We are living in a time that we get to hear all forms of individuals perspectives and opinions which has made businesses of all forms stand up and deliver. With review platforms such as google, yelp and so on client's get to tell their experience to the world within a few minutes. How is this new power of sharing their voice with reviews effective? Clients word of mouth has always been a very powerful tool for years which can effect any business in such a way that it can close down or soar. I find that it is has a lot of good and bad influence behind it so has this new digital power with review rating platforms give client's too much power? The amount of influence a good or bad review has on a business can be quite intimidating, and I find that some client's choose to abuse sharing their voice if things don't go their way unfortunately. To be able to freely give a negative rating based on issues with policies, pricing not in your budget, communication preference, access and so on is abuse of a client's verbal power.
Is it ok for a client to question an entrepreneur's price? Clients now have instant access to a catalog of service providers that offer the same or similar services with various rates which gives them the ability to compare and rate value. The roles have reversed and clients demand more with voices that are heard not only by reviews, but they have social media groups, podcast, YouTube channels and so on that provides clients with all the backup and tools required to negotiate or even demand. Even though this may be true reality as an entrepreneur you still create your own value. Being questioned or challenged comes with the territory so how you respond is the key you your success as a business.
Living in a community that allows everyone's voice to be heard gives us the ability to communicate effectively as client and service provider. Respect is what all anyone can ask for and deserves so by understanding that we have different views and processes. For years clients verbal power was only within a small reach of family and friends and now the power is in their keyboards. Now with that being said it is not necessary to challenge someone's value when we all have a variety of choices and options. In order for a business to maintain a positive presence in this error of the "Public Voice" they will have to uphold great customer service, deliver what they promise and understand bad service will no longer go without consequences. I'm all for this power shift which gives clients a voice with influence and substance.
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