Did you know that 97.8% of the value of innovations goes to imitators? (Harvard Business Review) White Castle lead to McDonald’s; Diners Club lead to Visa, MasterCard and American Express. Walmart’s founder admitted to borrowing most of its practices from others and improving on them.
That means that most of the hard work in designing a concept, taking it to market, and testing it are on the shoulders of the initial creator. However, making the innovation better or taking it to market in a more effective way is what often brings greater success. You may be thinking, but isn’t copying against the law? Copying isn’t actually illegal unless there is a trademark, copyright or patent protecting it. So this may mean that a marketing strategy or idea you want to implement has a better chance of succeeding if someone else has tested it and you learn and make it better. It’s like watching someone else putt on a golf course green right before it is your turn to try a similar putt. You learn from what happened to the first person’s putt and hopefully, are able to make it better.
There are a lot of product companies in the financial services industry that didn’t invent specific product concepts (for instance the riders on variable annuities) but have profited from taking the innovative idea and making it more appealing. According to those much smarter than me, it is imitation that trumps innovation. I guess we need to start keeping an eye out for the innovators in marketing and “learn from their putt.”
Would you rather be first or last? According to the infamous Ricky Bobby from the movie, Talladega Nights, “if you’re not first you’re last.” In business, however, it may be better to be second.
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