2 Ways to Protect Your Idea | How Best Business Evolve

When you launch a company in an area that has an intense level of competition, it can be difficult to stand out. But also it can mean you have found a profitable space with a lot of potential. Your major battle here as a small business startup will be to stand out and protect the very ideas that make you unique. You maybe came up with a great twist or idea and you want to keep it yours for as long as possible. 

In this blog, I will share some very unconventional ways to protect your idea that is beyond the traditional legal procedures like trademark, copyright, patent, licence ownership and such. You might already be familiar with these but if you are not, drop a comment beneath this blog. We are happy to publish a future blog that introduces everything legal to protect your ideas . 

Protect your ideas from those ideas-stranded competitors!

When there are players both big and small, it validates your industry. Even though it is important to keep an eye on the bigger companies, they usually take longer to develop and execute new ideas, It is the startups that actually are the threats, as they are much more agile and can pivot rapidly to keep up with the latest trends and customer demands.The truth is when you have a good business idea in a profitable space, copycat competitors are going to emerge and try to imitate your ideas. Seriously, great ideas that are profitable for business are not easy to come by anymore. It is all almost said and done today! Fortunately, there are many ways to stay ahead of your competitors and protect your ideas in the long run. Now that said, lets dive into these very 2 smooth and low-cost strategies you can apply now.

  • customer Service and,
  • innovation!
How great customer Service can protect your idea

If you’re operating a business in a crowded field, one of the best ways to make your company stand out from the copycats and the bigger companies is through excellent customer service and responsiveness. Look, you might wonder how customer service is actually related to protecting our idea. All you want is that nobody steals your idea. But think about it this way – why not want to milk your ideas as much as possible that people give up trying to steal it. Ideas can be easily replicated. Even when they are legitimately protected by law, someone can create something else that taps into the same consumer base. 

Their solution similar to yours will tap and target exactly the same consumer desire you are exploring with your products or solution. In this case, the battle is not legally protecting your idea, the battle is of excellence! Basically consumers have the choice to have diverse services offered to them, don’t they? Why should they choose you if someone else cares better about them – at least that person shows them that through great customer service?

Yes explore the different channels but be wise!


Instilling a focus on excellent customer service from the early days will help ensure that your team maintains this focus as your business grows. The key to standing out as a startup can come down to simply behaving like a large-scale company and adopting a similar, large-scale mindset when it comes to customer service.

Offer customer service through the various channels that your customers use—it can be live chat, social media, or a mix of options—and your customers will notice. Getting back to any customer inquiries as quickly as possible is also imperative. You don’t always have to have an answer right away, but acknowledging that you’re working on a solution will go a long way. It will tell when the time comes for customers to judge their interactions with your startup via testimonials or reviews. 

And yes, as a small business you might have a very full plate to deal with alone, so you might not be equipped to deal with all customers 24/7. Set business hours (even on your social media platform) that are also friendly to your lifestyle. If a customer sees that you are closed, they do not expect a response immediately. There is nothing worse than saying open 24/7 and then one gets only an automated “we will get back” response.

Protect your idea through continuous innovation

An Accenture study revealed that 93% of executives believe the long-term success of their organization depends on the company’s ability to develop new ideas. You see again why “ideas” are key”! The major key to the success of any business is its ability to keep its products and services fresh. In other words, you must be innovating all the time. In a vast sea of competition, the companies that do best are ones that constantly identify new opportunities. What is innovation? Wikipedia explains it like this –  “carrying out new combinations”. I choose this part “combination” because you must not alway reinvent to innovate!

To be innovative doesn’t mean that every idea must be major or totally new.

When your company can make small changes to your product and service on an ongoing basis, you’ll have a better chance of securing your spot in the marketplace. When you twist something small, it is not about the scale of the innovation but about how you showcase this change. You can communicate this tinny innovation with a grand gesture and as a ground breaking development simply because it means a whole lot to you and to the customers who will profit from it. It is often about how you communicate the tiny steps, accomplishments, innovations and experiences in your business. 

Where should you start your innovation

Let your innovation be value driven, efficient and cost wise. Think first about the customers, the people you serve. What else can you add, remove, combine, introduce that would make the service better for the customer? Let these questions drive your wild ideas. When the market place is busy fighting idea legal battles, you are creating new ones. Isn’t this excellen? So in future blogs, I will share deep business insights and tips on how to craft solid business cases, revenu models and actually take your business to a global stage. Stay with me by subscribing to my blog – subscribe to our newsletter.  If you have questions or feedback, use the comment section beneath. Follow us on social media and thank you for reading to the end. 

Cheers 

Joana

Joadre
Joadrehttps://www.joadre.com
I am Joana, a Nigerian-born Austrian-based entrepreneur and activist. Founded Joadre in 2012 and continue to develop content to engage and empower African SMEs.

The Joadre Analysis & Industry Journal

FREE Templates

spot_imgspot_img

Latest

Education resource center – Be a JoadreTV Creator!

A JoadreTV creator works with our team to design extraordinary tutorials and training content, packaged in a sophisticated streaming style to give our subscribers an interesting experience.

3 Must-Read For Entrepreneurs

These 3 must-read for entrepreneurs is absolutely vital to developing your idea. From a personal story to the strategy of selling.

Spirituality In Business| Deep Mindfulness For Entrepreneurs.

Learn what spirituality means for your business. Join us on this journey as we tap into African spirituality for wisdom.

How O’eclat, Nigerian fashion brand is out to enrich lives.

Gbemmy Johnson is the brain behind the African rising handbag brand O’eclat. When Gbemmy started her brand in 2010, she worked with two young...

10 Best Crowdfunding Platforms To Raise Funds For Projects

How To Use Crowdfunding Strategy and Platforms To Launch Your Project. Not all platforms offer what you want. Here are some tips.