Are you on the path to being another me-too company? Planning on imitating the products of the leading competitors and just underbidding them? Bad path, bad strategy. There is always someone else who is going to underbid you and displace you. And what part of your strategy is actually building your brand and creating a value added image of your company?
I have frequently turned down requests
to ‘reinterpret’ (read: copy) a competitor’s product, but also frequently helped major companies to understand that this is really not what they wanted and needed in the long run.
They see a successful product by a successful company and want one as well. What they don’t see is what comprises a successful product, and being me-too is not a factor.
Your company needs innovation, continual innovation, innovation which benefits and improves the lives of your consumers, a corporate strategy and product roadmap, great design, but also the ability to correctly market the designs and promote them.
Through these above aspects you will begin to build your brand, get the attention of the press and the consumers, you will gain credibility and respect, and as the value of your brand elevates so does the value of your products.
There is no shortcut to creating great innovation and design, its a long path, it requires time and expertise, but done well will give you back results worth a thousand times your investment. capital ROI.
So the next time you want a best selling product, don’t try to imitate the competitors, innovate and innovate with the user(consumer) in mind.