The Facts Nobody Tells You About Finding an ICP

Finding an ICP (Ideal Customer Profile) is like finding the perfect partner, be it in life, business, or sports.

It lets you become better in each aspect of your business, be it product development, content creation, sales, or hiring, because you'll then know exactly who you're doing it for, what these people like and don't like. A business, after all, serves its customers.

In this article you’ll learn:

• What an ICP is
• The difference between an ICP and a persona
• What ICS means and why nobody talks about it
• How to define and validate your ICP
• How to use your customer data to identify your ICP
• How to research your ICP when you don’t have any customers

What is an ICP anyway?

ICP refers to Ideal Customer Profile, a term that businesses use to describe their best-fit customer which means the companies and people who would create the highest mutual value by becoming a customer. More on this in a moment.

An ICP can consist of one or multiple of these parameters:

💡 Quick Reminder

Use these parameters as inspiration, not limitations - your ICP can include any characteristics that truly define your perfect customers.

A Persona and ICP Are Not the Same

ICPs and personas are different, but many people don't know the difference.

A good example of this is jaguars and leopards — they look kind of the same, but you can always tell which is which if you know what to look for.

Now, let's talk about the key differences between personas and ICPs: Personas focus on individual characteristics and behaviors

• Think of demographic details, work routines, tasks, and personal pain points
• A persona can be a user, the buyer, or anyone in between

Example Persona: Mary

Real life example: When you're selling something to Mary, you need to speak to her specific role and pain points — even though sometimes the CEO is the one who signs off on the final purchase.

💡 Useful Tip

While all data points matter, I've found that understanding behaviors and pain points gives you much better insights into your customer persona than basic demographic information.

Now to ICPs:

ICPs combine both company and personal parameters:

• Includes company size, revenue, technology stack along with decision-maker characteristics.
• ICPs are based on actual data of existing customers and proven success patterns.

Example ICP: Fast-Growing Software Company

Real life example: If a dad wants his family (the ICP) to go on a forest trip, he needs to convince his wife and teenagers (different personas) to agree. Each persona requires a unique approach to get the ICP's approval.

Here's when to use each approach in your product development, marketing, and sales:

Personas are best for:

• UI/UX design decisions and launching new features
• Content that addresses personal pain points and daily challenges
• When you interact with one person at a time (emails, DMs, 1-to-1 sales calls)

ICPs are ideal for:

• Creating comprehensive case studies
• Developing pitch/sales decks that resonate with multiple stakeholders/personas
• Writing content that emphasizes organization-wide value and business solutions (e.g. website)

📘 Simple Summary

Personas describe individual users, buyers or anyone in between, while ICPs paint a complete picture of your ideal customer - including all the business factors that make them a great match for what you offer.

The Term Nobody Talks About (ICS)

Let's talk about ICS:

ICS, which refers to Ideal Client Situation, is a rarely used term because integrating it into your sales process is challenging when you cannot research companies and prospects at scale.

This is how it looks like when you can research at scale:

Examples of Ideal Client Situations:

• Companies with Recent PR Challenges
  • A company mentioned in negative press within 6 months needs to increase their PR and marketing with the help of some agencies to rebuild their image
• First-Time Founders Scaling Quickly
  • A founder who grew revenue by 50%+ in the last 1-2 months likely needs HR and operations support more urgently than experienced founders

How To Identify and Define Your ICP

Quick disclaimer: There's no standard template for identifying and defining your ICP.

However, what I can tell you for sure is that it should be backed by data or documented trials and errors (which is, in the end, also data). So, let's see where you can get this data from and we will break this down into two parts:

1. How to identify your ICP if you have existing customer data
2. How to find your ICP if you don't have any customer data

Finding Your ICP: A Guide for Companies With Existing Customer Data

Use Your CRM Data

If you already have a stable customer base, then CRM data should be your primary source of truth when identifying your ICP.

I know this is easier said than done, however, analyzing your CRM and finding patterns in its data is the only way to get reliable information about your ICP that is backed by real data rather than assumptions.

When you analyze your CRM data, focus on these two key data point groups:

ICP Definition Parameters

• Firmographics — Analyzing company size, industry, location, and revenue helps identify patterns among your most successful customers
• Personas — Knowing the decision-makers that are typically involved helps improve your sales and marketing

These are the core definition parameters, but you can find many more here.

