A young entrepreneur has a brilliant idea for a phone case with a built-in selfie stick. He draws up plans, makes a prototype, shoots a promotional video and starts a crowdfunding campaign. But one week after his campaign debuts, he sees an imitation product already being sold on AliExpress. Overseas manufacturers had seen his product online, and made a knock-off product before he could even source a factory.
Cases like this are not uncommon. Copycat ethics are entrenched in many overseas cultures. In fact, they don’t see anything wrong with it. Fashion brands have been struggling with it for years. Even iPhones get knocked off. You’ll never completely prevent a knock-off of your product, but there a few things you can do to mitigate the damage.
As Warren Buffet said, a company is like a castle and the moat protects it from its competition.The bigger the moat, the more the protection. The first thing you can do to widen the moat is to file for an international patent. You can also make the product the highest quality possible.
Another way to enlarge the moat is to invest in your brand. A brand is more than the product. It’s the sum of everyone’s perceptions about the product. It’s your product’s intangible perceived value. It’s the reason your customers will pay more for and demand the original version of your product. When they buy it, they will feel like they’ve joined the club, rather than just bought a cheap gadget. And they will be repeat customers.
Get in touch with us today to find out how we can help you build your brand. And be warned – you’re going to need a longer drawbridge.
Bentley Brands is a brand communications firm that helps clients in the natural products industry grow their brands through unique, effective and highly personalized services.
How to prevent knock-offs of your natural product