Extreme Digital: From Garage Startup to E-Commerce Leader

Founded in 2001 as a garage-based business, Extreme Digital grew to become Hungary’s e-commerce market leader by the late 2000s. Over time, the company expanded internationally, joined and later exited the Steinhoff Group, and merged with Romania’s market-leading eMAG online store in 2019.
To explore the challenges of scaling continuously, the business goals behind their partnership with Attention CRM Consulting, and the evolution of their collaboration, we spoke to Gábor Mészáros, Head of Customer Experience at Extreme Digital.

Background

“By 2015, the rapid growth of the business had begun to reveal cracks in our customer service operations. The systems and processes in place were no longer sufficient—some processes were more like unwritten rules than structured workflows. With the help of a consulting firm, we conducted a comprehensive audit and explored which systems could better serve our needs.

We documented our workflows and implemented a process and document management system. Initially, the new system allowed us to implement processes effectively, but it was expensive to develop and inflexible. It also required us to define specific functionalities ourselves.
Despite some progress, the system didn’t adequately support customer service or evolving industry trends. With our online sales volume continuously increasing, the number of customer inquiries grew as well. While we collected some data, we lacked insights into resolution times, and generating reports came with additional costs.

We realized we needed to overhaul our customer service system entirely. It was clear we didn’t want to reinvent the wheel but rather adopt a proven solution with strong benchmarks and global recognition.”

Choosing Salesforce and Attention CRM Consulting

“After a four-way tender, we chose Salesforce, which recommended Attention CRM Consulting as its local partner. Salesforce offered an interface that integrated with our ERP system without requiring in-house development, enabling a relatively quick implementation—critical as the tender process started mid-summer and the holiday season was fast approaching.

Additionally, having local Hungarian support was essential since not all employees speak English fluently. These factors, combined with the quick setup and robust capabilities, made Salesforce and Attention the ideal choice for us.”

The Goal

“Our primary business objective was to reduce customer service handling times by 20-25%, leading to cost savings and increased capacity. We needed a system that provided more efficient, transparent, and faster customer service.

The platform had to offer an easy-to-use interface for agents, deliver quick access to workflow information, and measure agent and process performance. Knowing exactly what issues customers faced allowed us to improve processes and respond effectively.”

Implementation

“Following the purchase of licenses and contract agreements, the implementation began with a series of multi-day meetings. Attention CRM Consulting provided us with a Solution Design detailing how the system would handle processes like call management, case initiation, and status tracking based on our business workflows.

By October 2017, we finalized the plans and launched the system in two phases. The first phase went live on November 2, just in time for the Black Friday rush. This initial rollout delivered a faster, more user-friendly platform for both agents and supervisors.

The system integrated seamlessly with our call management system, allowed for the categorization and identification of inquiries, and automatically retrieved customer data—saving agents time and effort. It also provided real-time reporting, enabling managers to track case statuses and team performance.”

Results and Future Plans

“Today, we can measure our average case handling times down to the second. This level of precision allows us to analyze performance across various dimensions, such as issue type, channel, and agent.

Supervisors and management can monitor performance in real-time through reports that update every minute. This helps us allocate resources effectively and identify areas for process improvement. For instance, streamlining order management has reduced customer inquiries about order statuses and modifications.

Thanks to this data-driven approach, we now have transparent workflows, measurable KPIs, and the ability to plan and execute improvements efficiently. Our system’s return on investment can be quantified through these metrics—a significant leap forward compared to previous years.

Salesforce provides us with a “sandbox” of features, of which we’ve only scratched the surface. Whenever we encounter a new challenge, we consult with Attention CRM Consulting to explore available functionalities. Often, a built-in feature can solve the problem without requiring custom development, which was one of the key reasons we switched in 2017.”