In this edition of Marketer of the Week, Ignite Visibility spotlights Ashley Cianci, Director of Demand Generation at PerformLine, a compliance technology company headquartered in Morristown, New Jersey.
Ignite Visibility applauds Ashley Cianci for her passion for innovative marketing and her success in developing a brand identity and increasing demand generation, brand awareness, and revenue in short amounts of time.
Ashley Cianci
A quick look at Ashley Cianci’s LinkedIn is all you need to see that she is an asset to her team at PerformLine. One co-worker, Iris Friedman, describes her as “a powerhouse; a combination of energy, drive, and intelligence. She’s smart, she gets it, and people enjoy being around her.”
With glowing recommendations like that, it’s easy to understand how this 2014 UNC-Chapel Hill grad has been able to secure so much success in a short period of time.
After graduating from UNC-Chapel Hill in 2014 with her Bachelor of Arts degree in Organizational Communication, Cianci went on to earn her Master of Business Administration from North Carolina State University, graduating summa cum laude in 2020.
In addition to her college education, Cianci also earned her BB&T Emerging Leaders Certification from Truist Leadership Institute in January 2019.
Life Before PerformLine
Cianci accepted a job with PrecisionLender, a commercial banking software company in Charlotte, North Carolina that has since been acquired by Q2.
During Cianci’s work at PrecisionLender, she worked her way up to being named the Senior Marketing Manager. Her work increased the company’s marketing-sourced opportunities from $300,000 to over $10 million in just five years.
Her work on PrecisionLender’s demand campaigns included content creation, social promotion, email marketing, webinar creation, direct mail marketing, as well as other digital marketing tactics.
Cianci’s event-marketing strategy increased the company’s event-sourced opportunities from less than $100,000 to over $5 million in her five years with them. It’s safe to say that, with Cianci at the head, their marketing department grew by leaps and bounds.
When the company was acquired by Q2 in 2019, it sold for approximately $510 million. Cianci’s marketing efforts played a large part in boosting sales and securing such a large valuation.
Cianci’s Work at PerformLine
Cianci made the move to PerformLine in December 2020 when she joined their team as a Senior Marketing Manager in the Demand Generation department.
She was hired onto the PerformLine team to help build brand awareness while launching new products in new markets. And she delivered!
Using techniques such as content marketing, paid media, email marketing, and social media, PerformLine is seeing numbers like never before. By keeping a close eye on her campaigns and adding SEO tactics when necessary, she has been able to produce incredible results.
Cianci also worked with the sales and BDR team to implement better processes on their part, too. With her help, these departments developed a better strategy that helps them qualify and follow up with marketing leads more quickly and efficiently than before.
In just a little over a year, Cianci has implemented a demand generation strategy that has increased PerformLine’s marketing-sourced recurring revenue pipeline from less than $19,000 to over $50,000.
Cianci Produces Record-Breaking Numbers for PerformLine
In addition to raising revenue and pipeline value, Cianci also raised PerformLine’s marketing numbers.
After she implemented her strategies, the amount of marketing sourced leads that came into the sales department went up by 160%. Her optimization of paid media increased inbound demo requests by 12% and qualified leads by 32%.
Overall, PerformLine saw a 267% increase from the previous year in the number of inbound demo requests that turned into paying opportunities. These opportunities produced a 110% annual contract value.
While working hard to improve the company’s content marketing and paid media, Cianci also produced a virtual event series that connected industry leaders during the Covid-19 pandemic. This allowed for people to learn from top-named accounts while also increasing their human touchpoints. These events can be credited for creating the opportunity for many more leads to increase their discovery into PerformLine and its products.
Cianci has proven time and time again that she can rise to the occasion, regardless of what challenge is thrown her way.
Cianci Creates Change Outside of Work
In addition to her proven track record in the marketing world, Cianci is also making waves through her volunteer efforts.
Since 2016, she has volunteered for the AMA Triangle. This NC Triangle and Eastern North Carolina chapter of the American Marketing Association provides professional development, training, programming, and networking opportunities for marketing professionals in the area.
Cianci has served in a variety of roles including the Director of Guest Experience and Director of Volunteers at their High Five Conference as well as the Director of Luncheons. Most recently, she served as the VP of Programming for the 2019-2020 Chapter Year.
Through her leadership, members of the AMA Triangle were able to learn the newest trends in marketing from the events and speakers sponsored by the organization.
Future is Bright for Cianci
Cianci has already created an impressive list of accomplishments but this is only the beginning for the demand generation expert.
Through her passion, drive, and desire to always achieve more, Cianci is going to make a world of difference both in marketing and in the community around her. Just one look at her portfolio of work and it’s easy to see why co-worker Brandi Haymore said that “her future is as bright as her smile.”
I am excited to see how much PerformLine grows with the passionate and unstoppable Cianci designing their marketing strategies!
