How to protect your creative marketing ideas?

by 8 replies
9
Hi Guys!

Just a quick question... I am currently dealing with a client who has asked me to supply them with a bunch of different creative marketing ideas such as fun social media campaigns, etc.

I was just wondering is there any way to protect my ideas before submitting them to my client?

Thanks!
#main internet marketing discussion forum #creative #ideas #marketing #protect
  • Simple.

    Get the payment upfront.
  • Victor,

    I had a gym owner who wanted to "pick my brain" for creative marketing ideas I would use to promote his business. Once he picked my brain he decided that he could do the work himself and didn't sign the contract.

    I learned my lesson. Now potential clients are told how I work, given references and if they want anything from me they pay up front.

    Bonnie
  • Payment before product.. Or in your case payment before consultation.
  • Victor, all of these posters are right on the money! Unfortunately, you've got to protect yourself against the "bad apples" that are lurking around the web -- and that means requiring an upfront payment. An honest client will have no problem with doing business this way.

    If this client (or any client!) has a problem with paying you for your time/work in advance, don't cave under the pressure. When people absolutely refuse to pay me upfront, I stick to my policy -- even if it means losing them as a customer. Better to lose them now than to have them ignore the bill later! In either event, you're not getting paid
  • Totally get payment upfront for something like this. Clients shouldn't have a problem paying upfront as it's pretty common, and if they do then they probably aren't someone you won't to work with. It's unfortunate but a reality you need to implement since some clients will skip out of paying once they get the ideas.

    Good luck!
  • Get the payment first. There's no way to protect a creative idea without getting the money first
    • [1] reply
    • AVOID this customer!

      If your marketing techniques has helped their business, I wouldn't even sell them the ideas. I'm sure you spent YEARS in the industry to perfect your marketing plan. They have no reason to be your customer once you give that plan away to them.

      A good friend of mine from church once owned a computer business. He slowly leaked out all of his trade secrets while working with this customer. The customer no longer needed his services and opened up a company to compete directly with him. Today my friend and his partner both work for the company that used to be their customer. They make remarkably less than they had in the past. They both learned the hard way not to give up company secrets.

      Best of luck to you!
  • Maybe you should ask your client, for example, if he's a restaurant owner, would he be willing to share with other people his recipes?

    Of course, he wouldn't. And neither should you be expected to share your "secret sauce"!

    Maybe you can just tell him a generalized idea, for example, facebook marketing, without going into any specific campaigns.
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