As we approach the halfway mark of 2026, I am concerned about the expected pressure on marketing operations and tech teams focused on AI. In this post, I’ll examine some of the key marketing operations trends 2026 is shaping for the industry. When it comes to navigating pressure in marketing operations, understanding the shifting tech landscape is critical.
Speed of Technology
One thing that has really stood out to me this year is the speed at which new tools are hitting the marketplace. In the past, a marketing ops team had time and space to do research, including understanding the functionality and whether it meets the business need, and speaking with customers about the product to understand their experience, the purchase, implementation, and adoption cycle. Most organizations I have worked in, depending on the technology’s complexity, the discovery, implementation, and adoption process can take anywhere from three months to a year.
In the course of three months, I was told product x was the hot tool everyone needs to know, and literally a few months later, that tool is so passe, and the real tool to know is product y. What I have been having a challenge understanding is if this quick preference for best-in-class tools is because, as folks are learning tools, they are realizing the products are not delivering on their promises. Or is it that the tools are too difficult to learn, and others are easier? Or is it something else? To sum up, navigating marketing operations pressure requires adaptability to technology turnover.
Give your marketing operations team and yourself grace at this speed of technological updates. There is a ton of hype on LinkedIn and other social media platforms. Lots of folks are showing off what they can do with xyz’s new tools. Take a minute and step away from social media. What does your company need, and how can you improve the team’s optimization? Give yourself grace, and do not buy into the hype.
Manage your Martech Spend
Marketing and IT teams are seeing raising cost across their stacks. Generative AI tools are coming on board with credit/consumption-priced modeling. Saas companies are increasing annual fees from 8% and up. If the plan is to cut a Saas subscription and build a replacement using a generative AI tool, it’s a wash. With the consumption-based pricing models, what you’re not seeing is that as you learn on the tool, you are paying the vendor for those credits. Where in the past you could learn the tool because you had a user seat. For the mistakes you make, you can be paying a steep price for it. For many teams, navigating pressure in operations means tracking martech spend and optimizing efficiency despite these challenges.
Doing more with less and less
Marketing operations and technology teams are small. They have the difficult job of administering tools with data that might not be complete/accurate, with an effort to give a great personalized experience. They are getting asked to just push that extra email that conflicts with multiple automated streams because sales needs the push. And now they are learning about generative AI tools and building apps at their desks. All this in the hope of recognition and a promotion in the near future. Putting your teams under this much pressure will cause burnout and potentially an information security risk. As leaders, we must recognize the stress these teams are under and offer support as needed, whether through coaching, bringing in consultants to assist with the workload, or hiring more colleagues to distribute the work. Ultimately, navigating pressure in marketing operations with limited resources is an ongoing challenge for teams everywhere.
Second half of the year
How can we make the second half of the year a turnaround story? One, focus on what you know are facts and you can control. This is what is happening in your office and what is preventing your organization from reaching the financial goals it has set. The grass always seems greener somewhere else, but realize it’s all fluff. And successfully navigating pressure in marketing operations means keeping your team focused on priorities they can influence.
Take control of your marketing technology budgets. Talk to IT about the number of AI tokens you can have to build agents, and centralize the team’s needs. Assess if it makes sense to build or buy tools for the team. There are still over 15,000 technologies in the marketplace for marketing and sales actions. Why build when you can purchase?
Finally, however you can support your marketing operations team with support, resources, or a refocused, narrower scope, now is the time. Marketing operations professionals who have been in the game for some time are looking to grow and take on more leadership opportunities. Junior folks need to come in and learn how to do marketing operations. Give those recent college graduates a chance to learn and grow in this space by helping them navigate pressure in operations as part of their development.