{"id":479,"date":"2025-08-01T23:38:13","date_gmt":"2025-08-01T23:38:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.alaskansawmill.com\/?p=479"},"modified":"2025-08-07T14:52:35","modified_gmt":"2025-08-07T14:52:35","slug":"lessons-from-canvas-cco","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.alaskansawmill.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/01\/lessons-from-canvas-cco\/","title":{"rendered":"Lessons from Canva\u2019s CCO"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Hello and welcome to The GTM Newsletter by GTMnow <\/strong>\u2013 read by 50,000+ to scale their companies and careers. GTMnow shares insight around the go-to-market strategies responsible for explosive company growth. GTMnow highlights the strategies, along with the stories from the top 1% of GTM executives, VCs, and founders behind these strategies and companies.<\/em><\/p>\n

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When you look at the major software companies, Rob Giglio<\/a> has been instrumental in building the go-to-market engines for most of them. He led at Adobe (during its pivotal shift to the cloud), DocuSign (during its explosive PLG growth), HubSpot, and now Canva, where he\u2019s the Chief Customer Officer (including sales and success).<\/p>\n

When we find someone with a track record like this of scaling companies, we dig in to uncover their foundational principles. After listening to Rob deconstruct his how he grew these companies, we\u2019ve distilled three key lessons.<\/p>\n

Lesson 1: Apply CPG discipline to de-risk your GTM<\/p>\n

Lesson 2: Build a loyalty engine, not a sales funnel<\/p>\n

Lesson 3: It\u2019s all about humans, so focus on substance and simplicity<\/p>\n

Below, we dive into each lesson. This is the first part of a new series on lessons from some of the top 1% leaders in B2B SaaS.<\/p>\n

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Lesson 1: Apply CPG discipline to de-risk your GTM<\/h2>\n

This lesson comes from Rob\u2019s time in consumer packaged goods (CPG), where a marketing mistake is physically and financially costly. If you print the wrong label on a million cans of soup, you can\u2019t just push a quick fix. This taught him that \u201cit\u2019s expensive to be wrong, so you better be thoughtful.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

While software allows for more iteration, Rob argues that B2B teams are often too reliant on gut feelings and skip the upfront rigor that de-risks a launch. His advice is to adopt two powerful tactics from the CPG world.<\/p>\n

1. Master concept testing.<\/h3>\n

Before building anything, CPG companies create mockups of a new product, complete with packaging and pricing and test them with target consumers. This simple step validates demand and messaging before<\/em> millions are spent on development and manufacturing.<\/p>\n

Both product and message testing are key for implementing this lessons. Solutions like Wynter<\/a> are helpful for getting messaging in front of your ICP quickly.<\/p>\n

2. Win valuable segments, not the entire market<\/h3>\n

Rob uses a brilliant beer analogy: \u201cAlmost no beer manufacturer says to themselves, \u2018I need to own the entire market of beer.\u2019<\/em> They pay attention to segments.\u201d They own \u2018beach beer\u2019 or \u2018football beer\u2019. Software companies, in contrast, often try to be everything to everyone, which leads to generic messaging that doesn\u2019t resonate deeply with anyone.<\/p>\n

Instead of defining your ideal customer profile (ICP) by firmographics alone (e.g. 500-1,000 employees in fintech), define a behavioral or psychographic segment. Who are you really<\/em> building for? Is it the \u201ccompliance-first IT leader\u201d or the \u201cfast-moving marketing team\u201d? Choosing a specific segment clarifies your product roadmap and makes your marketing infinitely more potent.<\/p>\n

Lesson 2: Build a loyalty engine, not a sales funnel<\/h2>\n

Many revenue teams are obsessed with the \u2018close,\u2019 viewing the sales transaction as the finish line. Rob believes this is a critical error. The ultimate goal is not the sale, it\u2019s loyalty.<\/p>\n

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\u201cUltimately as a revenue leader\u2026 you\u2019re not really looking for the sale. You\u2019re really looking for loyalty. The ultimate end of journey is loyalty.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

This framework changes how you design your entire customer experience. At a former company, an intern who noticed it was incredibly difficult to sign up but took only a single click to cancel. They were inadvertently optimizing for churn.<\/p>\n

A loyalty-driven model flips this. It removes all friction from onboarding and adds thoughtful friction to offboarding, not to trap users, but to remind them of the value they\u2019re leaving behind.<\/p>\n

At Canva, this is built into their GTM. Their customer journey framework doesn\u2019t end at purchase, it extends all the way to loyalty.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s an example a Canva\u2019s cancellation modal:<\/p>\n

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A simplified version of Canva\u2019s Loyalty Journey:<\/h3>\n
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The key insight is that purchase is just a midpoint. The real work is driving adoption and growth to earn advocacy, which in turn fuels the top of your funnel.<\/p>\n

Lesson 3: It\u2019s all about humans, so focus on substance and simplicity<\/h3>\n

When asked for the single biggest mistake people make in B2B marketing, Rob\u2019s answer was immediate: \u201ccalling it<\/em> B2B marketing.\u201d<\/p>\n

