Connecting teams for a 360-view of customers and beneficiaries

MCNC, a North Carolina-based telecommunications nonprofit, is on a mission to make sure the state and its citizens have the tools and technology they need to thrive, grow, and shape the future. The company provides technology infrastructure and services to educational, research, and government organizations, as well as to local, often underserved, communities. “We want to make secure, reliable, and affordable high-speed internet and technology services accessible to everyone in North Carolina,” says Jim Nester, Chief Marketing Officer at MCNC.

When Nester joined MCNC, employees relied on paper-based processes, disconnected tools, and individual "black books," creating data silos and limiting visibility into performance. Their existing CRM was underutilized, with only legal counsel actively using it for contract management. As a result, marketing planning and campaigns often ran as disconnected activities. “We saw a real opportunity to improve how we connect with both new and existing customers by moving away from a fragmented approach and toward a more cohesive strategy,” says Nester.

To address the sales and marketing challenges, Nester led an initiative to unify MCNC’s front-office teams on the ServiceNow AI Platform. MCNC decided on a comprehensive solution from ServiceNow and its partners, Tenon and The Whole Group. Together, they recommended enhancing MCNC’s existing Customer Service Management solution by integrating new Sales and Order Management capabilities, along with Tenon’s Marketing Automation tool to support email campaigns.

A phased approach led to a massive transformation for the front office

MCNC’s objective was clear: consolidate its disparate tools into a single platform that allows teams to quickly identify and reach new customers with more relevant information—and then efficiently manage leads, opportunities, and contracts.

“MCNC prioritized what needed to be done,” says Ben Person, CEO and co-founder of Tenon. “They didn’t try to do everything at once. From the start, Jim Nester focused on eliminating spreadsheets and siloed tools and getting sales working with marketing and with customer service.”

In just eight weeks, MCNC completed its front-office CRM transformation by adding Marketing and Sales and Order Management to its existing Customer Service solution. This CRM transformation delivered a complete view of the customer from lead to close to case. “The combined offering from, and executed by ServiceNow, Tenon, and The Whole Group gave us that single solution we needed, allowing for centralized data and transparency across all relevant departments—and fast,” says Nester. “Now we can operate as one team in reaching the organizations that need us, growing our customer base, and serving our customers well.”

Tenon's marketing automation system now works alongside Customer Service Management (CSM) and Sales and Order Management (SOM) as part of a unified front-office CRM solution. The Whole Group took on the development of a tailored solution designed to meet MCNC’s unique needs, integrating data from multiple sources into a unified platform that provides a comprehensive view of customer interactions and sales activities.  

The resulting CRM dashboard includes a clear funnel and pipeline view, with visibility into potential opportunities, such as a rural market that previously may have been overlooked. The front office can now easily identify the lead, add it to the appropriate funnel, track its progress, and generate reports that show where the lead stands. This visibility allows MCNC to allocate resources more strategically and engage the right team members at the right time.

The Whole Group also helped ensure efficiency and cost management through its strategic recommendations. They encouraged MCNC to first simplify their selling organization and its data, use their existing quoting tool for a transitional period, and then implement the Configure, Price, Quote (CPQ) solution later. Says Jorge Watson, head of consulting for The Whole Group, “The ‘system-component’ nature of the ServiceNow platform makes this type of expansion possible.”

Quick wins include deals closing 25% faster and a 30% lift in qualified leads

Nester wanted stakeholders to quickly experience a positive impact with the new system—and they did. Rapid deployment of core capabilities replaced MCNC's outdated spreadsheets and siloed systems with centralized customer data, lead and opportunity management, and Tenon's email marketing automation.

The swift transition provided immediate relief from manual processes and created a unified data model that improved visibility across marketing, sales, and service teams. Now, employees work from a single source of truth, with easy access to the same set of data. The result? They can easily send controlled and consistent customer communications and track and monitor opportunities—all within one system.

MCNC teams started to see returns on their investment almost immediately: With a new 360-degree view of customer interactions, the sales team began to close deals 25% faster. Personalized marketing campaigns, based on real-time insights, yielded a 30% lift in qualified leads. “Most importantly, lead data indicates that we are reaching more of the community organizations who need our technology services,” says Nester.

Nester anticipates cost savings from the implementation, too. “By simplifying workflows and enhancing inter-departmental communication through a single platform, we expect we’ll need only a ‘traffic coordinator’ to manage campaigns and content, freeing up team members to focus on other business-critical initiatives instead of routine CRM administration.”

CRM success builds a foundation for future CPQ automation

The immediate results earned stakeholder confidence in the new platform, paving the way for future expansion. Nester now envisions automating MCNC’s complex sales cycle using the ServiceNow Configure, Price, Quote (CPQ) solution to realign how products and services are structured, priced, and delivered. By simplifying and accelerating the quoting process, CPQ will enable MCNC to activate new customer acquisition campaigns and tactics—such as events and webinars—more effectively, helping prospects understand how MCNC’s technology solutions can empower their communities.

The successful collaboration with ServiceNow, Tenon, and The Whole Group has established a strong digital foundation for MCNC’s business evolution. Says Nester, “It’s a profound leap forward for MCNC. It’s not only about what we can accomplish for the organization but also for North Carolina and its citizens. We’re excited about the next chapter at MCNC.”