In any field of business and across various aspects of life, you will find some companies that rely on copying other products, whether as a primary or secondary strategy, or even just once. Regardless of their motives—whether it stems from a lack of innovation, envy, or a pure love for money without considering the reputation they leave behind—there are some basic rules to follow when copying products. Of course, I’m not encouraging imitators, but at the very least, these are some tips they should follow to ensure their work is recognized as “copied” and not as “stupid”!
I’ll use the example of the Chinese and their imitation of certain mobile devices, as well as some artistic works or copied designs, to illustrate these points.
1- Maintain the Same Specifications:
If we take mobile phones as an example, we can see that the Chinese often imitate devices like Nokia or iPhone. They also make sure to include similar specifications, and sometimes even better ones (such as adding a touchscreen or improving the device’s sound), while copying the design. This attracts some users because the design and specifications are similar, but the price is cheaper.
However, when you copy another product without properly imitating the design or caring about the specifications and contents, it’s easy to label the company as “stupid.” They may sell a few units and tarnish their reputation—if they even care about their reputation—but soon users will know that everything they sell is fake and poorly imitated.
2- Hire Smart Employees:
If you’ve chosen the path of imitation, that’s your business strategy, and we can’t interfere. But as a basic piece of advice, the company should hire smart employees who are good at copying and have some artistic sense to improve the original or at least replicate it in a way that suits user preferences.
3- Imitate What You Can Copy!
As I mentioned earlier, if a company has decided to become a copycat, at least they should try to imitate products that they can replicate or reach a comparable level of quality. It’s important to note that the general public or users won’t say that a product was copied from a specific company. Instead, they’ll just label the company as a “failed copycat.”
4- Copy Smartly!
Notice that the Chinese copy the design exactly without any alterations, and sometimes they add improvements that make the design more acceptable or even better than the original. But the problem arises when the product ends up in the hands of a foolish imitator who ruins the design instead of improving it. Therefore, the company should hire an imitator with good taste and experience in their work, as the damage will only affect the company itself. The original company won’t be harmed; they might just laugh at the poor attempt!
5- Imitate Within Your Expertise!
Even the best Chinese mobile phone companies that engage in imitation wouldn’t be able to copy a MacBook Air from Apple. It’s not within their expertise, and the MacBook Air represents a major breakthrough in device design and manufacturing, backed by substantial budgets for its development. For a small company to try copying it, they wouldn’t even understand its contents or what it involves.
6- Imitation Isn’t Just About the Name!
Don’t be proud just because you’ve copied the name. Try to replicate the contents, even if only in a simple and basic way, or at least try to get close to the general concept. The idea isn’t just to copy the design and name while the contents are completely different. Don’t make a keyboard box and then put a chocolate bar inside it!
In Conclusion:
We can’t stop copycats, but the idea here is to encourage a higher level of craftsmanship in imitated works, so that the general aesthetic improves, and we avoid the nausea that comes from seeing those poorly executed copies.