ICP Validation Parameters

• Deal size - The average contract value and pricing tiers that work best for both parties
• Best Interactions - How smoothly communication flows and whether customers actively engage with your product/service
• Sales cycle - The typical length of time from first contact to closing the deal
• Problem/product awareness by initial contact - How well prospects understand their challenges and your solution when they/you first reach out

Here's an additional parameter that helps refine your strategy, even though it doesn't define your ICP:

• Lead Source – Where did the lead come from: Ads, Cold Outbound, SEO, Referral etc. Understanding your most effective acquisition channels helps focus marketing efforts and budget allocation

Understanding Defining vs. Validating Your ICP

Deal sizes, sales cycles, and best interactions aren't something you can filter for, but they can help you identify which ICP/channels you should prioritize.

Key Concepts

• Definition Parameters
  • Must be attributes you can always replicate to search for your ICP
  • Should be discoverable before starting outreach
• Validation Parameters
  • You can't search for them
  • Reinforce the decision to define your ICP based on chosen parameters

Real-World Example

Let's look at two contrasting examples to understand "Definition and Validation Parameters."

Example 1 — East Asian Manufacturer:

• Company characteristics:
  • B2B manufacturing company
  • Located in West Asia
  • 250+ Employees
  • Marketing Team of 5 people

Sales process: You pitch a $6,000/month service to the Marketing Executive who typically makes decisions, but after the third call, the CEO steps in to negotiate the price down. This extends the sales cycle to 2 months and increases your CAC (Customer Acquisition Costs).

Example 2 — LATAM Manufacturer:

• Company characteristics:
  • B2B manufacturing company
  • Marketing Team of 5 people
  • Located in LATAM
  • 250+ Employees

Sales process: You pitch a $6,000/month service to the Marketing Executive, who signs the deal after 3 weeks and you start the project right away.

In this case, you have validated through data that you should redefine your ICP description since they are in LATAM and not in East Asia.

💡 3 Things to Keep in Mind

1. This is a simple example to illustrate the point — you should always look for multiple parameters when defining and validating your ICP
2. Your ICP definition isn't static — it's a work in progress that always evolves with your business and the market and needs to be validated each time
3. Focus on customers who found you through marketing or sales efforts rather than referrals — these customers recognized your value independently, without third-party influence

How To Use Your CRM Data

To keep this short and sweet: Yes, firmographic data matters, but it's not enough.

Let's start by finding out why firmographic data serves as a crucial foundation for your ICP — though it's just the beginning of a more complex picture.

• Location predicts budget and operational needs:
  • Companies in major tech hubs like San Francisco often have higher budgets for software
  • European companies may require GDPR-compliant solutions
• Company size indicates team structure and buying power:
  • A 1000+ employee company likely has dedicated procurement teams and longer sales cycles
  • Enterprise-size companies usually have bigger department budgets for tools
• Department sizes reveal implementation potential:
  • A 50-person engineering team might justify a $100k/year development tool
  • HR software pricing often scales with employee count
• Industry vertical determines regulatory requirements:
  • Healthcare companies need HIPAA-compliant solutions
  • Financial institutions require specific security certifications
  • Government contractors need FedRAMP authorization

Why Firmographics Are not Enough

While firmographic data like company size and industry are definitely helpful attributes, they often fail to reveal potential customers' needs and readiness to buy. Here's why situation matters more:

• Timing is everything: A company might perfectly match your firmographic criteria but have no urgent need for your solution.
• Change creates opportunity: Companies going through transitions (mergers, rapid growth, new leadership) often have more pressing needs.
• Industry: A manufacturing company and a software company might both struggle with team communication and project visibility — judging fit purely by industry classification risks overlooking customers who could benefit significantly from your solution.

A company's current challenges, changes, and situations are better predictors of their likelihood to become a customer than their characteristics alone.

💡 Quick Fact

The most effective approach combines multiple layers of data to build a complete understanding of your ideal customers.

Customer Interactions as ICP Validators

• Key aspects to evaluate:
  • Communication quality and frequency
  • Willingness to provide feedback
  • Team's enthusiasm for interactions
• Signs of good customer fit:
  • Pleasant and constructive conversations
  • Active engagement with your team
  • Mutual respect and understanding

When customers demonstrate these positive interaction patterns, it strongly suggests they are your ideal customer profile.

Highest Mutual Value as Validator

Analyze which customers are getting exceptional results from your service/product while also contributing positively to your business growth and success.

Example of creating mutual value

Let's say you're selling a B2B software that costs $50,000 annually. When comparing different customers, you'll notice a striking difference in the overall value they bring:

While your non-ICP customer pays more, selling to your ICP creates more mutual value through:

Benefits for Your Business

• Shorter sales cycles
• Lower servicing costs
• Higher lifetime value
• Marketing testimonials and case studies
• Valuable product development insights

Benefits for Your Customer

• Improved time efficiency
• Strong revenue growth
• High team satisfaction

📘 The highest-paying customer isn't always your ideal customer.

