How to approach competitors who copy our ideas and creations

For a restaurant to be successful and attract a considerable influx of customers, it must have a number of Unique features to set you apart from the competition. In this sense, you can have a unique dish that will delight diners, with services that distinguish it from other venues, a special reward, or whatever the restaurant manager can think of and that works as a differentiating element. with respect to the closest competition.

However, when one of these is established differentiating elements You don’t have to settle down and get carried away, as competitors can emulate these initiatives and screw up all your work. Although it is not ethical, competitors will not hesitate to assimilate the special characteristics of the business for their premises, appropriating these ideas as their own, even complementing or adapting them, being sometimes difficult to distinguish. The first reaction to an attack of this caliber against the original restaurant is to make a complaint so that it stops copying, however, from a business point of view, would it be the best decision? …

Quality as the main weapon

In order to face a situation in which the competition has copied the differentiating element of the premises, it is advisable to abandon any idea of ​​complaint, since it entails an expenditure of energy and resources too great to obtain long-term results, or to obtain nothing. This situation can even be beneficial for the original premises.

If quality is maintained, the innovative premises will always be better positioned to improve a product or service that it developed before anyone else. In the case of a unique dish, the secrets that make it so popular are already known, so it can be improved and set a considerable difference with the competitors. You have to make sure that the quality is maintained in the restaurant, you do not have to fear the competition and reduce costs by reducing quality.

The brand as an emblem

Pushing the value of the brand when something unique is offered in the restaurant is one of the main weapons: You have to build a brand. When copycats appear like mushrooms at the foot of a tree, you have to use brand equity to overcome them, you have to establish a very aggressive brand market. Each advertising campaign must include a subtle mention in which it is clear which is the original brand that offers the best services: It must be borne in mind that consumers prefer the originals.

To be on guard

You have to always be on your guard and understand your competitors to always stay ahead. It is necessary to carry out a market study and analyze the different characteristics of the competition. In this way, you will ensure that the original restaurant has the best products and services, since diners are looking for a generally satisfactory experience, not just looking for a specific dish.

It is advisable to know how to make a Value offer to customers that causes diners to repeat the experience again: Offer special discounts, inimitable dishes, unexpected gifts, anything goes for the diner to return to the premises. You have to think and establish a series of actions to add value to the experience that customers have in the restaurant.

All these tips are established for when a restaurant copies the original, however if the secrets are guarded with zeal and secret ingredients, recipes or everything that establishes exclusivity in the market never escapes, it will be possible to save more than a head warming. Competitors are not a threat unless they cause the quality on offer to decline. You have to accept the competition and grow with it.

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