Definition
An Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) is a detailed, hypothetical description of the perfect company to sell to. It is not a real customer but rather a fictional company profile that possesses all the characteristics that make it the best possible fit for your product or service. An ICP is defined by firmographic data, such as company size, industry, revenue, location, and the technology they use. It forms the foundation of a B2B go-to-market strategy.
Examples
- SaaS Company: « Our ICP is a B2B technology company based in North America with 200-1,000 employees, $50M-$200M in annual revenue, and already uses Salesforce as their CRM. »
- Marketing Agency: « Our ICP is a direct-to-consumer (D2C) e-commerce brand in the fashion or wellness space with a marketing budget of at least $30,000/month. »
- Go-To-Market Service: « Our ICP is a European Series A startup that has just raised over $10 million and needs to build a sales pipeline in the US market. »
Advantages/Benefits
- Precise Targeting: Allows sales and marketing teams to stop wasting resources on poor-fit leads and focus all their energy on the accounts most likely to buy.
- Higher Conversion Rates: Leads that match the ICP are far more likely to see the value in your product, leading to higher conversion and closing rates.
- Better Product Development: Provides a clear picture of who you are building for, which helps guide product roadmap decisions.
- Sales and Marketing Alignment: Creates a single, agreed-upon definition of a « good » account, ensuring both teams are working toward the same goal.
Related terms
- Buyer Persona
- ABM (Account-Based Marketing)
- Target Market
- B2B (Business-to-Business)
- Lead Scoring
- Firmographics
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