Ascend: From Product-Ready to Pipeline-Ready with Kalungi

Ascend had a strong product and had been in business for 20 years. Their AP automation platform helped organizations simplify invoice processing, streamline approvals, and reduce manual work. But while their tech was mature, their marketing wasn’t.

When Kalungi stepped in, Ascend had little to no SEO presence, unclear attribution, and a website that wasn’t generating leads. What they needed was more than a few quick fixes. They needed a complete go-to-market engine fast.

Results at a Glance:

• Complete rebrand and new website.
• Full SEO infrastructure built from the ground up.
• Working lead generation funnel and attribution.
• Automated marketing workflows and HubSpot setup.
• Internal marketing hired, onboarded and ramped.

The Challenge: Strong Product, But No Marketing Foundation

Before working with Kalungi, Ascend had no reliable way to generate or track marketing leads. Their product was solid, but their marketing infrastructure was nearly nonexistent. The team at Ascend had no dashboards, no scalable content strategy, and no clear path to a predictable pipeline. 

As Rob Southern, Ascend’s CEO, shared :

“Our SEO went from pretty much non-existent to super sophisticated. We’re now able to capture leads from traffic on our website, understand where they’re coming from, and how we can increase them. We never had that capability before.”

Without a foundational system in place, the team was flying completely blind.

The Solution: A Fully Embedded Marketing Team

To fill the gaps quickly, Kalungi brought in an embedded team (led by a fractional CMO) to run Ascend's marketing function end-to-end. What began as a foundational playbook evolved into a fully operational go-to-market engine. 

Key deliverables included:

• A complete rebrand
• A new, conversion-focused website
• SEO strategy and execution
• Attribution infrastructure
• Content marketing, demand generation, and reporting

“We now have a marketing foundation in place — everything from SEO to content build and brand management. We’re at a spot now where I can look at all the marketing KPIs that we have and trust them. I would never trust the data before.”

— Rob Southern

Building the Right Marketing Team While Scaling the Engine

As the new systems were being built, Kalungi ensured Ascend’s internal team had the structure and support to run day-to-day marketing initiatives effectively. According to Michael Eggerling, Head of Marketing at Ascend:

“It’s difficult to stand up a marketing team in any situation, but particularly with a third party. I’m really glad we were able to work with the associate CMO, because he had all that impact on the business and still delivered consistently.”

— Michael Eggerling.

Why Ascend Chose Kalungi as a Marketing Partner

Kalungi built the marketing system behind Ascend’s deliverables: SEO, attribution, lead capture, and reporting. Every part of the go-to-market engine was designed to be scalable and self-sustaining.

They also helped Ascend make a key marketing hire, ensuring the team could carry the momentum forward. 

“Stijn’s even helped us hire our first marketing team member to keep us on track when he completes his assignment.”

— Rob Southern

Looking Ahead: Ascend’s Marketing Is Built to Scale

By the end of the engagement, Ascend didn’t just have a few new campaigns or a refreshed website. They had a complete, scalable go-to-market engine and the internal team to keep it running. 

“I’ve encouraged a number of other companies to work with Kalungi. We had nothing (before) and have built something that’s great – a sophisticated marketing engine. I had high confidence Kalungi could do that and didn’t have to worry about it. That was a huge load off me.”

— Rob Southern

Do You Need a Marketing Partner Who Can Build the Whole Engine?  

Ascend didn’t need to build an internal team from scratch. They partnered with Kalungi and walked away with a fully functioning engine and the talent to run it.

If you’re in the same spot(strong product, but no marketing system to support growth), Kalungi can help.

Book a discovery call.