hi, there. i'm j.j. ramberg. we give you tips and an advice to make your business grow. when you think of companies, you think of big budgets. what if you are a small business and you have an idea you want to test before launching? sharpen your pencil and take notes on how you can market the research on the cheap.

maraih, founder of citrus lane is not taking a chance. she researched every item. the web site and even the shipping boxes. >> we sent the tugboat and it got rave reviews. >> she has the experience. she spent much of her career at e-bay. she tested the products. >> i got to do a ton of market research. we got to research what customers wanted from us. we got customer segmentation and surveys on how they felt. >> when she decided to leave her job and start her own company, she brought this idea with her. the change from the established company and start up? money. >> i had a budget in the hundreds of thousands. i wasn't going to spend money like this. >> she did it on the cheap.

she had more than a dozen busy dees percolating. but the one that rest natured the most was what she wanted as a mom. >> so much of my thinking was the what are the right books to read and what foods to eat. i thought what other moms wanted too. >> members could sign up for a subscription and get a package of baby products in the mail once a month. she loved it. would consumers? she put together a market research plan with focus groups and surveys. >> my theory on testing is you want to do it fast and low cost as opposed to getting it perfect because you are trying to learn the big picture. >> to start testing the concept, she did informal groups in her living room. >> i recruited friends and friends of friends. i served snacks and had a little

social time. then i basically did a mini focus group in my house in a casuaual setting. i showed them boxes and got feedback. >> she has a few simple rules when doing a focus group. the first and most important is making sure people are truthful. >> i would often say i'm considering starting this business. i'm going to devote the next five or ten years of my life to it. i really want to know what you honestly think. i found that was enough to break that need to be nice. >> her second rule, have people write things down before the focus group discussion. >> one, you get a written record of it. you can always go back and read what sthey said. >> she was convinced this was a viable idea and she used the

feedback on the items to send out and how they are packaged. >> it was more like a sample product. try a shampoo or try a lotion. >> but the testing didn't end there. they had the product mix down, but they needed to know how customers would react to the new web site. they designed a basic version and tested it with a visibility study. >> it is a great idea. >> use ability is done one-on-one. you are trying to talk out loud while they use the site and see what they are taking away from it. >> the use ability testing found the web site was too wordy. parents were looking for a simple explanation of the service. >> it was too much for the busy mom to do. then we switched to a version of the web site where they are mostly pictures of the box. >> then the surveys.

she uses these to find answers to two fundamental questions. one, how likely is someone to purchase her service and how likely are they likely to recommend it? >> we asked how much did you like the box on a five-point scale. then we would say would you recommend the service to a friend. we watch both of those numbers. we want them both to be high because in general, people's intent to recommend actually in some way says more about how they feel about it. >> today, citrus lane is up and running and doing well. on the contrary, it has given them a new audience of people to get feedback from using social media. >> what is different about this moment right now is the tools exist with social media and the market research with customers that you can really listen and build a brand and a company

that's trying to actually listen to your moms or customers and do a better job for them. that's how you grow. >> as we just saw, there are inn extensive ways to do market research on the cheap. let's turn to jay gold, he is a small business blogger for the business times. and scott is the co-founder of gen y capital partners. good to see you. >> nice to be here. >> you have to get out and ask questions. it is nice to sit with your team and say this looks great and we love these products and you become a focus group of three or five or ten. i think this happens to a lot of people where they don't ask questions. >> absolutely. you do things on the web.

unlike a retailer where you stabb stand next to a customer, you get the market advice. >> two things, which is get the truth out of them and make sure people write down their first impressions. is there anything else when you are having a focus group? >> i think there is always -- as much information you can get out of any meeting you want. you don't want to overload people. what are the core values of the product? what do you need to find out? she did a great job about the packaging and emotional response to the product. every product and service is different, but you want to get to the meat and potatoes. >> this is what you need to know at the end. there is a small fear when you take your group of friends and your friends friends. are you only getting one opinion? >> you need to see who your target audience is and you could

go broke. my sister and her friends buy this stuff, but you need to make sure your target customer and not people you only know. get people over the need to be nice. no one wants to say this is stupid. everybody wants to say this is a great idea. you need honest feedback. not just pats on the back. >> you have to cut through that. >> you have to be careful not getting stuck in the personal analysis. there is something to be said of the steve jobs philosophy. not every budget has that to minute ovwin over the market. you may not want to dilute that product by winning over your mother. >> the other thing that is interesting is did you like this product and would you recommend

