By Terri Hendry
If you are a family-owned, small business, what does it take to survive and thrive in the “new economy?” Reno resident Cherie Humphreys has some insight. As the founder, owner and operator of Answerwest, a boutique answering service/call center based out of Reno, Nevada, her company has survived and thrived despite constantly changing technologies and stiff competition from the larger global economy.
Today, Answerwest is celebrating its 25th Anniversary. The future of the company is so bright, Humphreys is preparing her son Steve to become Answerwest’s next generation. What is the secret to longevity and success? Humphreys offers 10 tips that may provide some insight:
1) What is your business philosophy?
We are in the business to serve our customers. If we fail to
serve our customers, someone else will.
2) Why have you survived where others have failed?
Building relationships is the key. People don’t care about
how much you know until they know how much you care. Unlike
most call-centers, we organically grew our customer
base. Answerwest began taking calls in 1988 with 4 clients.
I believe every interaction has two dimensions, human
and business. Often companies will focus on the
business dimension; however, it takes both skill sets to care
for your customers and capture their loyalty.
3) How have you kept pace with continuous technology changes?
As certain markets expanded, we invested in those trends.
It’s hard to believe that in the 90’s we were faxing messages
and numerically paging doctors as mobile technology was
very expensive and not reliable in the hospitals. Now,
we’re intergraded with iPod, iPhones, Droids, you name it,
sending messages via SMS text and sending secure messages
using Cloud technology. Clients also have the flexibility to
log into our system and retrieve information at their convenience.
4) Has new technology hurt or helped your business?
A big positive. Our technology allows us to mirror our
clients business with affordable solutions. We can share
data-bases, web-sites, appointment schedules and complex
on-call schedules. We have all the tools available to
manage employees, sell a service, screen calls, inform, refer,
or connect. We can manage hundreds of on-call schedules
with thousands of entries. Information is recorded and stored
for custom delivery options. This puts key information at our
clients and their customer’s fingertips.
5) Answerwest has never outsourced calls and has no plans to do so.
Why? One of the first questions a prospective new client will
always ask is; ‘Are your agents in the USA? Are they in Nevada?
Can they speak Spanish?’ My answer is Yes, Yes and Yes!”
While labor costs are substantially less to out-source out of
the country, I truly believe when you outsource, you can
expect to lose control over service. While you may save
money in one column on the ledger, the losses from poor
service experiences may be more costly to re-gain. Our
business model revolves around keeping our employee turnover
to a minimum and avoiding the high cost associated with
turnover. We currently have more than 35 employees and
we’ve always had long-term employees. Two of our four original
agents are still with us. The third just recently retired. I
have five employees who have been with us for 10 to 15 years.
We pride ourselves on making Answerwest a great place to work.
6) What were some of your biggest challenges and how did you overcome
them?
Initially we did not have adequate cash-flow after the start-up
period. The business plan was a worst case based on low sales
and high overhead costs. Some business expenses were off by
more than 100% percent. As traditional banks would not lend
money to a start-up business, I raised money by selling 40% of
the business through a limited partnership. Over the last 15
years I have re-purchased 85% of the original stock offering.
My advice to a new entrepreneur, raise at least 50% more than
your projected worst case scenario. Keep trying; never give up
on your dreams.
7) So what other challenges did you face and how did you overcome it?
We have survived two major floods, several power-outages and
expanded our facilities twice. To date the company has never
experienced and un-scheduled interruption in service. We’ve
been fortunate to work with an amazing IT department,
employ people who care about community, while bracing
against waterways and snowstorms to take answer calls.
8) How do you gain client retention?
Happy customers who get their issues resolved tell about four to
six people. If your employees understand that and realize the
potential results of their behavior, they’re more likely to
perform the behavior you expect. The effects of poor telephone
manners and bad customer service will hurt any business. Poor
telephone service can be the difference between making and
breaking a small business and it will most definitely affect
your bottom line. Remember the tone of YOUR voice accounts
for 87% of the communicated message.
9) How did your son, Steve, get involved in the business?
When I started Answerwest I was a single mother with an
8-year-old, and I worked a lot of hours. Steve didn’t really
like coming to work with me after school. In fact he really
hated it until he started college, and the “I need money”
factor kicked in. Steve worked remotely building scripts
and client databases while attending college and playing
basketball at Albertsons College of Idaho. When he graduated
in 2005 and moved to the UK to play basketball, he maintained
his remote support position. Steve returned in 2007 and now
helps support the most vital part of the business, the customers.
10) What advice do you give your son?
I remind him; don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Just don’t
keep making the same mistakes over and over again. Also, to
prioritize your life and health you must be able to DISCONNECT.
Leave your phone, PC and iPods and get outdoors. Nevada has
glorious seasons, beautiful colors and a back-country rich with
its heritage. Nothing will ground you like nature and I
guarantee it will make you smile.
Answerwest specializes in providing 24/7 answering services to hospitals, medical professionals, as well as other high demand businesses. For more information visit www.answerwest.com or call (775) 825-2222.
