At the right time of the year, when many companies are evaluating their direction and preparing plans for next year, the CX Conference Bucharest 2025, presented ideas and perspectives that will influence the way we build customer experience in 2026.
The event, organised by Customer Experience Romania and coordinated by Gabriela Ciupitu, brought together international leaders and industry professionals, as well as relevant research in the field. It provided a solid framework for understanding where organisations stand today and what priorities should be reinforced in the coming period.
- A powerful message comes from the area of organisational culture. Ian Golding demonstrated using Microsoft as an example that transforming from a “know-it-all” culture to a “learn-it-all” culture changes not only the way people work, but also the company’s financial performance. Culture becomes the infrastructure that underpins every customer interaction. Without it, processes are not aligned and the experience depends on individual effort rather than the system.
Similarly, Bruce Temkin emphasised that, in the AI era, an organisation’s progress is not measured by how intelligent its systems become, but by how human companies manage to remain. The data confirms this: 79% of Romanians consider customer service to be too automated and impersonal. This shows that technology needs to be calibrated rather than amplified indiscriminately. Empathy, human judgement and the ability to make decisions in unforeseen situations become real competitive advantages.
Olga Potaptseva presented the concept of “good growth”, which is becoming increasingly important in a context where supply chains and customer preferences are affected by volatility. Her studies show that 80% of B2B buyers changed suppliers in the last 12 months due to misalignment between product, service and organisational purpose. In other words, growth through volume is no longer effective; healthy growth comes from internal alignment and consistency of experience.
On the operational side, Mihai Ciută and Andreea Coca presented a clear customer experience (CX) governance model. In this model, collaboration between design, IT, marketing, operations and compliance transforms customer data into concrete actions. Indicators such as NPS, CSAT or CLV become decision-making tools rather than reports. CX ceases to be a project and becomes an organisational-wide way of working.
The case studies from Graia and Verint showed how companies are using technology and AI in their daily operations to help teams deliver seamless and agile services that are faster, more flexible and easier to measure. But sustainable growth doesn’t come from technology alone. Organisations must adapt their strategies to ensure a balance between tech-driven efficiency and authentic, empathetic human interaction.
The 2 studies launched at the Conference provided a solid analytical framework and confirmed the above. The Customer Centricity Index (Ipsos) reveals that emotional attachment is the strongest predictor of loyalty. Customers who are emotionally connected to a brand have an NPS of +67 and a retention rate of 76%, compared to a retention rate of just 23% for those who are merely functionally satisfied. Customers also emphasise respect in interactions, ease of purchase and consistency across channels.
The CX Maturity Study Romania & Moldova (Staffino) confirms real progress in organisational development. Over 60% of CX teams now comprise more than five members, 53% of companies have formal governance in place, 49% are adapting their processes with the help of technology, and 45% have adopted hybrid AI-human operator models. Furthermore, over 80% of respondents believe that artificial intelligence will transform the management of customer experience in the coming years.
The direction for 2026 is clear: customer experience (CX) is not an isolated function, but rather the mechanism through which companies build trust and relevance. Culture, technology and emotion must be considered together. They must be aligned, integrated and measured.
For organisations that adopt a strategic approach to this alignment, it becomes the most powerful competitive advantage and predictor of stability in the year ahead.