It’s OK if your competitors steal the words (As long as you keep the music…)

Have you noticed how many brands have not-so-subtly ripped off Chick-fil-A’s very friendly way of using the words “My pleasure…” when dealing with customers? If you’ve visited Chick-fil-A you know what I’m talking about. If you’ve never been to Chick-fil-A, you don’t know what you’re missing!

So anyhow, yes, I’ll avoid naming names, but more and more brands are, shall we say, “borrowing” that line and trying to use it in their day-to-day interactions with customers. I don’t know about you, but every time I hear someone other than Chick-Fil-A use those hallowed words in a business situation, I feel like shaking my head because in my mind, those words are the trademark of Chick-Fil-A.

And that’s kind of the point…

If you have any success at all, you can bet you’ll attract competitors. Some of those competitors will even be so brazen as to steal some of your original ideas. In some cases, you’re going to want to fight them tooth and nail as is within your legal right to do in order to protect your assets. In other instances, if you’ve truly built the kind of loyalty with your customers I’ll bet you have, you can just let your competitors make fools of themselves.

In fact, don’t be surprised if your customers use the many digital platforms they now have available to come to your rescue and call out your competitors.

After all, they may steal the words, but your customers will know you still have the music!

 

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