Peanuts to Profits With Thor Schrock
Peanuts to Profits With Thor Schrock

This morning Schrock Innovations issued a press release about what the company is doing to help businesses use their websites to weather the Great Recession.

Here is the text of the release:

Schrock Bets on Lincoln’s Digital Recovery With Hire

With the prospect of a double-dip recession looming, Schrock Innovations is betting Lincoln’s businesses will turn to the web

Lincoln, NE, March 29, 2010: Although Lincoln’s economy is the nation’s second best for its size, that doesn’t mean local businesses are escaping the pinch of the Great Recession.

Schrock Innovations, a local Lincoln computer company, has hired Brian Augenstein to captain the company’s Web Development Division as demand for their local web-based services grow in the face of a recessionary business environment.

Thor Schrock owns Schrock Innovations and he believes that businesses are turning to the web because, when used properly, it is less expensive to generate leads, sales, and profits online. Schrock has been buying media in Lincoln for 11 years and he is seeing the signs of a business environment that is scared to take chances.

“When I can buy commercials during the NCAA Final Four for $10 per spot, that speaks toward the business climate,” Schrock said. “Couple advertising cuts with layoffs, outsourcing, and rising taxes and the result is a timid business environment that is fearful for the future.”

For what it would normally cost to run a single television commercial, Schrock Innovations is redesigning websites to make them more efficient at delivering information, generating leads, and bringing shoppers through the doors of Lincoln businesses.

“For many businesses, their website is an afterthought in the marketing budget. With marketing dollars becoming scarce, tweaking a company’s web presence is becoming more attractive because local businesses see immediate returns that go on over time without continued investment.”

Schrock points out that many businesses have all of the information they need right now to boost sales and profitability through their websites, but simply don’t know how to do it. Rather than designing a website for a client and walking away, Schrock Innovations helps its clients see the potential in the present and the future.

“In the past it was enough to know who your customers were,” Schrock said. “In today’s web world you need to know who they are, where they are coming from, how to reach them, and what they want. If you use your website to get that information, sales and profits are a natural conclusion.”

Schrock’s team of internet marketers and designers evaluate a company’s web presence based on three criteria. If a client is missing any of the three, Schrock shows them how to claim the business they are missing out on:

1. You don’t know how many of your customers or clients come from your website. There are numerous free online tools that allow you to track how many customers search for you, find your website, and then what they look at before they leave.
2. Your website has few visitors. Many of the websites designed between the late 1990’s and the mid 2000’s were designed as an online brochure rather than a marketing piece designed to attract visitors and convert them into paying customers. If you didn’t own the company, what is the #1 reason you would go to your website?
3. Your website is not reflective of what you do. Companies are necessarily focused on the day-to-day activities of running a business. Over time, businesses can evolve to offer new products, services, and even change their look. Does your website represent where your brand is today, or where it was 5 years ago?

“If a company’s website has traffic, tracking, and conversion that means they are making money. A website is more than a billboard. It should work for your company day and night. If it is not, your business is missing an opportunity to make money in the toughest of economic times.”

This weekend Schrock Innovations kicked off the 2010 Ultimate Upgrade sale with all of the normal events, plus one new twist.

While I was taping last weekends show in the studio with Chris Goforth the first day of the NCAA Basketball Tournament was under way.

In between each segment Chris was switching between the studio mode and the KLMS 1480 – ESPN Sports Lincoln feed to catch the latest scores.

I am not a huge basketball fan, and while an upset is always interesting something else stood out to me above all else. There were no local commercials in the commercial segments.

Why No Local Commercials?

In just 5 weeks 1480 AM was flipped from a sports station, to an oldies station, and then back to a sports station again just days before the tournament began.

There was simply no time for the sales management to put together commercial packages, get them to the sales people, and then present them to clients.

These situations always interest me because here I saw a great sports product paired with a station with available advertising spots, and a lack of a pre-defined pricing structure.

I was already in the studio, so we cut a quick :30 spot (listen to it here) and I simply asked the station manager if I could advertise during the games. Of course they agreed, so the only thing to work out was the price.

I was able to get spots during each game for an unbelievable price just because I asked. The price was so good that I asked if I could have 2 spots per game instead of one. They agreed!

What is the Ultimate Upgrade?

The commercial we cut was all about the Ultimate Upgrade sale at Schrock Innovations. During this sale you can trade in an old computer for credit against a new system.

