Customer experience is one of the most powerful differentiators in today’s market, yet delivering seamless, scalable digital journeys remains a challenge for many organizations. Natalie Romano, a veteran leader with over 20 years in sales, customer success, and customer experience transformation, believes the key to sustainable growth is aligning results to operational processes and technology to meet the needs of both customers and employee.
The Interplay Between Customer and Employee Experience
“Customer experience plus employee experience equals business growth. You have to care for both sides, the customer and the employee, to achieve meaningful results,” says Romano. “That balance begins with the right tools.” Employees need systems that let them respond to customer interactions quickly and effectively, while customers expect personalized experiences that show you understand their preferences proactively. When organizations equip their teams with the right digital solutions, the payoff is twofold: customers enjoy fast, tailored interactions, and employees feel supported rather than overwhelmed
Measuring What Matters
For leaders beginning a CX transformation, Romano cautions against chasing every available metric. “Focus on those that directly tie to outcomes and are actionable. Your KPIs should clearly define what success looks like, with targets aligned to your expected results,” she explains. That said, a few universal measures are particularly useful. First-contact resolution highlights how effectively issues are resolved, while customer satisfaction (CSAT) reflects whether customer needs are being met. On the employee side, engagement and attrition rates indicate overall organizational health. “Together, these metrics provide a balanced view of the experience from both perspectives,” Romano adds.
Real-World Transformation at Scale
Romano recalls partnering with a large financial services firm to deploy AI-powered virtual agents and agent-assist technology. The objective was clear: leverage artificial intelligence to handle repetitive tasks so frontline employees could devote their energy to higher-value interactions. “The AI virtual agents managed routine requests,” she explains, “while agent-assist tools provided live representatives with real-time guidance, freeing them to upsell and personalize each customer’s experience.” The impact was substantial—average revenue per call increased by more than $150, customer satisfaction scores rose sharply, and employees were able to bring greater creativity and care to every conversation.
Avoiding Pitfalls and Embracing Personalization
“It’s important to adopt AI at a pace that fits your business and your organization’s tolerance for change,” Romano says. “Focus on innovating where it will create real impact, not just to keep up with trends. Take it one phase at a time, prove the value, and expand from there.” Scaling digital CX requires careful pacing, explains Romano. “It’s okay to have a plan and adopt in chunks. We’ll do one phase. Did we get the results that we wanted? If we did, great, we can then expand upon that.” Despite fears of automation replacing people, she sees the opposite happening: “We’re actually seeing an increase in the hire rate of customer service representatives.” The reason is simple.By handling routine interactions, AI frees up agents to create personalized, meaningful connections that strengthen loyalty.
The Human Element in a Digital Age
Even with powerful technology, Romano cautions against overlooking human frustration. Too often, customers are asked to repeat personal details across multiple platforms, leading to wasted time and diminished trust. “By the time you actually get to interact with a live human being, what we’re finding is that they’re exhausted,” she says. “They’ve had to tell information over and over again. They think that you should know who they are, but you don’t know who they are. We haven’t made the tools and the platforms easy to recognize who we are.”
As companies race to modernize, Romano’s perspective underscores a critical truth: seamless digital journeys are not just about technology, but about striking the right balance between efficiency, personalization, and empathy. Listening remains the cornerstone of excellent customer service. “There’s a personalized human element to that,” she adds. “And you do that by listening and understanding the inflection, understanding what they’re trying to say, and then managing and addressing towards that.”
Connect with Natalie Romano on LinkedIn for more insights on how to enable seamless digital CX journeys at scale.
