Table of Contents
- Introduction
- Ideal customer profile vs. buyer persona for B2B startups
- Why should you build an ideal customer profile?
Introduction
A hypothetical customer who would greatly benefit from your product while also providing you with immense value.
That you helped the other company increase revenue, reduce expenses, save time, relieve pain points, or ensure that other companies that fit the ICP want to work with you in the future is critical in B2B sales. In addition to money, your ICP can provide you with feedback, testimonials, and referrals.
ICP delves deeper. Consider the industry, employee count, annual revenue, budget, location, and technology used.
ICP is vital to your company’s success. Even if it changes over time, you should have one before beginning any marketing or sales activities.
The better targeted your ICP is, the higher your conversion rate.
Ideal customer profile vs. buyer persona for B2B startups
Buyer personas and ICP aren’t the same. Buyer personas are the decision makers within an ICP.
If you were wondering if they were the same, now you know. Yes, you do need both. Because sales and marketing are so intertwined, it is best to have both.
After defining your ICP, define your buyer persona. It should be a key player in the buying process.
Remember that not all C- or VPs can benefit from what you have to offer; find the right person. Also, companies are usually organized differently, so research is required.
These include job role, title, responsibilities, pain points, etc.
Why should you build an ideal customer profile?
As previously stated, creating an ICP prior to sales and marketing activities simplifies many crucial tasks such as marketing and sales strategy, resource saving, customer retention and lifetime value increase, and referrals.
- Saving resources
- Marketing and sales strategy
- Referrals
- Customer retention and life-time value
1. Saving resources
By narrowing your ICP, you focus your resources on companies that are more likely to convert.
Your ICP also means you know when to say “no,” saving you time and money.
2. Marketing and sales strategy
It’s easier to create messaging when you know your ideal customer. Then you’ll be able to talk to your prospects and address their concerns.
When marketing to them, you’ll know their motivations and what makes them buy your product.
Knowing how to sell to your prospect will help you set more accurate goals and forecasts.
3. Referrals
Because these customers will truly benefit from your product, they will become brand advocates who will not hesitate to recommend it to others.
Their contacts in your target industries may be useful.
4. Customer retention and life-time value
ICP reduces churn rates. Your ICP shows you exactly how to design your onboarding process and how to meet your customers’ needs and expectations.
How to create an ideal customer profile
1. Choose your best customers
The simplest way to create your ICP is to identify and analyze your most satisfied past and current customers.
Select only the best customers. This means you’ll be looking at companies that adore your product and get above-average value from it.
Contact them if you need any information. They will most likely be willing to share if they truly value your product.
2. Interview your best customers
Set up an interview with your most successful customers to learn about their pain points, how your solution solves them, how your product affects their short and long term goals, and their buying process.
If you’re stuck for questions, we’ve got some prepared in the section below.
3. Identify ideal client traits
Now organize what you know and what you learned in the interviews.
Now you must analyze the data and look for themes. What unites your best customers?
They could be similar-sized companies or people who found your product and bought it in the same way.
All of this data helps you create your ideal customer profile and target the most likely to convert prospects.
4. Fill out the framework that works for you.
It’s time to organize your findings.
You can find templates online, create your own or use ours.
The majority are similar, but if your vertical requires additional fields, feel free to add and customize.
Once you finish your ICP, your sales and marketing processes will become much easier. You have a better grasp of your processes.
Remember that you will need to adjust your ICP over time. It won’t last forever.