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A Framework for Defining and Refining Your ICP
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The test I give them to see if they can really identify their ICPs is: do you have high-fidelity responses to each of the prompts below? “Company size (e.g., 1,000–5,000 employees) or revenue range” Type of business (e.g., B2B SaaS, e-commerce)
Though plenty of late-stage founders might think they know who their ICP is, few can answer the question with the granularity required to steer the business as it scales. In fact, the risks of not defining your ICP well can be massive. A poorly-defined ICP is often the hidden cause of a wide range of problems across your org, from high CAC and low conversion rates to sky-high marketing spend and bogged-down product roadmaps. “A great ICP is precise and accurate enough to allow you to target the right personas with your marketing efforts and build a repeatable sales motion using the same messages and levers.” Do you actually know who your ICP is?
Do you actually know who your ICP is? “Great ICPs consist of specific, measurable qualities.” The test I give them to see if they can really identify their ICPs is: do you have high-fidelity responses to each of the prompts below?
The test I give them to see if they can really identify their ICPs is: do you have high-fidelity responses to each of the prompts below? “Company size (e.g., 1,000–5,000 employees) or revenue range” Type of business (e.g., B2B SaaS, e-commerce)
“one of the keys to scaling a B2B go-to-market motion is a well-defined ideal customer profile (ICP) that you refine as your products and use cases grow.” Though plenty of late-stage founders might think they know who their ICP is, few can answer the question with the granularity required to steer the business as it scales. In fact, the risks of not defining your ICP well can be massive. A poorly-defined ICP is often the hidden cause of a wide range of problems across your org, from high CAC and low conversion rates to sky-high marketing spend and bogged-down product roadmaps.
Do you actually know who your ICP is? “But when I push them for a description, many offer broad and vague answers, like “enterprises and midsize companies that use computers.”” The test I give them to see if they can really identify their ICPs is: do you have high-fidelity responses to each of the prompts below?
Do you actually know who your ICP is? “Great ICPs consist of specific, measurable qualities.” The test I give them to see if they can really identify their ICPs is: do you have high-fidelity responses to each of the prompts below?
“one of the keys to scaling a B2B go-to-market motion is a well-defined ideal customer profile (ICP) that you refine as your products and use cases grow.” Though plenty of late-stage founders might think they know who their ICP is, few can answer the question with the granularity required to steer the business as it scales. In fact, the risks of not defining your ICP well can be massive. A poorly-defined ICP is often the hidden cause of a wide range of problems across your org, from high CAC and low conversion rates to sky-high marketing spend and bogged-down product roadmaps.
Do you actually know who your ICP is? “Great ICPs consist of specific, measurable qualities.” The test I give them to see if they can really identify their ICPs is: do you have high-fidelity responses to each of the prompts below?
Though plenty of late-stage founders might think they know who their ICP is, few can answer the question with the granularity required to steer the business as it scales. In fact, the risks of not defining your ICP well can be massive. A poorly-defined ICP is often the hidden cause of a wide range of problems across your org, from high CAC and low conversion rates to sky-high marketing spend and bogged-down product roadmaps. “A great ICP is precise and accurate enough to allow you to target the right personas with your marketing efforts and build a repeatable sales motion using the same messages and levers.” Do you actually know who your ICP is?
“one of the keys to scaling a B2B go-to-market motion is a well-defined ideal customer profile (ICP) that you refine as your products and use cases grow.” Though plenty of late-stage founders might think they know who their ICP is, few can answer the question with the granularity required to steer the business as it scales. In fact, the risks of not defining your ICP well can be massive. A poorly-defined ICP is often the hidden cause of a wide range of problems across your org, from high CAC and low conversion rates to sky-high marketing spend and bogged-down product roadmaps.
As we discussed in our podcast on the topic, one of the keys to scaling a B2B go-to-market motion is a well-defined ideal customer profile (ICP) that you refine as your products and use cases grow. Understanding whose pain points your product can solve better than anyone else’s gives you the right to win business from customers who will benefit from your solution the most—resulting in sustainable growth. This is especially important for today’s fast-growing AI-native companies who might be landing big deals, but need to prioritize the market in order to continue growing. “Though plenty of late-stage founders might think they know who their ICP is, few can answer the question with the granularity required to steer the business as it scales.” A great ICP is precise and accurate enough to allow you to target the right personas with your marketing efforts and build a repeatable sales motion using the same messages and levers. Below is a step-by-step framework to test if you know who your ICP is—or build it out if you don’t.
As we discussed in our podcast on the topic, one of the keys to scaling a B2B go-to-market motion is a well-defined ideal customer profile (ICP) that you refine as your products and use cases grow. Understanding whose pain points your product can solve better than anyone else’s gives you the right to win business from customers who will benefit from your solution the most—resulting in sustainable growth. This is especially important for today’s fast-growing AI-native companies who might be landing big deals, but need to prioritize the market in order to continue growing. “A poorly-defined ICP is often the hidden cause of a wide range of problems across your org, from high CAC and low conversion rates to sky-high marketing spend and bogged-down product roadmaps.” A great ICP is precise and accurate enough to allow you to target the right personas with your marketing efforts and build a repeatable sales motion using the same messages and levers. Below is a step-by-step framework to test if you know who your ICP is—or build it out if you don’t.
What do the customers of your closest competitors have in common (with each other)? “Having someone from your product team (or even yourself as a founder!) lead these conversations can shift the tenor of the conversation away from “reselling” the product and toward a more constructive conversation about what your product does and doesn’t do for a given segment of the market.” No amount of sales or marketing can force a product to durably grow in a market where it isn’t needed by the buyers, so using these questions to get crisp on product-market fit first is key. These questions set aside your GTM performance by design, allowing you to clearly define the markets where your product solves the most urgent problems. Once you’ve figured that out, then you can make sure your go-to-market strategies (marketing, sales, pricing, etc.) help you reach those customers—but that’s for a separate post.
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