it to your friend. that speaks to asking the right questions. >> absolutely. i always ask about new potential products. will the market accept it if we add it. not just the services you already have. >> and more interesting than if i create this, would you buy it. >> i think we have to be careful to remember this is just one piece of starting a business. the fact is the math has to work. everybody would say i would buy that. would you buy it for $39.95 and can you make money for $39.95? how much will the web site take you? you cannot have your nephew do it after school. that will not work. to put the product together. doesn't mean you can make money

on it. >> all right. this was great advice. i love that piece. go ask questions. thanks so much, guys. twitter can be a really valuable tool for small business owners looking to generate leads. here are five things you can do on twitter to attract customers to your company. one, create your own business branded page. users will be able to view your page without logging in. two, use featured tweets. this let's you display messages at the top of the page to highlight special offers. three, leverage the power of hash tags, which are used to organize tweets around topics. but including a hash tag, you will reach people searching for that topic. four, make sure your twitter profile shows up in search by including the top key words associated with your business in

it. be brief and grab attention. and number five, install your own custom twitter background with colors and logos. the better your page looks, the more customers you'll attract. speaking of social media, scott gerber is back talking about ways to help your business. you went in to talk to a boutique store. >> i went to a retail shop that sold various clothing products for kids all the way to adults. i wanted to show the business owner that social media can be a great tool, but you need to understand the metrics and how you can use it to be most effective for your business. >> i want to increase foot traffic and i want to really boost my sales. there are so many social media sites that offer things that are online marketing related that i'm really not sure what's the

best things to do. my business is at a critical stage where we have been open for two years, but if i can't increase the traffic, it will be really hard for me to continue to do things. >> one more thing is online video. it will build your brand. let's talk about the four tips to shoot an online video. you need an iphone or flip cam. you want to have a subject. pick a topic that is short and sweet. you want to think about what you want out of the video. do you want to get people to your retail location or visit a certain web site? once you upload it, think where you can get it uploaded to get the most traffic. facebook, twitter, but you are a retail location. you want people coming in the

door. there is a great site of four square. >> we have a 10% discount on your fifth check in and we have a free gift with a $100 purchase. >> how that is working out? >> we don't get a lot of check ins. >> let's see what you have going on. you have zero views and zero looks. it might be the wrong offer. these are one in a million. we want something that sings around your brand. what about offering a photo shoot. people can use your stuff. take the photos and post it online. one of the biggest mistakes that small business owners make is if they put it out there in social media, they think the hoards will come. there are sites like meetup.com

where you can participate. >> i'm a member of several meet up groups. >> there is problem number one. you have to build real relationships. i would encourage you not to attend events and throw events, but be part of the experience and creating something in your local community. you want to look at every single social media post you do and analyze that data. make sure you grow what is working and mercilessly cutting what is not. if you look at your photos and give aways and media, those are the things getting the highest response rates. the area where is you are talking about what is going on that day, but making a statement or those posts are not working and you should cut them out. you want to check out the right frequency. if one post a day cuts it, that could be great. remember, if it doesn't work, cut it mercilessly. you don't want to waste your time every day. you want to sell and you want to communicate and find new leads.

when we come back, are you missing out on saving money? we'll tell you what federal tax credits you may not be taking advantage of. >> mommy will be home soon. does your doggie miss you when you are away? we have a talking dog bed that may help you calm your freaked out fido. you know, those farmers, those foragers, those fishermen.... for me, it's really about building this extraordinary community. american express is passionate about the same thing. they're one of those partners that i would really rely on whether it's finding new customers, or, a new location for my next restaurant. when we all come together, my restaurants, my partners, and the community amazing things happen. to me, that's the membership effect.

