Evolve or Evaporate: Complacency, The Silent Killer of Business

In Singapore, we like to think we are very steady.

Everything works, everything is efficient, everything is world class. But when it comes to running a business, this same steady mindset can turn into a sleeping pill.

The number one killer is not recession, not rental hikes, not manpower shortages. It is complacency. 

The moment a business owner thinks everything is fine, the universe usually responds with a very gentle smack, followed later by one solid knock to the head like your platoon sergeant’s ‘love tap’ to the head if they still don’t want to wake up their ideas.

Many entrepreneurs enjoy a honeymoon phase when they open a new business. They see customers coming in, they see friends and family giving support, and they start feeling a bit shiok. Then they begin telling themselves, OK lah, my product is good enough already. No need to improve. No need to innovate. No need to market so much. If can save a bit of money, then try to save lor.

After all, customers are already coming what, why bother to put in unnecessary effort?

This is usually the turning point where the business quietly starts digging its own grave.

Innovation is not optional, it is survival

Let’s be brutally honest. While you are drinking kopi and enjoying the early success of your new product, someone else is already planning to steal your idea. Singapore (and the whole world now) is too competitive for anyone to relax.

The kopi uncle downstairs is already figuring out how to add salted caramel foam to his iced coffee because he heard you have long queues. The home baker who admired you last month is now secretly experimenting with your famous ondeh ondeh burnt cheesecake, and she is adding pandan crème because she thinks your version is a bit dry.

Innovation is not a luxury.

It is insurance, for future-proofing your business.

The moment your product stops improving, the market will improve without you. Customers’ taste changes, expectations rise, and attention spans get shorter. If Netflix updates its app every other week, why should your business still be using the same formula from three years ago?

The buying process must be idiot proof

Another favourite form of complacency is refusing to simplify the buying process. Some business owners love to complain that customers don’t buy because customers are picky or stingy. Actually, customers are lazy. And impatient. And spoiled for choice. If your buying process has too many steps, if your website looks like it was built by your nephew who’s still in Secondary 2, or if your order form requires the customer to fill in their great grandfather’s IC number and proof of emigration into colonial Singapore, they will simply click away.

Look at how Grab, Shopee, and Foodpanda dominate. It is not because they have the best prices. It is because they made buying so convenient that even a half awake blur sotong can do it. If your customers have to work too hard to give you money, they won’t bother. And once they go elsewhere, they rarely come back.

Marketing is not a one time thing

Some entrepreneurs still believe that marketing is only needed at the start. Post a few Instagram stories, boost a Facebook post, run a small promo. Then business is supposed to magically sustain itself. This is like going to the gym once in January and expecting six pack abs by Christmas.

Marketing is oxygen. It has to be constant, consistent, and cleverly executed. Customers forget you very fast. They are too busy scrolling, eating, complaining about ERP prices, and following the latest developments in the Namewee case. If your business is not front of mind, someone else will take that spot.

Just look at the countless cafes in Singapore that opened with huge crowds because everyone wanted to take photos. Three months later, half of them are empty because they never bothered to build a long term marketing plan. They assumed the hype would last forever. It never does.

Good service is the fastest way to stand out

Another point where complacency loves to hide is in customer service. Some business owners still think good service just means smiling a bit and saying thank you. Meanwhile, competitors are investing in proper training, tracking customer feedback, and fixing issues before they become public disasters on TikTok.

A great example is the bubble tea scene. New shops open with crazy queues. Staff are friendly for the first month. Then the crowds thin out, the staff get sleepy, the toppings get stale, and the drinks start tasting like sugar water.

Meanwhile, another brand quietly enters the market with fresher ingredients, a better ordering system, and staff who are actually awake and on the ball. Guess which one wins.

At a French FnB group where I used to work at decades ago, service and kitchen teams are made to go through full dress rehearsals to measure service standards and order-to-table wait time. Every, single, month, no exceptions. The service team actively engage customers in conversations to find out if they liked their meals, or what they think can be improved. The head Chef also comes out of the kitchen to check if the customers like the dishes. The sommelier does an actual presentation on the various wines and usually ends up selling something above $500.

Competition is always closer than you think

One of the biggest lies business owners tell themselves is that they have no real competition.

The truth is, someone is always watching.

Someone is always copying. Someone is always improving your idea while you are busy celebrating your early success.

A popular hawker stall starts selling fantastic prawn noodles and suddenly has a long queue. Within weeks, other stalls nearby magically add prawn noodles to their menu. Some even throw in bigger prawns just to steal customers. If the original stall owner just sits there feeling proud, they will see their queue shrinking day by day.

This applies to every industry. F&B, retail, tech, beauty, fitness, even cleaning services. If you stop evolving, someone else will evolve past you.

Evolve or evaporate

The danger of complacency is that it feels comfortable. It feels harmless.

But it slowly eats away at your growth. By the time the impact becomes painfully obvious, it’s usually too late. The market has moved on, and your loyal customers have migrated to someone who actually bothered to improve beyond your initial start point.

The harsh truth is simple. Business is like swimming in the sea. If you stop moving, you sink. To stay ahead in Singapore’s hyper competitive environment, you must always innovate your product, improve your service, simplify your customer’s buying journey, and keep your marketing fresh and consistent.

Do all this, and you stay relevant.

Fail to do it, and you become just another cautionary tale on Reddit.

This article was written on the inspiration given by my friend, Mr Ridwan Budijono.