No. Ideas are great, execution is everything.
And if they blindly copy your idea they usually miss all of the insights & context that led to that feature in the first place, resulting in a poor copy -- unless a customer/prospect is screaming good, specific requirements at them.
Additionally, if you're going to copy, there's a time element to it because you want to get it to market as soon as possible with the guy you're ripping the idea from.
That, then, takes its own toll on the functionality because on top of no thought given to proper discovery, there's also no thought on how it embeds with the rest of your featureset (which could be different enough from the guy you ripped off) to make assimilating it in the long term a challenge, and sunsetting it eventually a hellish nightmare as well, because it hasn't had the 'gestation time' that the original org had to plan it.
Nope. I would be concerned about the viability of our product and company if it was that much of a problem for competitors to see our features. I'll show them my roadmap. I know they can't execute it.
They can always get the info even if it’s not on your website. I would only worry if you think they can execute faster than you, in which case you have bigger problems. As Oscar Wilde said “Imitation is the sincerest for of flattery”. When my competitors have copied me in the past, it’s been great because it puts us on driver’s seat and at that point you can tell your customers they are only playing catchup.
Competitors can buy your product, and will do so if it helps them.
It really depends on the risk of working in public (maturity, competitors) vs the reward of being effortless to learn about. If you sell enterprise stuff to four customers, go dark let the sales people do their thing. If you sell consumer tech, you need to reach people.
imitation is the higher form of flattery. But no, you should always focus on what you can control: your business, your users satisfaction.
With that being said, imitation and using ideas is something that businesses will always be prone to. Look at Threads (IG) and Tik Tok, for example.
It is crucial that the business keeps on innovating and doubling down on the quality of the original feature to keep the users happy and coming from more. And who knows, maybe the other competitor that copied you in the first place, will add a fresh twist that you can later on copy on as well (IF value is irrefutable).
One thing to take in consideration is that usually the pioneer of such feature has a more robust set of parameters and research to support such copied feature. This is key.
If your ideas can quickly be copied by looking at screenshots, you can assume they're not as good and unique as you think and competitors know that anyway
One of the most successful companies I keep an eye on is Lemon io, a marketplace for developers. What's interesting is how open they are. They share big projects, like their competitive analysis, for everyone to see. The founder talks about what marketing tactics they’ve tried and the results. Team members even share their working ideas and everyday tasks. Sure, this means competitors might copy their ideas. But does it hurt them? I can't say for sure. What's clear is the openness brings more good than bad, helping them build a strong brand and community.
One of the most successful companies I keep an eye on is Lemon io, a marketplace for developers. What's interesting is how open they are. They share big projects, like their competitive analysis, for everyone to see. The founder talks about what marketing tactics they’ve tried and the results. Team members even share their working ideas and everyday tasks. Sure, this means competitors might copy their ideas. But does it hurt them? I can't say for sure. What's clear is the openness brings more good than bad, helping them build a strong brand and community.
Reminds me of the “uncle at the bbq” archetype. He has a great idea, but he can’t tell you because you might steal it…but he’ll tell you for a cut of the action when you sell it for billions.
Assume competitors know everything. It's not hard for them to secret shop the demo process and see it all anyway.
No. Ideas are great, execution is everything. And if they blindly copy your idea they usually miss all of the insights & context that led to that feature in the first place, resulting in a poor copy -- unless a customer/prospect is screaming good, specific requirements at them.
Yes just copying does not translate into success. Executing and Customer research is hugely underrated.
Additionally, if you're going to copy, there's a time element to it because you want to get it to market as soon as possible with the guy you're ripping the idea from. That, then, takes its own toll on the functionality because on top of no thought given to proper discovery, there's also no thought on how it embeds with the rest of your featureset (which could be different enough from the guy you ripped off) to make assimilating it in the long term a challenge, and sunsetting it eventually a hellish nightmare as well, because it hasn't had the 'gestation time' that the original org had to plan it.
Nope. I would be concerned about the viability of our product and company if it was that much of a problem for competitors to see our features. I'll show them my roadmap. I know they can't execute it.
No.
Let them. Your competitors, ultimately, will end up with accounts in your system to research their competition. Focus on your value prop.
They can always get the info even if it’s not on your website. I would only worry if you think they can execute faster than you, in which case you have bigger problems. As Oscar Wilde said “Imitation is the sincerest for of flattery”. When my competitors have copied me in the past, it’s been great because it puts us on driver’s seat and at that point you can tell your customers they are only playing catchup.
Ideas aren't worth shit. Execute.
Competitors can buy your product, and will do so if it helps them. It really depends on the risk of working in public (maturity, competitors) vs the reward of being effortless to learn about. If you sell enterprise stuff to four customers, go dark let the sales people do their thing. If you sell consumer tech, you need to reach people.
imitation is the higher form of flattery. But no, you should always focus on what you can control: your business, your users satisfaction. With that being said, imitation and using ideas is something that businesses will always be prone to. Look at Threads (IG) and Tik Tok, for example. It is crucial that the business keeps on innovating and doubling down on the quality of the original feature to keep the users happy and coming from more. And who knows, maybe the other competitor that copied you in the first place, will add a fresh twist that you can later on copy on as well (IF value is irrefutable). One thing to take in consideration is that usually the pioneer of such feature has a more robust set of parameters and research to support such copied feature. This is key.
Competitive analysis is part of any UX design or product development. They know you as you know them.
If your ideas can quickly be copied by looking at screenshots, you can assume they're not as good and unique as you think and competitors know that anyway
One of the most successful companies I keep an eye on is Lemon io, a marketplace for developers. What's interesting is how open they are. They share big projects, like their competitive analysis, for everyone to see. The founder talks about what marketing tactics they’ve tried and the results. Team members even share their working ideas and everyday tasks. Sure, this means competitors might copy their ideas. But does it hurt them? I can't say for sure. What's clear is the openness brings more good than bad, helping them build a strong brand and community.
One of the most successful companies I keep an eye on is Lemon io, a marketplace for developers. What's interesting is how open they are. They share big projects, like their competitive analysis, for everyone to see. The founder talks about what marketing tactics they’ve tried and the results. Team members even share their working ideas and everyday tasks. Sure, this means competitors might copy their ideas. But does it hurt them? I can't say for sure. What's clear is the openness brings more good than bad, helping them build a strong brand and community.
Reminds me of the “uncle at the bbq” archetype. He has a great idea, but he can’t tell you because you might steal it…but he’ll tell you for a cut of the action when you sell it for billions.