Should a product manager be a copycat?

Every product manager dreams of their product becoming the next iPhone, or Google’s search engine, or some other runaway hit like that. However, as we all know, the chances of that happening are pretty slim. However, perhaps there is another way to become successful and famous. Maybe the key to product management stardom isn’t in being an innovator, but in being a really good copycat.

Do you mean that I am authorized to copy from others?

Would you like to know an ugly little secret? Dr. Oded Shenkar has been studying this area and has found that approximately 97.8% of the end value an innovation creates will end up going to the copycat companies, not the inventor 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, now not so much. 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 rush out to buy a copy of what your competition is doing so you can start deleting clones, you may 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 must realize is that it’s not enough to just copy another product, you actually need to improve it. This is where things get tough.

To find the right products to copy, a product manager must constantly search 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 are looking for.

Once you find a product that is a good fit for your company to copy, your job as a product manager is just beginning. What you need to do now is understand what is the core essence of the product to be copied: why do people like / use / want it? What you will need to do is create a way to make it cheaper, better, or faster than the original company.

Why aren’t there more product manager 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, a simple question arises: why don’t more of us do this?

It turns out that the answer to this question is quite simple: we have been conditioned to think that being a copycat is “wrong.” Most companies like to think of themselves as innovators, not copycats.

Too often we view the process of creating a copy of an existing product as unworthy. What we are missing is that if you are taking an original idea and then improving it, you are well on your way to product success.

What does all this mean to you?

Apple is a great company that introduces really innovative products like the iPad. However, time will show that most of the iPad’s value will not go to Apple, but to companies that create and implement knockoff products that do a better job than the iPad.

Although most companies don’t like to think of themselves as copycats rather than innovators, this is where the real value lies. The secret is to make sure you’re not just creating a copy of a product, but enhancing 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. It is always a mystery where the next product that can be improved will be found. To win the race to deliver a successful product, you don’t have to be the first, you just have to be the best.