either way, what that does is it gives them an incentive to say maybe we hire an extra two people or three people. maybe we hire an extra ten people. >> about 3 million small businesses are eligible for $15 billion in tax credits. that's the finding in the new report from the small business majority. the group says most business owners aren't even aware of these credits and not taking advantage. john arnsmeyer is the founder of the small business majority. great to see you. >> good to be here. >> these tax credits are part of the affordable care act. what are they for? >> these tax credits are for all small businesses who qualify. any business with fewer than 25 employees and average wages of

under $50,000 has an opportunity to apply for the credits if they are paying 50% of their employees wages -- health kcarei mean. >> how many are taking advantage? >> the recent study shows 3.2 million businesses potentially eligible. last year, over 300,000 took the credit. some of the businesses aren't offering health care. we estimate it is about one-third to 40% of businesses who are offering health care and eligible to take the credit. >> wow, that is big. you say have been able to take the credit. do you mean just because they didn't apply for it? >> the problem is most businesses don't know about the credit. the latest polling we did show that 57% of small businesses had never heard of the credit. so what needs to happen is there needs to be more outreach of the

existence of the credit, more communication with accountants about it. the first time the credit is included in the software that the accountants use in the tax returns. that will be a huge benefit. >> john, this brings up a bigger question, which is i know i'm missing this credit, maybe i'm missing other credits out there. as a small business person, how can i educate myself on money i could be getting back? >> the first thing to do is talk to your accountant and obviously when a credit is new, sometimes it is not all that well known. part of the problem with this is there has been more heat than light shown on the affordable care act. the law is not perfect and it will not solve all problems immediately, there are significant benefits in the law. instead of talking about the politics behind it, we need to explain to small business owners and trusted advisors what is available. this is a perfect example of something being available.

it is free money for small businesses to take and not enough being known about it. >> where you just did the study on it and it goes state by state. where can you read about it? >> it is on our web site at smallbusinessmajority.org. we looked at small businesses in all 50 states. we broke it down by those who were eligible for the maximum credit and those eligible for some of the credit and how much the credit was get a good sens what the potential is out there by reading the report. >> i urge all small business owners to look at it and see if they are eligible for something that they're not taking advantage of. thanks so much for shedding light for us on this program, appreciate it. >> thanks, jj. dog owners hate to leave their beloved pets home alone. so today's elevator pitch came up with a verbose invention that will help your not so savage ast.

>> hello. >> hi, we're michael and kimberly newman. the inventors of the talking dog bed. >> that's a pretty puppy. lay down, mommy will be home soon. >> the talking dog bed is a dog bed with a recording device embedded into it. so when your dog steps into the bed, that triggers the playback of the prerecorded message. >> so the dog feels comfortable with hearing your voice. along with leaving little surprises around the house it can be used in doggy kennels and doggy hotels, because you can record over and over again. we are seeking a $250,000. for tv production of a commercial and air time. 62% of all households have pets. so if we only get 1% of that. that's $30 million. now think of canada and beyond. we are at the talkdogbed.com. the talkingdogbed.com 689 the

items cost approximately $10 to produce and we'll seal them for $49 and up. >> you guys did an amazing job of not getting distracted there. >> we wanted to get the pitch in. >> i want to hear what the panel thinks. do you think they got everything in that they needed to hear? >> i think it's a clever idea, it might work. but there's a difference between a clever idea and a viable business. i'm wondering where the $30 million, the 1%, how many people did you get to with the tv ads, those kind of questions. >> the statistics came from the appa, the american pet products association. >> that number makes sense. >> the question is, how many people are you going to be able to contact with the tv ads that you're buying? it doesn't matter how many people there are if you can't get to them? >> we're doing all the social media markets, everything, as well as tv, twitter, facebook, we have our people working on that. we expect to hit a big market. >> let's get to scott, do you think they got everything in

there that they needed? >> it's an interesting product there is definitely pet enthusiast market out there. the valuation seems off to me. i think this is something that seems as if it's -- prove it first, tell me why it's going to work and show me numbers, show me you're getting the valuation from some rhyme or reason, other than your equity interests. >> you guys both like the idea. it sounds like. as a business, would you take another meeting? and i'm going to get this puppy something to eat whale we're talking. >> i would see some numbers, the 10%, you think the company is worth $2.5 million. which seems rather outrageous. you're asking someone to take all the risk for your idea and you get most of the upside. i would definitely want to look at how you came to that very -- >> we're goeshable on that, too. >> i'm going to let scott pitch in. >> i want to hear something more than you're going to get 1% of a very big market, because i've heard that before. >> but the good thing is

