People are overwhelmed by a vast range of entertainment options thanks to cheap broadband that transmits 1000's of movies, countless television programs from the 1950's to yesterday and an inexhaustible supply of apps and online games. How can the entrepreneurs who make or distribute these products let people know how good they are and where to find them?

Word of mouth was one of the most effective sources of new business for everything from cake shops to tourist attractions. That is why travel operators like to welcome their customers when they arrive and wish them a fond farewell when they leave. A positive memory is likely to be shared with family and friends. But, what of online businesses that are competing to customer attention among the millions of apps and millions of websites that flourish and dominate business niches?

The first phase of creating a business is to have a product, service, event or travel service that people want. It can be just like an existing product or service BUT to succeed, it has to be better that what the opposition are offering. Back in the day, Pan Am was one of the best airlines in the world. It was the name that everybody thought of when they wanted to fly overseas. Who would have thought that it would die out? In 2016, Pan Am is a dinosaur. Blasted out of business, not by a meteorite but by competition what did not make profound mistakes and offered better service in better aircraft.

That cycle of life and death in the business World goes on every day. Countless businesses are started and a lot less than countless businesses last for a year or more. That is the reality. Gaining new customers to a shop or for a service is about making sure that people who need to know, do in fact know that something better exists.

Netflix is one of the leaders in video streaming. There were similar businesses in the past but they were not as good and the folks at Netflix had an opening in the market to exploit. They tied up the content with exclusive arrangements and then paid technicians and inventors to create the best streaming service possible.  Then, in a marketing masterstroke, they made the price to access their service ridiculously cheap. Just the equivalent of two hamburgers a month gives people around the World access to $Billions worth of video entertainment.

Netflix uses social media in a professional way to ensure that "cyber word of mouth" does their marketing for them. They use the conversations of millions of people to spread news about how good they are. The growth of Netflix was largely sustained by an unpaid army of happy customers who told their friends, family and work colleagues.

Other business, like the best online gaming and rewards sites use social media and positive word of mouth to reach new customers. If a business does not engage with social media it cannot win in competitive markets. Video game makers and distributors invest vast amounts of money to create entertaining interactive games that take millions of hours of high value technician time to create. Once the product is completed, the marketing people take over and engage in widespread use of social media and talented publicity services to seed conversations with details of where gaming sites are and what they offer.

Not a lot has changed in marketing. The principles are the same, but wise use of technology by skilled marketers makes selling a whole lot easier.

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