The new computer is only $449 after your trade – $250 off our normal entry level price – and you can trade any old computer working or not!

Its a little early to know how the commercials did, but for the price I paid I would be willing to blindly commit to a regular KLMS schedule no questions asked!

Schrock Innovations successfully hired a new Web Development Director last week thanks to a radio recruitment advertisement we ran on KIBZ-FM, The Blaze.

Brian Augenstein was hired away from Phoenix Computers in Beatrice, NE to head the company’s Web Development Division. Brian is a very promising employee who is laying important groundwork for Schrock’s future expansion into website development, hosting, and application development.

Normally if we would have advertised that position in the paper we would have had to search for the proverbial needle among dozens of applications from unqualified people.

Let’s Do it Again!

The radio recruitment ad worked so well that we decidied to run a second one seeking a Computer Repair Technician. For some inexplicable reason experienced computer break / fix technicians are hard to find in Lincoln Nebraska.

We have had a post up on Craig’s List for weeks, only to get applications from people ranging from auto mechanics to fry cooks. We can’t hire a poorly skilled technician to work on our customers’ computers, so the next step was to drop an ad in the paper – or try the radio again.

I decided to give radio another try.

What Schrock is Looking For

You can listen to the radio recruitment ad we are running the week here.

In the ad we describe the kind of person we are looking for. Schrock technicians are never allowed to give up on a problem. At times this leads us to work directly with developers and engineers at companies like Microsoft or Kingston to resolve problems on the bleeding edge of technical support.

When a Schrock technician is confronted with an un-patched problem, they don’t quit and wait for a patch. They become the catalyst that gets the patch created.

In fact, Schrock is so selective about the kind of person we employ that two of our senior technicians have been courted by Google.

This position pays up-to $30,000 annually plus benefits.

How Can I Apply?

If you are a technician who wants to take the next step in your career, fill out an application on Schrock’s website. Its nice to be part of an award-winning team that will challenge you to rise to the next level of performance.

We will not contact your current employer unless you allow us to do so and we will arrange an interview around your work schedule.

Schrock Innovations is seeking a Director for our Website Services Division in our Lincoln, NE Service Center. For the right candidate, this is an opportunity to make a real difference in the way business and non-profit organizations operate every day.

This is a description of what you can expect from the position and what we are looking for in a candidate:

Lincoln’s #1 Computer Repair Company is looking for a charismatic, energetic department supervisor to oversee our Web Development Division.

This position requires excellent customer service skills, a genuine desire to help our clients achieve their business goals, and over-the-top communication skills.

Direct responsibilities for this position include:

* Meet with web development clients and potential clients to identify needs and create plans to meet those needs
* Oversee the progress of our coders and ensure their work is meeting the expectations of our clients
* Customer relationship management tasks
* The development of a monthly client newsletter
* Coding minor HTML updates and image changes on client websites
* Prospecting for potential new clients
* Working with our service providers on any issues that arise
* Provide and maintain an organizational framework for the Web Development Division

A qualified candidate must be able to:

* Work in our Service Center in Lincoln, NE (this is not a telecommute position)
* Maintain a pleasant, professional demeanor at all times
* Understand web design business concepts such as hosting, reserving a domain, etc..
* Develop and skillfully present website proposals for clients and potential clients
* Edit existing HTML code with the assistance of Adobe Dreamweaver CS3
* Do basic image manipulation using Adobe Photoshop CS3 (resize an image, change resolution, etc)
* Work a 45-50 hour work week

Requirements for this Position:

* Applicant must have a valid driver’s license and current insurance
* Applicant must pass a thorough background check
* Experience in coding is a considerable plus, but limited training is also available
* Experience in business management, project management, or a similar field is a plus

Additional Responsibilities:

* Applicant will be required to fill in on the Front Desk 1-2 days a week
* Applicant may be required to answer phones, assist customers, or perform other assigned duties

Compensation:

* $30,000 to $40,000 annual salary based upon qualifications and experience
* Bonuses based on achieving specific performance goals
* 401K retirement package with employer match
* Employee Assistance Program
* Discounted products and services

Last week Schrock Innovations received a letter from the City of Lincoln regarding our support of America Recycles Day.

Each year students and businesses across Lincoln pledge to commit themselves to recycle more in the coming year. Each pledge is placed in a box and a drawing is conducted.

