ideal-customer-profile

Gather evidence from existing customers, wins, interviews, and churn, then identify which customers got the most value and retained. Write the ICP around the purpose they hire the offering for, the criteria they select on, firmographic conditions of sale, and explicit disqualification criteria.

An ICP defines which customer segment the offering best fits and who is worth selling to, while a persona describes the individual people who select and use the product within that segment. This Skill builds the ICP on the same segmentation as personas so they stay aligned.

No. This method inverts the firmographics-first approach: the ICP is defined by the purpose-segment the offering best fits, and firmographics, procurement gates, and route to purchase are recorded as conditions of sale that describe the segment rather than define it.

Revisit the ICP as evidence accumulates from new wins, losses, and churn. An ICP built from only a few wins is a starting hypothesis, so treat it as a living document that sharpens as customer data grows.

A real ICP excludes. Stating who is explicitly not a fit, and why, prevents wasted sales effort on poor-fit prospects and keeps positioning and qualification honest. An acceptable-secondary note can capture edge cases without diluting focus.