Change fatigue is the new normal in Marketing Operations - here’s how to survive it without becoming the office cynic.
Let’s be blunt: Marketing tech is moving faster than sanity
There was a time - not that long ago - when adding a new tool to your tech stack felt like progress. Something to be proud of. Maybe even a LinkedIn post. Now? It feels like adopting a puppy every other Tuesday while the old ones are still chewing your furniture.
From CDPs to DMPs to AI-powered hyper-mega-personalisation platforms, the MarTech world has become a dizzying alphabet soup of possibility. And while vendors pitch the promise of effortless scale and seamless automation, what Marketing Ops teams are left holding is the mop and bucket of yet another “strategic pivot.”
Change fatigue is real. It’s happening. And if you’re a B2B leader responsible for Marketing Operations, integration, or strategy - you probably feel it in your bones.
Let’s dig into why this is happening, what it’s doing to your team, and what you can actually do about it (short of moving to a goat farm in Portugal).
What is change fatigue, exactly?
Change fatigue is the exhaustion that sets in when people are asked to change - constantly, rapidly, and without adequate time to adapt or reflect.
In the MarTech space, this shows up as:
Yet another platform rollout when the last one is still bedding in
Constant re-orgs around “customer experience” or “data-centricity”
Competing tech priorities from marketing, IT, and sales leadership
Strategic ambiguity: “Why are we even doing this again?”
The result? People disengage. Projects stall. Shortcuts become survival tactics. Innovation - the very thing we’re supposedly chasing - gets quietly buried under a pile of Jira tickets.
Why MarTech is a perfect breeding ground for change fatigue
1. Innovation cycles are outpacing adoption cycles
Vendors now push feature updates monthly (or weekly), and internal teams are expected to just “keep up.” But every new capability means a learning curve, process shift, or a dashboard that looks nothing like last week’s. It’s exhausting.
2. AI is the new FOMO drug
Leadership reads one McKinsey report and suddenly your team is piloting three AI tools, building an internal task force, and rewriting your personalisation strategy - all while still dealing with last quarter’s Salesforce sync issue.
3. No one owns the change
MarTech changes usually sit in a no-man’s-land between marketing, IT, and ops. That means no clear ownership, vague accountability, and a lot of “we’ll circle back on that.”
Change fatigue thrives in the cracks between teams.
4. ‘Strategic’ often means ‘reactive’
Too many companies buy new tools to fix the last mess, not to drive a long-term plan.
That knee-jerk buying behaviour (often dressed up as “bold leadership”) leads to a graveyard of half-implemented tech, misaligned teams, and a sense of déjà vu every time a new acronym lands on the roadmap.
The hidden cost: What it’s really doing to your teams
Beyond the missed deadlines and budget overruns, change fatigue in MarTech has a deeper, more insidious cost.
Talent loss: Skilled people leave not because they can’t do the work - but because they’re sick of being ping-ponged between priorities that contradict each other.
Cultural cynicism: When every tech initiative is pitched as a “game changer,” nothing is. People stop caring, even about the good ideas.
Shadow systems: Teams build workaround tools and processes in spreadsheets or Notion docs because they’ve lost faith in the stack.
Brand risk: Fragmented data, disconnected journeys, and half-baked campaigns don’t just waste money - they corrode customer trust.
How to spot the signs of change fatigue (before it eats your strategy)
Team enthusiasm has flatlined – New initiative? Cue the blank stares.
Low tool adoption – You’re paying for licenses no one uses (and everyone resents).
Increased internal friction – Ops vs marketing vs sales vs IT: everyone blames everyone else.
Micromanagement creeping in – Because no one trusts the process anymore.
Over-reliance on external vendors – Not because it’s strategic, but because the team is tapped out.
So what the hell do you do about it?
Let’s get real: you can’t stop change. But you can manage the velocity, the volume, and most importantly, the human impact.
Here’s how:
1. Audit before adding
Before introducing any new tech, ask: what’s the business problem? If it’s not clearly articulated - and agreed upon cross-functionally - park it. Tech for tech’s sake is the enemy.
2. Create a MarTech change council
No, not another committee that meets twice then disappears. A real task force with teeth - cross-functional, empowered, and focused solely on evaluating, sequencing, and communicating MarTech changes.
3. Align change with capacity
Roadmaps are only useful if they reflect reality. If your team is already maxed out integrating that CDP, don’t layer on a new personalisation engine. Prioritise ruthlessly. Sequence sensibly.
4. Communicate like it’s your job
Because it is. Change fatigue is often a result of poor communication. Treat every MarTech shift like a mini product launch - with messaging, enablement, training, and a damn good reason “why.”
5. Measure adoption, not just deployment
Stop patting yourself on the back for “going live.” Track actual usage, team sentiment, and business outcomes. Celebrate meaningful adoption - not checkbox delivery.
6. Give people space to recover
If you just finished a big platform rollout, don’t start the next one immediately. Let your team digest, reflect, and stabilize. Recovery is part of the process.
Final thought: not all change is progress
In B2B Marketing Operations, we’re supposed to be the adults in the room - the calm heads who bridge ambition and execution. But we’re also human. And if your team is burned out, you don’t need another innovation. You need a pause.
Change fatigue isn’t a weakness. It’s a signal. Listen to it, and you’ll lead more effectively than any AI tool ever could.
