Why Nailing Your Ideal Customer Profile Is Hard
The two reasons why you can't seem to make your ICP stick
It’s August, and I’m deep into a segmentation and Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) project with one of my portfolio companies.
And I have to say - while I’m enjoying this one, it’s also reminding me of the two reasons this kind of segmentation work is so challenging.
1. The Data Problem
Figuring out your ideal customer means untangling a mess of data. In my world, it usually involves stitching together history from multiple CRMs, filling in the blanks with enriched industry and firmographic info, and slicing the numbers every way you can think of to answer three questions:
Where do we do the most business?
Where do we win more often?
Where is it easier to make money?
It’s part math problem, part art project. And it’s honestly kind of a grind.
This alone is why most companies never pin down their ICP. This part is (usually) just a ton of work. And if you don’t have an analytical go-to person on your team, this is typically where your ICP dies a half-done death.
But let’s say (luckily) that’s not you. Let’s say you do the work, finish the analysis, and have some clarity re: the kinds of customers you’d like to clone.
What then?
Are you done?
2. The Opinions Problem
Sorry, but no.
Even after you identify your initial “winning zone” segments (again, no small feat), the real challenge begins. This is where the work shifts from analytics to influence. Once you have the data, you have to merge those insights with perspectives from your team, secure buy-in from the people who run your business (most importantly, the CEO), and rally everyone around what part of the market you’re actually going to focus on.
This part is hard, messy, emotional, and slow. Mostly because this is one of those sales and marketing problems that everyone has an opinion on.
But even though letting everyone weigh in can be frustrating, this type of opinion-having is good! If your team didn’t care about which of your customers are the best (and where they should be spending their time and money and attention) that would be a little scary. So while the conflicting POVs can be a bit aggravating, you need to embrace them if you have any hope of doing anything with this fancy Ideal Customer Profile of yours.
The key at this stage is to embrace the messiness, get the opinions out on the table, and find a way to land the plane on a “pretty good” ICP that people can get behind. The goal here isn’t perfection. It’s intention.
It’s about getting just enough agreement that, yes, this is where we should focus so you can stop pondering your ICP and start putting it to work.
And once you get there, how exactly do you put it to work?
Lucky for you, I already answered that question in this post - one of my favorites from last year.
Whether you’re starting to get your hands dirty with your own Ideal Customer Profile, or you’re just curious about the art of making segmentation stick, I think you’ll enjoy it.
Both of these nail the symptoms we see over and over. From a GTM O.S. lens, the deeper issue is that ICP is often treated as a marketing deliverable instead of a company-wide operating decision. When ICP lives in a deck instead of being baked into TRM scoring, motion design, and revenue team KPIs, it’s no surprise it drifts into “created then forgotten” territory. The moment ICP stops informing every GTM choice, you’re back to chasing “anyone with a budget” and wondering why efficiency craters.
Super relatable!