MarTech Podcast ™ // Marketing + Technology = Business Growth

Episode: Unbounce’s Acquisition of Insightly
Release Date: February 10, 2025
Host: Benjamin Shapiro
Guest: Val Riley, VP of Marketing and Strategy at Unbounce

Introduction

In the latest episode of the MarTech Podcast™, host Benjamin Shapiro delves into the strategic acquisition of Insightly by Unbounce. Joining him is Val Riley, the Vice President of Marketing and Strategy at Unbounce, who provides an insider’s perspective on the motivations, benefits, and future implications of this significant merger.

The Acquisition Story

[01:15]
Benjamin Shapiro opens the discussion by introducing Val Riley and highlighting her pivotal role in steering Unbounce through its recent acquisition of Insightly. Val expresses her enthusiasm:

Val Riley: "Thanks. I'm so excited to be here."

She elaborates on the acquisition, emphasizing Unbounce’s long-standing use and appreciation of Insightly’s CRM capabilities:

Val Riley: "I have used Unbounce in my last three roles. So super fan of Unbounce and Unbounce landing pages. When I first heard that Insightly was being acquired by Unbounce, I was like, well this is great. This is a huge win for me. Two pieces of software that I love."

[02:55]
Benjamin introduces a segment called "Talk Tagline," where Val breaks down the acquisition press release’s tagline:

Benjamin Shapiro: "This merger will allow Unbounce to leverage first-party CRM data to move marketers forward with more comprehensive metrics that are vital to their roles. Revenue and lifetime value data."

Val unpacks this by explaining the complementary strengths of both companies:

Val Riley: "Unbounce is the absolute category leader in landing pages. They can tell you so much about your landing pages, how they're converting, what people are doing... But the limitation was that they couldn't tell you anything beyond that landing page conversion. Insightly, on the other hand, offers a comprehensive CRM and marketing automation platform that captures the entire customer journey."

Strategic Implications of the Acquisition

[05:04]
The conversation shifts to the broader implications of integrating CRM data with landing page optimization:

Benjamin Shapiro: "The story is about end-to-end conversion tracking. You have a better sense of who the customer is that's actually making that interaction. So you can bring in first-party data with your understanding of the person to understand how to customize the experience."

Val highlights the evolving role of marketers who now must ensure that leads not only generate opportunities but also translate into high Average Contract Value (ACV) and renewals:

Val Riley: "Today's marketer... have to generate leads that turn into ops with high ACV and renew. Giving marketers that type of insight as part of their landing page builder experience is really just helping them with what the market is demanding."

Future Outlook: A Unified Revenue Intelligence Platform

[06:07]
In the "What's the Word?" segment, Val succinctly captures the essence of the acquisition with the word "experience." She further explains how the CEO’s extensive background in CRM influenced the strategic direction:

Val Riley: "The CEO of Unbounce... had firsthand knowledge of the CRM space, making this acquisition particularly appealing."

[09:48]
Looking ahead three years, Val envisions Unbounce and Insightly evolving into a comprehensive revenue intelligence platform that caters specifically to sales-driven organizations:

Val Riley: "You'll have a marketing toolkit with segmentation, email journeys, email marketing, landing pages built-in, and lead attribution software like Leads RX. We're positioning ourselves against major players like HubSpot by focusing on sales-led organizations with strong CRM integration."

She underscores the competitive edge Unbounce aims to establish:

Val Riley: "HubSpot is appealing to marketing-led organizations, while Insightly is much more appealing to sales-led organizations... We're aiming to solve revenue intelligence problems for small to mid-market, sales-driven organizations."

Industry Trends: Increased Mergers and Acquisitions in Martech

[11:15]
Benjamin shifts the discussion to the broader trend of mergers and acquisitions within the Martech space, noting recent high-profile deals and speculating on future activity:

Benjamin Shapiro: "It seems like there are more and more acquisitions. Do you think that there are factors at play that would make us think that there are going to be more acquisitions coming in the Martech space?"

[12:09]
Val attributes the surge in acquisitions to a combination of opportunistic timing and strategic necessities, particularly influenced by private equity (PE) firms seeking to deploy capital efficiently:

Val Riley: "PE firms... want to see EBITDA and you can get EBITDA from just getting efficient with your spend, getting efficient with your teams... They have to deploy capital and can't just sit around and wait for unicorns."

She also highlights how larger companies often resort to acquisitions to innovate and grow due to inherent challenges in fostering internal innovation:

Val Riley: "Large companies struggle to innovate... When they're looking for growth, it's really going to happen by acquisition."

Macroeconomic Factors Influencing Acquisition Activity

[13:19]
Benjamin connects the trend of increased acquisitions to macroeconomic conditions, such as declining interest rates making capital more accessible:

Benjamin Shapiro: "As interest rates start to creep down, money starts to get a little cheaper, people start to focus on revenue growth instead of revenue optimization... Transactions happen more frequently."

Val concurs, emphasizing the role of PE firms and publicly traded companies in driving acquisition activity:

Val Riley: "They can't just sit on the cash. They have to find deals that make sense for their firm. The macroeconomic environment is making it so in 2025 we might see a lot more activity."

Conclusion and Future Prospects

As the episode wraps up, Val shares a glimpse into her personal projects and offers listeners resources to connect further:

Val Riley: "My podcast, 'Closing Time,' is loosely based on that '90s hit by Semisonic. Catch us on YouTube."

Benjamin promotes the podcast’s resources and encourages listeners to engage through various platforms:

Benjamin Shapiro: "Head over to martechpod.com for summaries of all episodes, contact information for guests, subscribe to our newsletter, or apply to be a guest speaker. Follow us on social media @martechpod."

He concludes with advice aimed at listeners:

Benjamin Shapiro: "Just focus on keeping your customers happy."

Key Takeaways

1. Strategic Fit: Unbounce’s acquisition of Insightly combines top-tier landing page optimization with comprehensive CRM capabilities, enabling end-to-end tracking of the customer journey.

2. Enhanced Marketer Insights: The integration allows marketers to leverage first-party CRM data alongside conversion metrics, facilitating more personalized and effective marketing strategies.

3. Revenue Intelligence Platform: The merged entity aims to become a unified revenue intelligence platform tailored for sales-driven, small to mid-market organizations, competing directly with established players like HubSpot.

4. Industry M&A Trends: The Martech space is experiencing an uptick in acquisitions driven by strategic needs and favorable macroeconomic conditions, with PE firms and large companies playing pivotal roles.

5. Future Outlook: Unbounce and Insightly are poised to innovate and expand their offerings, addressing the evolving demands of marketers and sales leaders in a competitive landscape.

Notable Quotes

• Val Riley: "Today's marketer... have to generate leads that turn into ops with high ACV and renew. Giving marketers that type of insight as part of their landing page builder experience is really just helping them with what the market is demanding." [05:37]

• Val Riley: "The CEO of Unbounce... had firsthand knowledge of the CRM space, making this acquisition particularly appealing." [06:32]

• Benjamin Shapiro: "As interest rates start to creep down, money starts to get a little cheaper, people start to focus on revenue growth instead of revenue optimization... Transactions happen more frequently." [13:19]

Connect with Val Riley and the Martech Podcast™

• Val Riley: Closing Time Podcast (Note: Replace with actual link)
• LinkedIn for Val Riley: LinkedIn Profile (Note: Replace with actual link)
• Unbounce: unbounce.com
• Martech Podcast™: Visit martechpod.com for more episodes, summaries, and resources.
• Social Media Handle: @martechpod

Disclaimer: The timestamps and speaker attributions are based on the provided transcript and are intended to guide readers to specific parts of the podcast for reference.