Schrock Innovations Computer Company

As tonight’s historic election results come in, Schrock Innovations thought it would be a great opportunity to run a commercial thanking our Lincoln customers for voting us Best of Lincoln for the 9th consecutive year.

This spot was actually the second shooting of the commercial. We shot the first attempt in the Lincoln Service Center but due to a camera error, we had to re-shoot the entire spot again. Because of schedule conflicts, we had to shoot it in our brand new Omaha Service Center.

The commercial will air on Lincoln’s Channel 8 throughout tonight’s coverage. Take a look at the spot below:

On Sunday, October 10, 2010 Schrock Innovations launched a completely redesigned Omaha Service Center near the high-traffic Village Pointe Mall.

More than 100 people turned out for the grand opening and nearly all of them brought computers in for a discounted Preventative Maintenance Checkup.

The Omaha staff did a great job making everyone feel welcome, processing in the computers and making sure everyone got a helping from the Lovely Kimberly’s amazing cookie buffet.

In fact, 11 days later – after the glow of the grand opening had completely passed, our bench is STILL full with an average of 11 computers coming through the service center every day.

What is New in the Omaha Service Center?

In 2008 Schrock built a state-of-the-art Service Center in Lincoln, NE. The new Omaha Service Center applies the lessons learned from that build out to create the most efficient, customer friendly design possible.

For example, Schrock’s Omaha Service Center features full-height walls to help reduce echo, a shortened walking distance between the front desk to the door, and a much larger tech bay.

The new configuration allows Schrock technicians to work on 40 computers simultaneously, as opposed to Lincoln’s 26.

Where is the Omaha Service Center?

Schrock Innovations Omaha Service Center is located at 16909 Burke Street, STE 129 in Omaha, NE 68118. You can reach the service center by phone at 934-9423.

Each year Three Eagles Communications in Lincoln asks listeners of their 6 Lincoln, Nebraska radio stations to vote for who they consider the best local business in a number of categories.

Schrock Innovations is proud to announce that we have been voted the 2010 #1 independent computer repair company in Lincoln. This is the 9th consecutive year that Schrock has won this coveted award.

The KZKX morning show is one of the most highly-rated morning shows in Lincoln, so you can understand how THRILLED we were when Schrock Computer Company was featured during their show today!

Carol and Mick said some kind words about us as they introduced us to their listeners and kindly mentioned that we give a free hour of labor to all new customers so they can experience what real service feels like.

Have a listen to what they had to say about us!

Tim and the Animal took a couple minutes during the Morning Show today to throw a few kind words toward Schrock Innovations Computer Company.

We have done a LOT of work for Animal’s computers over the past few months and no matter what he sounds like on the air, he is one of the most good-hearted, caring person that I know. Tim is a true tech lover and he and I would talk for hours about the latest cameras and audio technology if the boss wasn’t around to break it up.

Have a listen to what they said about Schrock on the air.

Omaha, NE is a very different beast from Lincoln, NE. Everything is more expensive, less available, and more regulated.

Despite the challenges, Schrock Innovations is planning a massive expansion into Omaha in 2010. Replicating what we have done in Lincoln for $850,000 we are planning to spend nearly $1.9 million to establish a presence in Omaha.

Didn’t Schrock Already Have an Omaha Location?

Schrock Innovations entered Omaha in 2004 with a small 1,500 sq foot expansion office on 84th and Maple Street. We had a radio show on the lightly listened to KOMJ Magic 590 AM, and we managed to generate a profitable first year of operation with a light staff and a lot of small-ticket repair work.

In 2006, Magic 590 was flipped to an all-sports format and re-branded as Big Sports 590. We lost our radio show, and with it the only means of marketing that we had cultivated in Omaha.

We tried to move to KKAR 1290, but after 6 months of radio we only had 2 new customers to show for it. KFAB did not have any available air slots, so we cut our losses and killed the Omaha radio show.

From a financial perspective we should have rolled up the Omaha physical location right then and there. From a moral perspective the right thing to do was to keep the store open to service the hundreds of warranties we had sold on new Modular PCs.

We tried to hedge our losses by locating our web development staff in Omaha and moving the location to a lower rent area on 93rd and Maple.

Our lease on that location expired in October of 2009, and our landlord had the opportunity to lease to a longer term tenant. I was not willing to sign a long-term lease in that space, so we rolled up the location in November 2009 and went to 100% mobile service in Omaha.

What is Going to Be Different This Time?

Schrock Innovations Computer Company was mentioned on the KFRX morning show today.

Over the past few months I have had the opportunity to get to know the KFRX staff and their show is awesome.

I have a special appreciation for …

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.”

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:

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: