{competition} how to deal with copycats, imitators & thieves
karen gunton
lately i have noticed a number of my facebook biz friends lamenting the fact that their stuff is being copied. i don’t think any of us are immune to this problem: i see complaints from other photographers and artists, online businesses who sell information and expertise, and of course lately from many crafters and handmade goods businesses.
comments i have seen recently:
- xxxxx has completely copied my design. so frustrating! what do i do?
- i feel like i need to keep reinventing myself in order to stay ahead of the imitators
- xxxxx stole my idea and is selling it for less than me! should i lower my price too?
- one of my old clients has just started a biz doing the same thing as i am. how rude!
- xxxxx has stolen images right off of my page and is selling the idea as their own. can i stop them?
here is my take:
protect your stuff
- put a watermark on your images – picnik has free online software that would allow you to add text (use your biz name as a watermark) if you don’t have software such as photoshop or elements. make it harder for people to steal those right off of your site.
- your original work is protected by copyright law. you do not have to add a copyright message on your work for it to be protected but it can be a deterent to thieves to add a copyright message to the footer of your sites, under your images, anywhere you think people might see them. (eg Copyright © 2011, karen gunton. all rights reserved.)
- make it clear that you own the designs and that copying is stealing. state that if someone imitates your idea that you would like credit for the design and ask for a link back to your site. sometimes being bold is enough to scare others off.
- copyright protects authorship of your original work. if you want to protect your business name or your designs you might want to look into getting official trademarks and patents on your stuff.
resources: copyright in australia, canada, UK, myths about copyright, copyright vs trademark vs patent
embrace imitation
- realize that you can’t reinvent the wheel. just as you are inspired by things around you others may be inspired by you. instead of trying to avoid being imitated, position yourself as THE trendsetter. the one whom others want to imitate.
- if people are going to try to copy your ideas or designs anyways, try selling your designs, mentoring the newbies in your field, coaching others. turn your expertise into another income stream and become known for being the one to go to for help in that field.
- befriend the newbies in your field. offer help, advice and inspiration. be open and kind and transparent. people don’t feel so good about copying a friend, are more likely to give you credit, and it improves your own reputation in the field, which clients recognize by the way!
(btw, i wrote a post about the ellen show in which i marvelled at the way in which she embraces the competition. you should read it.)
don’t compete on price
- lowering your price to compete with imitators or any competitors for that matter is a terrible idea. anyone else can come along and lowball you, so you better have something more in your arsenal that is going to keep your clients coming to you. (i won’t go on and on about pricing, you can read more here.)
compete on value
- stop investing your energy in the copycats. put your efforts into providing your clients with the best value and experience possible. yes joe blow might be selling the same thing as you but they are NOT you. that is NOT your thing. if you provide consistent, excellent value (in quality, quantity, service, expertise, time, attention, creativity) then your clients will quickly realize that those copycats have nothing on you.
don’t try to outrun the competition
- responding to copycatters by constantly trying to come up with a newer, more unique idea is going to get exhausting. respond instead by doing what you do better and bigger and with more excellence. become known for your thing. make it your signature. it won’t matter if someone imitates you – they will be known for copying while you will be known for being the original, the master, the best! the more excellent you are the more obvious it becomes that the copycat is a poor imitation.
be honest about the effect of stealing
- if someone blatantly steals from you make it known. be honest and forthright about the situation, but be professional about it. how you deal with it is a reflection on you (not the thief) so make sure you can live with your reaction and the result of your actions. (i.e. as tempting as it might be, don’t be a whiny bitch about it all over facebook and twitter – that reflects poorly on you. be honest, hold your head high, and move on.)
- btw, i would bet your loyal clients and friends would spread the word awfully fast (let them be the whiny bitches!) and that thief might be forced to cease.
a note about my experience with photography:
when i was first starting out i found the photography community to be quite cliquey and hard on newcomers. (i still find this sometimes, but i try to surround myself with awesomeness instead of that crap.) i have chosen to respond by sharing as much as i can with as many photographers as i can. i prefer to build a community of sharing and welcoming rather than one of judgey bitches raging on newbies for not doing it right and ruining the photography world.
imitation is huge in photography, most trends are copied and copied often. i myself have had people copy my ideas and i know i am influenced by other photographer’s work. if someone asks me how i do a certain thing or get a certain look, i am flattered and very willing to share. if i ever got to the stage where this happened a lot i would look at selling my designs or teaching others, just as others have taught me.
i have also had previous clients who have now started up their own photography businesses and taken clients away. that is ok with me. there is room in the market for newbies: the clients they market themselves to are different from the ones that are now my ideal clients. i also like the idea that i can pass along names of people who are looking for something i cannot or choose not to offer. we all have to start somewhere and i choose to be supportive of newbies and be a mentor whenever possible.
i guess my point is this: what others do is out of my control, my response is my choice. i have found my attitude of embracing, sharing and teaching has resulted in growth to my business, much more so than any business i have lost to imitators, copycats or to competitors in general. and you know what? karma is a bitch. remind yourself of that the next time you are annoyed. it is also blessing. the more i give, the more i get in return. =)
what do you think? how do you respond to competition in your field? do you have a strategy or some advice you can offer others? do you have a story about your own experience you can share? please comment, i would love to hear from you!
Reader Comments (15)
Love this part - "Position yourself as THE trendsetter!"
In Internet marketing, there will ALWAYS be people who can and will undercut you. However, you have something nobody else has - your own personal unique way of taking care of people who buy from you. Make their customer experience something incredibly valuable...and they'll choose you over the price slashers any day.
thanks barbara. i agree 100%. one almost needs to print that out and post it on the mirror for the days when you feel frustrated with the competition. "just keep on being awesome!"
This is so true. I love your tips and your take.
All one can do is take the necessary precautions and understand that it still can happen.
I love the idea that you have about sharing your knowledge and making friends. I believe when you give back you get in return
thanks shane! we already know how awesome it is to have friends who do the same biz as you, don't we! ;)
isn't there a song about that - what you give you get in return... crap what is that? it is on the tip of my tongue... googling now....
ok - well that is a little cheesy: it's savage garden! "I believe in Karma, what you give is what you get returned" but it is so true! =)
A fabulous article Karen.
If you don't mind I would like to share this with my FB group and Nov Newsletter.
This is happening more and more every day isn't it?
It is extremely frustrating - why can't people get their own ideas and why do they blatantly steal yours.
Treat it as flattery, otherwise you may get angry
Have a great day
Cheers Leah (WAHM)
thanks leah. yes please do share it! i know this is such a frustrating part of trying to grow a little biz, but i really do believe it is up to us how we choose deal with it. after all, we can't control what others do!
Fantastic article and well timed too! I get many emails from people asking what they can do to better protect themselves from copycats so I'm adding this to the Helpful Resources page of my website (Support a WAHP).
Keep up the great work Karen! :)
I love this article & read it all the time. Is it ok with you if I post it on the group wall for our Handmade in SA page??
@ amanda - thank you for sharing this!
@ kathryn - please do! i love the idea that it can help someone on your page deal with this difficult topic. =)
Wonderful post and so true!.
If you are the orginator, stay true to the original ethics of WHY you designed or do it a certain way. It shows, it shows clearly!
I was first to market a type of product. Fought the way through and inadvertantly paved the way clear for the competition. Many competitors reinvented the design or went with another version of the concept which I found terrific because it validated our target market as the thing to have rather than cannabilising my business.
Each & everyone of these 'originals' as I call them had something new to bring to the table, but the copycats that came after were as unwanted as a storm of gate crashers really did some damage. Copying even the context of copy of the product, nothing was sacred, until a customer at an Expo asked me about my product, nothing unusual, as I expect the normal why this, why that etc. I must admit I tend to over inform customers. Her answer was so remarkable and put to rest all the issues & worries of copycats.
She said "I thought so, you know you are the only one of the 13 here today that could actually answer my question directly & completely. All the rest couldnt answer why the shape was like this or why anything". She might have purchased the product for herself and another 2 for friends, but at the end of the EXpo, out of all the 14 that were there, my product was the only one that completely sold out.
Since then I have only worried about the customers, not what the others are doing, protecting the product the copy and framed context with exactly what Karen suggests to do
sjorcha - thank you so much for sharing that story! i love the fact that you pointed out that you are accepting of the people who have created different items for the same problem, similar products to yours. it does strengthen the idea that yours is 'the thing to have' and in any niche there is generally lots of room for variety - competition is actually a good thing. when done with integrity and respect. the copycats, as you said, are so frustrating!! but i LOVE that that interaction with the client at the expo reminded you of your expertise, your standing in your niche, the fact that you were the trailblazer for your particular product. keep on being the expert, the trailblazer... the competition (especially the copycats) can't touch you!
(let's not forget the effect of karma on all of those copycats... =) )
Great article but a wee bit mis-guided I think. Ideas can never be copyrighted, otherwise we never would have progressed as we have. Henry Ford invented the car, does that mean that every other brand of car is inferior to the original? How many different TV brands do we have? what about dinner sets, washing machines, slippers?.the list goes on. How can it be said that a person copied your ideas, but you received inspiration from others? If I take a photo of my grand-daughter in a lovely sunny park with a gorgeous hat on and holding a small bunch of flowers does that mean if any photographer has ever taken a picture like that, that I have copied him/her? About the most we can do is add a label to our 'original' design and ask that if some one makes one, that it be accompanied by a label stating it was made from a pattern by 'xxxx'.
Hi Karen
That was such an interesting read and very helpful;'). I found this thru Support a WAHM and reposted the link on my page so others could benefit from your insight. So glad I have read this
joles - i think if you read the post again, as well as my comments above, you will find that i agree with you - as a photographer i am quite aware of the fact that no idea is really new. we all just put our own twist on it. i mention that some more in the follow up post to this here: http://buildalittlebiz.squarespace.com/blog/2010/10/26/getting-started-how-to-build-a-biz-without-pissing-off-the-c.html
you can still have a biz that's been done before, create a product that someone else is creating without outright copying. i have had my written content copied word for word and posted as their own, have had images stolen and posted as their own - that content is protected by copywrite and it is illegal to plagerize or steal that content. you can't blame people for wanting to protect their hard work. i believe that we should embrace competition & immitation, it will make us better at our own businesses, but we do not need to sit back and allow others to outright copy or steal from us. of course - just my two cents on the matter...
teena - thanks for sharing my post =)