1. Assume that your product or technology will be pirated. The more successful your product, the faster it will be pirated.
2. Don't let fear of piracy keep you from introducing your product. If the product is attractive, somebody overseas will try to pirate it.
3. Travel the region to study the weaknesses of the pirates and the real needs of your customers. Based on such field knowledge, design and improve your product to stay ahead of the pirates' capabilities.
4. Don't try to compete with the pirates on price. If the pirate's price is 20% of yours but his product is only 80% of your quality level, focus your marketing effort on the quality-conscious segment of the market.
5. Discerning customers yearn for authentic foreign-made products once they see how much better they are than pirated products. Educate your customers and help them see the difference.
6. Find creative ways to keep the secrets of your technology to yourself. How you keep such secrets should itself be a secret.
7. Pick the most talented people whom you can trust to work the regional market and duel with the pirates. Don't send your weakest link.
Source: James Chan, Asia Marketing and Management
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About the Author
Dave Blanchard
Senior Director of Content
Focus: Supply Chain
Call: (941) 208-4370
Follow on Twitter @SupplyChainDave
During his career Dave Blanchard has led the editorial management of many of Endeavor Business Media's best-known brands, including IndustryWeek, EHS Today, Material Handling & Logistics, Logistics Today, Supply Chain Technology News, and Business Finance. He also serves as senior content director of the annual Safety Leadership Conference. With over 30 years of B2B media experience, Dave literally wrote the book on supply chain management, Supply Chain Management Best Practices (John Wiley & Sons, 2010), which has been translated into several languages and is currently in its second edition. He is a frequent speaker and moderator at major trade shows and conferences, and has won numerous awards for writing and editing. He is a voting member of the jury of the Logistics Hall of Fame, and is a graduate of Northern Illinois University.