The only way to truly succeed as a startup is to give customers a reason to choose your business over your competitors. Many entrepreneurs believe this means they need to create something completely new from the ground up. They’re laser-focused on innovating and presenting the world with something it’s never seen before.

While reinventing the proverbial wheel does work in some cases, it’s not always necessary to stand out from the crowd. In fact, some of the best and most successful ideas are simply improvements on models that someone else created.

How do you know whether your business needs to strive to break the mold, or just refine the one that’s already there? Members of Forbes Coaches Council shared their advice to help you figure it out.

1. Save Innovation For Your Products, Not Your Infrastructure 

Entrepreneurs are often so focused on cutting-edge products and being first to market, that they often overlook one of the most critical components of growth. A growing company must have repeatable processes and systems in place to run efficiently. Once clear processes are in place, the company can focus on creativity and innovation, knowing that the company infrastructure is sound. – Cheryl Amyx, 4CEO, Inc.

2. Ask Your Customers What They Want 

While it is important for entrepreneurs to harness innovative ideas, it is just as important to obtain insights about what customers actually want. This information may point entrepreneurs to making user-centric adjustments to existing services/products, as opposed to reinventing the wheel. Profitability may not be about the groundbreaking idea, but rather about execution. – Claire Simier Karsevar, Simier Partners

3. Innovate Daily, But Choose Your Focus Areas Wisely 

The sheer volume of disruption facing every industry and sector forces entrepreneurs to innovate to stay ahead. While I believe entrepreneurs should innovation daily, it should be prioritized and done thoughtfully in areas of core competencies. Entrepreneurs constantly face the “too much work, too few resources” challenge; they need to spend time and resources wisely. – Christie Lindor, The MECE Muse

4. Carefully Evaluate Each Situation Based On Circumstances, Risk And Potential 

Today, margins are tighter, competition is greater and hiring high-quality employees is at a premium, so business must produce more, faster and better, and at a breakneck speed. Should you innovate or replicate? Here are several ways to evaluate both options: Why is change needed? What’s the market state and its future? What’s your competitive advantage? What’s your risk and ROI potential? – Christine J. Culbertson (Boyle), Coach Christine

5. Avoiding Innovation Interruptions 

Innovation at the right time can lead to invigoration. Innovation at the wrong time is just an interruption. The right time to innovate is just before the customer demands it. Customers are the gauge for innovation. Innovation can also be learned from watching other businesses and industries. Innovation is an interruption when the customer doesn’t need it. – Ken Gosnell, CEO Experience