Every product manager dreams of their product becoming the next iPhone, or the Google search engine, or some other runaway success like that. However, as we all know very well, the chances of that happening are pretty slim. However, maybe there is another way to become successful and famous. Perhaps the key to product management stardom is not being an innovator, but being a very, very good copycat?
Do you mean I can copy from others?
Would you like to know an ugly little secret? Dr. Oded Shenkar has been studying this area and found that approximately 97.8% of the final value that an innovation creates will end up going to the imitating companies, not the inventing company.
Dr. Shenkar also points out that the world of copycats is moving even faster these days. In the old days it took a long time to copy someone else’s product, not so much now. One such example is the minivan that was invented by Chrysler in the 1980s. It was another 10 years before another car company came up with a knockoff. On the other hand, CD players were imitated after only 3 years.
Making a copy is not enough
Before you run out and buy a copy of whatever your competition is doing so you can start deleting clones, you might want to wait just a minute. Making exact copies of someone else’s product will get you in trouble with the patent office and will not help you succeed.
What a copycat product manager needs to realize is that it’s not enough to copy another product, you actually need to improve it. This is where things get tricky.
To find the right products to copy, a product manager must constantly look for the next candidate to copy. It is never clear where this product will be found; you may have to search far and wide across multiple industries to find what you’re looking for.
Once you find a product that would be a good fit for your company to copy, your job as a product manager is just beginning. What you need to do now is to understand what is the core essence of the product to be copied: why do people like/use/want it? What you will have to do is create a way to do it cheaper, better or faster than the original company.
Why aren’t more product managers copycats?
Since all the evidence points to the simple fact that product managers who are good at copying what others have done end up being more successful, it begs a simple question: why don’t we do this more of ourselves?
It turns out that the answer to this question is quite simple: we’ve been conditioned to think that being a copycat is “wrong.” Most companies like to think of themselves as innovators, not imitators.
Too often, we view the process of creating a copy of an existing product as undignified. What we’re missing is that if you take an original idea and then improve on it, you’re well on your way to product success.
What all this means to you
Apple is a great company that creates really innovative products like the iPad. However, time will show that most of the iPad’s value will not go to Apple, but rather to the companies that create and deploy knock-off products that do a better job than the iPad.
Although most companies don’t like to think of themselves as imitators rather than innovators, this is where the real value lies. The secret is to make sure you don’t just create a copy of a product, but enhance the original in a way that will make it even more attractive to potential customers.
The key to being a successful copycat product manager is learning to keep your eyes open. Where the next product to improve will be found is always a mystery. To win the race and deliver a successful product, you don’t have to be the first, you just have to be the best.