Mediation in the mainstream: 5 successful strategies for spreading innovation

In my last article, Mediation in the mainstream: how to make it a successful innovation, I discussed ways to increase the rate at which innovation — like mediation or conflict coaching — gets adopted by the mainstream.

Now I’m going to discuss the five critical characteristics for innovation diffusion and the implications for ADR marketing. They apply to those of you who are marketing your own ADR firms and services, and to those of you who may be considering how your state, regional or national ADR association can contribute to public education about ADR.

1: Relative advantage
An innovation will spread more quickly if it’s perceived as better than the status quo – that is, its advantage relative to the status quo is quite clear. [Read more]

Mediation in the mainstream: How to make it a successful innovation

What will it take for ADR to reach a real tipping point? This may be the single most important question for practitioners who want to build their ADR practices and market themselves successfully.

There are five critical characteristics that, while not requirements for an innovation to meet success, can greatly affect the rate at which it gets adopted. And it turns out that all five are highly relevant to successful mediation marketing.

Know the five — and how to address them in your marketing efforts — and you have a powerful key not only for your own success, but also for helping ADR gain traction more broadly.

Back in 2000, when a Boston-based environmental sustainability nonprofit was one of my clients, I facilitated one of their retreats for college and university leaders who wanted to green their campuses. I had the good fortune to watch Alan AtKisson lead his Diffusion of Innovation game at the retreat. The point of the game, [Read more]

Lunch on Friday at ACR

A quick note for folks in Austin at the ACR conference: My lunch invitation still stands!

Several of you have been kind enough to connect up with me and ask if I’m still open to having an informal lunch with anyone who shows up on Friday at 12:30.

Yes, indeed I am. I’ll be in the lobby near the front doors and hope to meet you there!

Here’s a little page I put up about it for my events calendar.

Cheers,

5 top tips for building your business credibility as an ADR provider

Small things add up when you’re trying to build your professional and business credibility in the ADR world. If a prospective client is choosing between you and another mediator with similar experience and services, the decision may ultimately rest on who seems more consistently credible.

It’s not worth cutting corners when you’re building trust in your market. Here are five places to invest your resources: [Read more]

It’s time to order your Thanksgiving cards for clients

Last year, I wrote about thank you gifts for mediation clients and referrers. In the post, I suggested sending Thanksgiving cards instead of Christmas cards as part of your mediation marketing strategy:

“I thank my clients and referral sources at Thanksgiving instead of in December because:
 

• No one else does, so my thank you stands out.
• I can neatly sidestep the entire Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza, Chrismukkah thing.
• Thanksgiving is a time of giving thanks. What better time to give thanks to those who chose me or suggested my services to someone?”

The nonbillable hour’s Matthew Hohmann has now added [Read more]

How to recession-proof your ADR business

Playing the stock market these days is not for the faint of heart. Each night when I get home from working with clients, I gulp, turn on the television, and wait to see what transpired on Wall Street. The past few days have led to some heart palpitations here in the U.S., that’s for sure.

But don’t let economic woes shrink your business success dreams. I have one colleague who’s buying as much real estate as he can get his hands on in a couple of the hardest-hit markets in New England, because he’s not seen prices like these in recent memory. He’s investing for the long run, and you should too. There’s big-money investing like my colleague’s, and there’s big-thinking investing…anyone can do the latter.

I’ve gathered some good recession-proofing articles [Read more]

Six degrees of separation now three?

Have social networking and social media cut six degrees of separation down to three?

French mobile carrier O2 thinks so, based on the results of a study they commissioned and discussed in this recent press release:

“O2 commissioned social organisational specialist Jeff Rodrigues to examine the impact of technology on how connected people are. The research included over 50 hours of in-depth interviews with adults across three different age groups, (18-25, 35-45, 55+) and found that the conventional notion of six degrees of separation is out of date…All respondents were asked to make contact with an unknown person from destinations selected at random from across the globe using only personal connections. By using their shared interest networks the participants were able, on average, to make the connection in three person-to-person links.”

Without more information on the research design, of course, we can’t really know the quality of the research or the conclusions. And the funding source makes us cautious.

Still, it seems possible that the six degrees originally coined in 1967 might have lowered in this “world is flat” era. Forty is a lot of years.

And, if true, the implications for practice-building are intriguing and promising. Says O2 in its press release, “What the study has brought to light is that the way we now interact means it’s never been easier to make connections and build networks of contacts.”

Are you capitalizing on social media and social networking to build connections and contact with prospective clients?

Mediator Tech newsletter: the fall 2008 happenings edition

There’s so much going on, I couldn’t wait a whole month for another newsletter post. So this is the “Fall 2008 Happenings” edition.

If you’ve been wondering where and how to learn more about mediation marketing, ADR practice-building and practice management, or how to keep your own center in the midst of conflict, then this edition is for you. Here’s what’s on tap:

1. ADR marketing and management workshop in November
2. Legal Trends launches social network
3. Hold the date for a Conflict Zen retreat
4. Geoff Sharp offers up a commercial mediation survey

[Read more]

Your single biggest competitor isn’t who you think

Who’s your biggest competitor for mediation clients?

Is it the mediator down the street, the one who’s been in business for a decade and whose name is synonymous with mediation? Or the newly minted mediator who just opened shop across town? Or the world-known guru who gets the high-profile cases? I don’t think so.

Is it the attorneys in your area who specialize in whatever arena you also specialize in? Maybe they now mediate too? I don’t think so.

Is it family therapists and counselors, if you’re a family practitioner? [Read more]

When the media wants commentary from a mediator, are you ready?

When the media calls, are you ready?

Most calls I get from from reporters, columnists and freelancers – many of whom found me because of my online presence in the blogosphere and social media – have incredibly quick turn-around needs. They’re on deadline, they need a response that day, and they’re looking for someone who has their thoughts already gathered.

So it makes sense to have a media preparation plan you can put in place quickly when those mediation marketing efforts pay off.

Joan Stewart, aka The Publicity Hound, offers a terrific post on the subject, Prepare for an Interview with a Reporter These 8 Ways. I always appreciate that Joan’s advice is clear and straightforward, offered in digestible chunks like this one: [Read more]