One benefit to the organization was the ability to updateinformation without having to print those inevitable slip-in sheetsfor late registrants and program changes for its meeting program.“The attendee list accessible through the mobile site allowed us anopportunity to upload new information as it came in,” Wittenburgexplained. “There was also a Twitter icon [on the mobile site] thatincluded our conference hashtag, making it easy for attendees toTweet from the meeting. Those who used the mobile site were a smallpercentage of the attendees this year, but they had favorablecomments.”

Noted the association leader: “I believe it's important forassociations to recognize the implications of value that newtechnology can provide, and proactively share that with membersrather than waiting for the demand to come from the members.”