The key is finding customers who create lasting, mutual value — which is exactly what a well-defined ICP helps you achieve.

If you've tried everything and can't find any patterns in your CRM data, you have two options:

1. Text me on LinkedIn and I'll help you
2. Follow the tips below

Finding Your ICP: A Guide for Startups Without Existing Customer Data

I'll be honest with you: Nobody has the blueprint, and the articles and YouTube videos you see on "How to find an ICP with AI" are clickbait.

I'll give you something better than a GPT prompt: The method to identify your ICP — aka research

1. Start Your Research

Begin gathering information about your target market and potential customers, then refine your approach based on what you learn. Don't wait for perfect data - start researching and adapt as you go.

Here are some points to focus on when you start:

1. Understand the specific pain points that your services are solving for prospects
2. Understand how critical these problems are to potential customers
3. Document the exact problems your product or service solves
4. Know how your solution compares to existing options

2. Read Reviews

Many think that review platforms are purely for reviews and comparisons, but they are not.

You can use review platforms to see what your ICP likes, dislikes, and thinks. Here are a few platforms to learn about your potential ICP:

• G2: The largest and most popular review platform for B2B Software

  • What certain personas appreciate about different products
  • What features or aspects personas dislike about products
  • The core problems personas aim to solve when buying software

  After all, G2 doesn't just help you identify what certain personas say about specific products—it also helps you find personas that need your services.

• Gartner Peer Insights:

  • Enterprise-focused reviews
  • Verified enterprise customer feedback
  • Industry-specific use cases and solutions

• Clutch:

  • Specializes in B2B service provider reviews
  • Features in-depth client interviews
  • Provides industry-specific insights

• Other review platforms to check:

  • GoodFirms
  • Capterra
  • Software Advice
  • Trustpilot
  • Google Maps Reviews

💡 Quick Tip

Use these platforms to identify your ICP by analyzing what customers complain about, or find potential matches by looking for people who love the same benefits you offer.

3. Social Networks, Communities & Forums

Platforms to Research:

• Facebook Groups
• Reddit & Subreddits
• LinkedIn
• X (formerly Twitter)
• Slack Communities
• Industry Forums

Almost every topic and profession has Facebook Groups and Subreddits. Start there.

And remember, while people across different industries may express their challenges differently, they often face the same core problems.

4. Competitor Analysis

Here are three effective ways to research your competitors:

• Join their Slack communities to observe:
  • Types of people contributing
  • Common discussion topics
  • Key pain points mentioned
• Analyze their online presence:
  • Website messaging and positioning
  • Social media content strategy
  • Who engages with their content (remember, they're targeting their ICP)

Copy this Google search and edit it: {{Competitor name}} experiences" OR "{{Competitor name}} reviews" OR "{{Competitor name}} community

Pro tip: You can also reach out to established competitors – Yes, this sounds crazy, but most will help if you ask. Markets are large enough that sharing knowledge benefits everyone, and many experienced players are open to help.

❗ Be Aware of This

Third-party information often lacks context and public information differs from what people share in private discussions, so focus on talking to as many people as possible to truly understand your potential customers.

One last thing: Define early, validate frequently, and adjust your ICP definition based on real-world feedback — because at the end of the day, execution matters, not just information.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is an Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)?

An Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) is a detailed description of the type of company that would benefit most from your product or service and provide the most value to your business. It includes characteristics like company size, industry, budget, technology usage, and business challenges.

How is an ICP different from a buyer persona?

While an ICP focuses on the ideal company or organization you want to work with, a buyer persona represents individual decision-makers within that company. An ICP describes organizational characteristics, while personas detail individual roles, behaviors, and preferences.

Can a company have multiple ICPs?

Yes, a company can have multiple ICPs, especially if they offer different products or services targeting various market segments. Each ICP should be clearly defined and distinct, with its own set of characteristics and requirements.

How do I identify my ideal audience?

You can identify your target market by analyzing competitor customers, joining industry communities, reading online reviews of established companies in your segment, participating in relevant social media groups, and having direct conversations with potential customers in your field.

What do I need to create an ICP?

To create an ICP, you need data about your successful customers including company size, industry, annual revenue, technology stack, business challenges, buying process, and success metrics. You can gather this from CRM data, customer interviews, market research, and sales team insights.