As we have done in the past, we donated a computer system to this year’s pledge winner. Here is the text from the letter we received from Gene Hanlon, Lancaster County’s Recycling Coordinator:

Dear Thor:

I’m writing to express our sincere appreciation to you for your support of America Recycles Day and donating one of your computers for our Community Grand Prize Drawing. Your donation of the computer provided a valuable incentive for people to take the time to complete a pledge to increase their recycling efforts or buy recycled products.

This year we received over 1,900 pledges from Lincoln and Lancaster County residents to step up their recycling efforts. I don’t believe this would have been possible without your support. I hope you found your involvement in the America Recycles Day campaign beneficial.

Best wishes to you and your family during this holiday season. I hope that the New Year brings much happiness to you and your family.

Schrock Innovations received a letter last week that our Lincoln Service Center has been selected as one of 100,000 “Favorite Places” on Google.

The selection was based on how many people have sought out information about Schrock Innovations on Google. That information includes reviews, requests for driving directions, and general search data.

Contained within the letter was a window decal for our Service Center as well as some statistics about how local Lincoln, Nebraska Google users were seeking out Schrock Innovations over the past 6 months:

• An average of 14 people a month request driving directions to Schrock Innovations (pretty nice considering we are on one of the busiest intersections in Lincoln)
• There were 942 requests for specific information about Schrock Innovations (coupons, reviews, etc.)
• The majority of users who look into Schrock Innovations are looking for computer repair services

Gooogle Favorite Places is a sub component of Google Local Business Center. I was unaware of this program until Google contacted us to let us know we had been selected.

If your business has not been selected, you can apply for consideration by signing up for and completing an entry in Google Local Business Center.

Schrock Innovations had an amazing 2009 in Lincoln and we need another technician to continue building on that success.

We posted an advertisement on Craigslist, and we ask that qualified candidates please apply on our website rather than in person or calling by phone.

What are we looking for?

We need a technician that is proficient with PC and Mac troubleshooting who can work alone in the field or in the service center as part of a team.

We are expanding our on-site hours to include weekends. We have also taken on a umber of corporate clients in Lincon and Omaha who use Mac and we need more than one technician on staff to handle the workload.

We need a tech who already knows troubleshooting and is experienced with all versions of Windows and Mac OS. Of course we will train on Schrock procedures, but we need someone who has the skills to do the job on day one for this position.

This month you could win a $1,500 Schrock Innovations 2009 Holiday Special PC with Solid State Hard Drive Technology just for watching the morning News!

Here is the spot that is running on Channel 10/11 to promote the contest:

I was just informed the Schrock Innovations won #1 Independent Computer Repair Company in the Three Eagles Communications Best of Lincoln contest for the 8th year in a row!

Other winners were Best Buy and Quick Tek. This award comes on the heels of Schrock winning the Nebraska Retail Federation’s 2009 Customer Service Business of the Year.

This year the voting for Best of Lincoln was spread over all of Three Eagles local stations. The station group owns most of the top-rated radio stations in the city. Voters were told to go to the website of the station they were listening to to vote in over 60 different business categories.

Listeners had to vote for a super-majority of the business categories for their vote to count.

Thank you to all of the listeners and customers that took the time to vote for Schrock Innovations. Schrock takes its service lvels very seriously, and awards like these let us know we are on the right track.

This week Schrock Innovations started a new series of commercials running on three different radio stations in Lincoln (KFOR, KZKX, and KIBZ) that talk about the features of the 2009 Holiday Special and the benefits of choosing a Modular PC.

Chris Goforth and I met up to make the spots and to be honest I was just not in rah-rah marketing mode that day. I knew what I wanted to talk about, but did not have a script or even a bulleted list for that matter.

Chris and I were talking about what we wanted to do and I suggested that rather than the traditional commercial that we style the commercials in the same tone that we do our weekly radio show. Chris agreed so he hit record and we went to work.

I have to honestly say that these commercials were the easiest, least forced, and most informative spots I have ever done for any product. A couple days later Chris and I ran into each other at the studio and he even commented that when he hears the spots its like he has been teleported into our show for that minute.

Take a listen to these two spots and tell me what you think of them.

Spot 1 – The Features of the 2009 Holiday Special PC

Spot 2 – The Benefits of Choosing a Modular PC

We have a third spot that will begin running on Monday, that talks about Schrock’s award winning service. I am not allowed to talk about that just yet, so subscribe to my RSS feed to hear all about it in your email Monday morning!