everyone loves the product. >> and not only loves it they say we need it. >> we get people contacting us all the time. >> how about for a kid? >> that's the next product. >> thank you guys so much for coming on to the program. >> thank you, guys, that was great advice for an elevator pitch. >> time to answer some of your business questions. jay and scott are with us, an email from tony who writes, everywhere i turn i hear and read that you need to use social media to reach the maximum potential of your business. i've signed up with facebook, twitter, linkedin and google, but i can't find a user manual on any of the sites. i know kids are born with the knowledge, but what can an old guy like me do to learn how to use the sites? >> there are great sites on the web like mashable.com. that have a huge abundance of manuals and how-tos that i've found to be useful there are

other websites that will let you know about the latest tools. with mashable i find that they spell everything out as well as give great tips on how to use it. >> does he need to learn to use all of them in. >> ask the old guy, i'll tell you he might be better off having an intern from a local university or somebody hoo is doing it. that's easy to delegate to somebody else who will have a better handle on it and be quicker at it. i have to believe he could do other things that will be more valuable for him to be doing and delegate to somebody else. >> the one thing i would caution, if you're going to delegate it, be a follower, know what they're saying in case somehow your personality has taken a turn that doesn't fit with what you think your company is. >> let's move on to the next one. a question about billing. how can small business compete when corporations continue to extend their payment dates? now it's typical for a 45-60-and

90-day wait for your check. >> that is a tough question. >> that's what credit lines and banks are for and if you have receivables and you have good relationship with the right bank. the right banks, some banks have no interest in small business, they say they do, but they don't. if you get a small business credit line that they'll lend you against your receivables. and that's how a lot of businesses finance their businesses. >> what about giving some sort of benefit for companies if they pay faster? do big companies respond to that, or not really? >> i doubt it. back in the old days it was 2% net ten i don't think many companies are doing that any longer. part of the problem is it takes longer to put the invoice flew and have a process. so i don't know if you can do a lot about that. >> with one of my previous businesses, i faced this issue. we set the prius dent of how we

worked with corporations. we said if you want to work with us, we would put an invoice in immediately as soon as we started the project at 50% or 25 right up front and ultimately you're never going to get cash on demand when it comes to most corporations, but by the time the project was done, we were on track to receive the first payment within 30 daes of the end date and would receive the final within 60 days and we had to do things like invoice factors as a young company. you're paying terrible amounts of interest. but if you want do get the ball rolling it might be the alternatives 689. >> the company was let you put the invoice in early. start it through your process? >> we would say in order to get this, woulding and up and running, we want to put a certain amount of money down now and start the system. we realized it's not going to be cash on delivery, but we would receive milestone-based pay. which we thought was a better alternative. >> who to send the bill to. and unfortunately people wait

until it's 50 days, they call, we don't have that invoice and you're starting from zero. scott has good advice, find out how it works. >> and gene marks who writes for the new york times said make sure you have dotted your eyes or cross your ts, if you miss a number it's going to be put in a pile and pushed off to the side. looking for an easy way to manage your small business's paper trail? check our website of the week. shoeboxed.com will turn your pile of receipts into digital data for expense reporting and bookkeeping, mail in your receipts or scan and upload. the site will organize and format your data so it's ready to export to your accounting program or email. you can access the site using their free mobile app. to learn more about today's show, click on our website, it's openform.com/yourbusiness, you'll find all of today's

segments plus web-exclusive content with more information. can you follow us on twitter, it's@msnbc yourbusiness. next time, an entrepreneur dreams of expanding his business, but the only way he can possibly grow was to challenge state law with a backing of his customers. >> please contact your legislators because they've been waiting, what can we do? we said, all right. call them. email them. tell your friends, family, please, if you want to see this bill passed, we need your help. >> we'll tell you how the owner of this brewery took on a 78-year-old law and won. until then, i'm jj ramberg and remember, we make your business our business. they have names like idle time books and smash records

and on small business saturday they remind a nation of the benefits of shopping small. on just one day, 100 million of us joined a movement... and main street found its might again. and main street found its fight again. and we, the locals, found delight again. that's the power of all of us. that's the power of all of us. that's the membership effect of american express.