When Your Competitors Start Copying You

You're a startup. You're innovative. You’re thinking outside the box and you're starting to stand out.

Your brand is strong. Your voice is strong. All of a sudden, the industry is noticing. You're doing everything right.

Then comes a twist. Your competitors are noticing too, and they are starting to get nervous.

Here's What I've Seen Happen

They start copying. Your language, the wording you use. Your design elements. Your tactics. If you did something on a thought leadership level that's drawing attention, they start doing those exact same things. They might even name a product very similar to yours, trying to leverage their brand strength against your new brand.

They're not innovating. They're following.

And what happens next? Your sales team is going to get nervous. Your executive team is going to get nervous. They say, "We can't let them do this. We have to counter what they're doing. What do we do?"

The First Thing You Need to Do

Sit back and say: We won.

We won.

If bigger, more established brands are starting to copy what you're doing, you're winning. It may not feel like it at the moment. With all the pressure from your executive team, it might feel like you should panic. Resist that urge and simply take the win.

You're causing established brands who are much bigger than you to react. They're not being proactive. They're not being innovative. They are taking action because you are making them nervous.

So the first thing you need to do is acknowledge that you're doing something right.

The Trap You Cannot Fall Into

The second thing you need to understand is this: If you play the reactive game, that presence you've built - that leadership position you built - is going to start to fade.

You're going to fall into that trap of trying to one-up each other. And what will that do? That will take away from your focus of continuing to lead.

As difficult as it is, what you really need to do is focus on the goalpost. You have a vision. You have to keep innovating. Keep looking ahead. Keep trying to act bigger than you are.

And let the competition keep on following your lead. And acknowledge that might be really, really hard.

The Reality About Competition

It's not that you shouldn't look at their weaknesses and strengths and factor all of that into your strategy. You can’t ignore competition. But you also can’t let them dictate your actions.

The last thing you want is to change from this innovative powerhouse that you’ve worked so hard to build into this reactive company that gets lost in the bigger company’s shadow.

Because here's what happens when you do: They win. They win in that scenario. You stop innovating. They have a bigger brand presence. They probably have more money than you. And they are going to be the ones that end up being successful.

What You Should Actually Do

The next time you see that you're breaking through a market and everyone's starting to copy you, take some pride in that.

Definitely make sure that your strategy is solid. Take everything they're doing into consideration. But do not let yourself become reactive in a way that takes away from your vision.

Because that's what they want. They want you to stop innovating and start reacting. They want you to get pulled into their game instead of continuing to lead your own.

The companies that win long-term are the ones that stay focused on solving real problems, not the ones that get distracted by competitive noise.

So when you see them copying your playbook, remember: You wrote it first.