ICP
Ideal Customer Profile
Your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) defines the firmographic, technographic, and behavioral characteristics of companies that get the most value from your product — and are therefore most likely to buy, expand, and renew. It's the account-level target that focuses your GTM efforts on winnable, profitable customers.
A B2B SaaS company defines ICP: (1) 200-2000 employees (weight: 30%), (2) SaaS or tech industry (weight: 20%), (3) Uses Salesforce or HubSpot (weight: 25%), (4) Series B+ funded (weight: 15%), (5) Has RevOps function (weight: 10%). Each lead is scored 0-100. Leads scoring 70+ get priority routing and higher SLA. Analysis shows 70+ leads convert at 2x the rate with 50% higher ACV.
ICP is the most important and most ignored document in B2B SaaS. Everyone has one. Nobody follows it.
The problem: ICPs get created during fundraising, then sales chases whatever comes through the door. Marketing targets broad audiences because 'we need pipeline.' Six months later, you have customers who churn at 2x the rate because they were never a good fit.
Here's the fix: make ICP a filter, not a suggestion. Score every inbound lead and outbound target against ICP criteria. Give sales visibility into ICP fit. Track win rates, deal velocity, and LTV by ICP score. When data proves that ICP-fit deals close 40% faster and retain 30% better, the organization aligns.
ICP is different from buyer persona. ICP = company characteristics (who to target). Persona = individual characteristics (how to message). You need both, but ICP comes first.
Define ItOther Definitions
“An ideal customer profile (ICP) is a hypothetical description of the type of company that would realize the most value from your product or solution and provide the most value back to your business.”
“An ideal customer profile describes the firmographic, environmental, and behavioral attributes of accounts that are expected to become a company's most valuable customers.”
“An ideal customer profile outlines the key characteristics of your best-fit customers, including company size, industry, technology stack, pain points, and buying behavior, to focus sales and marketing efforts on the most promising opportunities.”
An Ideal Customer Profile defines the characteristics of accounts that get the most value from your product and provide the most value to your business. Gartner emphasizes the mutual value exchange — ICP isn't just about who can buy, but who should buy. HubSpot adds the behavioral dimension beyond firmographics. Salesforce includes the practical application: focusing GTM efforts on promising opportunities.
Typical ICP components include: (1) Firmographics — company size (revenue, employees), industry, geography; (2) Technographics — tools they use, tech maturity, integration requirements; (3) Environmental — growth stage, funding status, regulatory environment; (4) Behavioral — buying process, decision-making style, success metrics they care about.
The RevOps application: ICP should be quantified and scored, not just described. Use historical data to identify which customer characteristics correlate with fast sales cycles, high win rates, low churn, and expansion. Then operationalize that scoring in your CRM and marketing automation.
MistakesCommon Mistakes
Creating ICP based on aspiration rather than data on actual best customers
Confusing ICP (company-level) with buyer persona (individual-level)
Not updating ICP as product and market evolve
Having ICP documented but not operationalized in CRM/lead scoring
Making ICP too narrow (misses good fits) or too broad (doesn't filter anything)
Sales chasing leads that never close?
We build data-driven ICPs and operationalize them in your CRM — so sales focuses on accounts that actually convert.
Experience across
