The advent of web-enabled smartphones has meant big changes for insurance marketers. Insurance firms now can reach consumers and business partners while they are on the go. That can mean more direct prospecting, shorter sales cycles and faster service times.

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 and tablets that will take geo-social marketing and sales to a new level of creative application, driving rapid growth.”

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

Three examples include:

ASCnet, the users group for distributors who use agency management systems provided by Applied Systems, created a mobile version of the website for its 2011 TENCon event. The process was simple and inexpensive: The content on its existing website about the event was converted to mobile-friendly status by service provider Artizan, a unit of Applied Systems. The result: The organization gave its meeting attendees information when they needed it, where they needed it, in a convenient way.

Harbin Agency, an independent agency in Fayetteville, Ga., has a mobile site. The agency promotes it by printing a link to a quick-response (QR) code printed on the envelopes sent with automobile insurance cards. When the mobile phone user scans the QR code, the agency's website opens in a browser.

Inter-Company Marketing Group, a nonprofit trade association that fosters networking for companies to pursue insurance strategic alliances, also went with a mobile website. It built a unique site for its 2012 annual meeting, its 28^th event. It went a step further and put a QR (quick-response) code on meeting signage to help smartphone users navigate to the mobile site without keying in data.

Audrey Wittenburg, executive director of ICMG, noted: “The mobile site provided access to ICMG's meeting program along with additional information where we felt it would be helpful, such as walking directions between rooms and Google Maps images of the room locations.”

One benefit to the organization was the ability to update information without having to print those inevitable slip-in sheets for late registrants and program changes for its meeting program. “The attendee list accessible through the mobile site allowed us an opportunity to upload new information as it came in,” Wittenburg explained. “There was also a Twitter icon [on the mobile site] that included our conference hashtag, making it easy for attendees to Tweet from the meeting. Those who used the mobile site were a small percentage of the attendees this year, but they had favorable comments.”

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

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