Modern life can be exhausting for all kinds of reasons. And it has to be said, for all it is supposed to help make life easier, technology isn’t entirely blameless in this.

The most exhausting thing of all about technology? The pace of change. This is something that retailers are really feeling right now. According to a recent poll, 54% said they were struggling to keep up. Drilling down into specifics, 34% said they felt left behind by the pace at which their customers adopted new technology. And 31% admitted they didn’t feel their current systems matched consumer expectations.

Keeping up sure is a challenge. Consumers might spend a few hundred bucks on the latest gadget or download a free-to-use app. For businesses, adopting new technologies can mean investing thousands of dollars. There are risks involved, too. Onboarding new tech can be disruptive. Things go wrong, it can be hard to anticipate impact on other systems, processes and customer experiences.

However, ignoring new tech and playing it safe isn’t an option. Every business owner knows they have to keep up, and that’s what creates the pressure and the stress. The question is, how do you do it in a way that is affordable, keeps you in control, and plays the percentages to end with positive outcomes?

It’s a big challenge for sure. But here are five tips that will put you on the right path.

Don’t Chase Change for Change’s Sake

A lot of the time, retailers feel pressured to get on board with new technologies just because everyone is talking about it. That’s understandable. FOMO is real, and no business likes to think of competitors getting an edge because they move first on something that matters to your target customers, or anticipates the direction a market is heading in. But being new doesn’t mean that a technology will necessarily make a difference to your business, and certainly not straight away. So counterintuitive though it might seem, the first thing to do to make the pace of tech change more manageable is to slow down and give yourself space to figure out what actually works.

Never Move Without a Clear Business Plan

How do you figure out what actually works? You make a business plan. After resisting the urge to change just because something is new, the next golden rule of tech adoption is to figure out and, importantly, quantify the difference it will make to your business. Start from a need proposition – if a piece of tech doesn’t solve a problem or open up a new opportunity, then why are you bothering? And even if there is a theoretical business case for adoption, the numbers still have to add up. There’s no point in stretching yourself with a big investment in expensive new tech if the ROI is uncertain or not big enough to shift the dial on your margins.

Enlist Expert Help

Don’t feel like you have to go through all of this alone. If you’re curious about a particular technology, ask a trusted supplier or specialist for advice. Or, if you have a particular business issue you’d like to tackle or a goal you’d like to fulfil, again, ask a specialist which types of tech could help and how. They can also help you with all the costings you need to work out ROI, including maintenance and running costs.

Build Flexibility Into Your Planning

Businesses are used to working to fairly long-term strategic plans. Even with financial reporting, the normal cycle is to lay out plans for the year ahead. But the pace of change in technology can make even a year a long time. Sticking to a plan rigidly when very clear needs or opportunities arise can leave you treading water while others overtake you. Businesses should therefore plan to be adaptable. Putting budget and resources aside for innovation creates room to try things out and be agile. It’s better to test new tech out and approach adoption in small incremental steps, anyway.

Take Your People With You on the Journey

Finally, tech adoption isn’t ultimately about the tech itself. It’s about the difference it can make to people. Business benefits come from creating better experiences for people, making processes easier, quicker and more efficient for people. And that applies equally to your staff as well as to your customers. The best business technology unlocks productivity by supporting how people work and making their jobs easier and more satisfying. Whatever you choose, you should prioritize the impact it has on your people, and involve them fully in the process by explaining the reasoning behind your decision, and the benefits to them.