Online Marketing Tools Are for Learning, Not Selling

October 23, 2006 · Print This Article

In Part 1, I made the bold statement that the developmental crisis the field faces comes, in no insignificant part, from generally poor marketing by mediators.

I said, “Marketing today is about being in conversation with your public, really engaging them, and not selling and telling…It’s about listening. It’s about a desire to understand what they really want. It’s about staying true to your purpose without being overly committed to the one way you’ve chosen to act on that purpose (offering mediation only, for instance).”

Bernie Mayer, whom I also referenced in Part 1, has suggested that our field may be offering a service—mediation—that’s not quite what the public wants, and that our over-commitment to neutrality and resolution have blinded us to the public’s suspicion of and disinterest in them.

I’m returning now to that section of the book because I want to make sure you understand the spirit and intention from which I’m approaching the present chapter.

I am disinterested in having mediators learn how to use online tools to market so that you can attempt to sell what you’ve already tried selling with limited success. I am disinterested in you learning a new tool or two and using them ineffectively—they will become just another set of tools that let you down. I am disinterested in mediators becoming talking heads with these online tools. And I hope you’re disinterested, too.

Instead, I am interested in more mediators using online tools to market because Web 2.0 tools are about interactivity and conversation. Use them well and you can find out so much more about what your potential clients really want. Good marketing, Web 2.0 style, means creating dialogue about what people really want when it comes to getting conflict done. A good Web 2.0 marketer is a learner, not a seller of mediation.

As is true in the mediation room, the mindset with which you use the good tools available will make the difference between success and repetition of past failures.

Previous article in this series Next article in this series

Article Series

Written by Tammy Lenski · Filed Under Mediation marketing
Tagged:

Liked this article? Here are some similar posts

Join the conversation!

2 Responses to “Online Marketing Tools Are for Learning, Not Selling”

Christine on October 25th, 2006 7:28 am

Tammy –

I question your use of the work “disinterested” rather than “not interested”. Maybe I am missing a subtle difference in meaning and “disinterested” is really what you want to say, but “not interested” sounds better to me. I found myself focusing in on the word rather than what you were saying.

Christine
Tammy Lenski on October 25th, 2006 4:08 pm

Christine, that’s helpful feedback. While I don’t differentiate in my own mind between “disinterested” and “not interested” (and neither do my dictionaries), I certainly wouldn’t want a word to sidetrack readers needlessly! I really appreciate you leaving your thoughts, both on this post and the others you’ve visited…it’s really helpful to me and you’re also hopefully encouraging others to do the same.