You are never marketing to a building or a logo. You are marketing to a human inside that building. The moment you forget this, your marketing becomes abstract, filled with jargon, and ineffective.<\/p>\n

To market effectively to people, Rob\u2019s playbook is to focus on two things:<\/p>\n

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  1. Substance over sizzle:<\/strong> Substance wins every time. While it might not win quick, it will win the most. A splashy campaign or a perfectly executed sales process might win a deal, but if the product doesn\u2019t deliver real, tangible value to the person using it, you will never earn loyalty.<\/li>\n
  2. Drive substance through simplicity:<\/strong> The best way to deliver substance is through simplicity. A simple product is easy to adopt, a simple message is easy to understand, and a simple sales process is easy to train and scale. Rob\u2019s test for simplicity is powerful: it must be measurable, describable, and trainable. If your own employees can\u2019t explain what your product does in a simple sentence, how can you expect a customer to?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Rob\u2019s lessons tear down the artificial wall between B2B and B2C to reveal a core truth: whether you\u2019re selling software or soap, you\u2019re in the business of earning a person\u2019s loyalty. The path there isn\u2019t through complex sales motions, but through a relentlessly simple, substance-driven experience.<\/p>\n

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    Share<\/a><\/p>\n

    Tag GTMnow so we can see your takeaways and help amplify them.<\/em><\/h6>\n
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    \"\u2705\" Recommendations<\/strong><\/h4>\n

    The Evidence Gap Report<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

    This report unpacks the findings from 619 B2B buyers, sellers, and marketers to uncover the exact types of customer proof that actually build trust and boost buyer confidence. The TL;DR? They want data, relevance, and actual<\/em> proof.<\/p>\n

    67% of sellers have watched deals slip through their fingers because they couldn\u2019t provide relevant, specific customer proof. Learn how to avoid this fate.<\/p>\n

    Grab this report<\/a> and learn how to give them the evidence they need.<\/p>\n

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    \"\ud83d\udc40\" More for your eyeballs<\/strong><\/h4>\n

    Figma started trading on the NYSE and stocks soar in its highly anticipated IPO<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    Design tool Figma IPOs and within minutes of trading hit a $45 billion market cap.<\/p>\n

    Vanta just raised $150M at a $4.15B valuation<\/a>. The leading AI-powered trust management platform announced its $150 million Series D funding round at a $4.15 billion valuation. Look out for a deep dive on Vanta\u2019s GTM and growth with their CRO on The GTMnow Podcast soon!<\/p>\n

    \u201cSoftware is dead\u201d is a popular narrative in tech, but it couldn\u2019t be further from the truth.<\/a> Vertical SaaS is thriving, proving that focused, industry-specific solutions are not only alive but driving the next wave of innovation and value creation in the AI era.<\/p>\n

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    \"\ud83d\udc42\" More for your eardrums<\/strong><\/h4>\n

    GTM 156: Revenue Marketing Unpacked: GTM Lessons, AI, and What\u2019s Really Broken in Attribution | John Fernandez<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

    John Fernandez is SVP at Datasite, with a track record as GTM leader at Glia, ContentWise, and Diligent, having scaled teams through IPOs, acquisitions, and $1.4B in equity events. At Glia, John pioneered revenue marketing\u2019s impact, driving 71% of pipeline and 60% of new business revenue from marketing. Connect with him for real-world GTM lessons, scaling playbooks, and unique frameworks for aligning marketing with revenue.<\/p>\n

    Listen on Apple<\/a>, Spotify<\/a>, YouTube<\/a>, or wherever you get your podcasts by searching \u201cThe GTM Podcast.\u201d<\/p>\n

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    \"\ud83d\ude80\" Startup to watch<\/strong><\/h4>\n

    Gaiia<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 just took Bronze at the ISE Innovation Awards 2025<\/a>, recognizing our push to modernize broadband with a seamless, Uber-like experience for service providers and their customers.<\/p>\n

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    \"\ud83d\udd25\" Hottest GTM jobs of the week<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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    1. Director, Sales Development (EMEA + NAMER East)<\/a> at Vanta (Hybrid \u2013 New York)<\/em><\/li>\n
    2. Vice President, Revenue<\/a> at Amper (Remote \u2013 US)<\/em><\/li>\n
    3. Director of Revenue Operations<\/a> at Atlan (Remote \u2013 US<\/em><\/li>\n
    4. Sr. Demand Generation Marketing Manager<\/a> at Noibu (Hybrid \u2013 Toronto)<\/em><\/li>\n
    5. Founding SDR<\/a> at Pocus (Hybrid \u2013 Vancouver)<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      See more top GTM jobs on the GTMfund Job Board<\/a>.<\/p>\n

      If you\u2019re looking to scale your sales and marketing teams with top talent, we couldn\u2019t recommend our partner Pursuit<\/a> more. We work closely together to be able to provide the top go-to-market talent for companies on a non-retainer basis.<\/em><\/p>\n

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      \"\ud83d\uddd3\" GTM industry events<\/strong><\/h4>\n

      Upcoming go-to-market events you won\u2019t want to miss:<\/em><\/p>\n