{"id":26046,"date":"2022-02-04T23:30:27","date_gmt":"2022-02-04T23:30:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/directiveconsulting.com\/ca\/?p=26046"},"modified":"2026-03-03T17:43:47","modified_gmt":"2026-03-03T22:43:47","slug":"icp-marketing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/directiveconsulting.com\/ca\/blog\/icp-marketing\/","title":{"rendered":"ICP Marketing: The Precursor to Customer-Led Marketing Strategy"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you consider yourself a modern SaaS marketer with your salt, then it’s safe to assume you’ve heard the term ICP marketing before. But in an industry as jargon-and-acronym-heavy as SaaS marketing, it’s easy to hear about a term without truly grasping it. Having said that, regardless of which terms we choose to use in your day-to-day grind, we all share a common obsession with our end buyer.<\/span><\/p>\n

And here enters the<\/span> ICP<\/span><\/a> – or ideal customer profile.<\/span><\/p>\n

In its most explicit definition, your <\/span>ideal customer profile<\/b> defines the firmographic, environmental and behavioral attributes of accounts that your brand has projected to be a perfect fit to become a valuable customer.<\/span><\/p>\n

As you could probably guess by the name, ICP marketing is a SaaS marketing framework that builds its spine around your ICP.<\/span><\/p>\n

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The Precursor To Customer-Led Marketing<\/b><\/h2>\n

Marketing strategies such as ICP marketing can be considered the precursors to more sophisticated SaaS marketing methodologies such as Customer Generation. However, just because they came prior doesn’t mean they don’t have value in today’s modern marketing world.<\/span><\/p>\n

There is one thing that all of the most successful SaaS strategies share in common.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Now, before you go ahead and guess the obvious answer – the customer – I’ll double down on the question.<\/span><\/p>\n

What does the term “customer” mean to you in terms of your marketing strategies?<\/span><\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Take a moment to consider the question above. When you think of your “ideal” customer profile what comes to mind? Are you listing verticals, companies, brands, or departments? Or are you taking it to the next level and thinking of exact companies?<\/span><\/p>\n

Certain<\/span> ABM SaaS frameworks<\/span><\/a> prioritize building out an entire list of target accounts to coordinate your entire marketing strategy. But even these are still cutting themselves early at the company level.<\/span><\/p>\n

Before we dive any deeper, take a moment to consider, who at these target accounts\/companies is the actual person who’s going to be finding your brand? And, furthermore, who’s going to be the actual person signing on the dotted line? This is where the<\/span> ABM<\/span><\/a> world is ripe for an upgrade – and ICP marketing is the catalyst to that evolution.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Ideal Customer Profile Defined<\/b><\/h2>\n

For the sake of refining definitions, an Ideal Customer Profile is a data-backed description of the pain points and firmographic characteristics that define your hypothetical ideal customer \u2013 the type of customer that would most benefit from the products and services that you provide.<\/span><\/p>\n

But ICP Marketing is only the tip of the iceberg. Crafting your<\/span> SaaS Marketing Strategies<\/span><\/a> around your ICP is just the beginning. To truly embrace a customer-led methodology, you’ll have to take things quite a bit further.<\/span><\/p>\n

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The Evolution of ICP Targeting: Customer Generation<\/b><\/h3>\n

ICP marketing and Customer-led approaches drive alignment between sales, marketing, and customer success resulting in higher performance and greater confidence in your ability to allocate capital.<\/span><\/p>\n

You may not want to hear it, but your product is not for everyone. Unfortunately, traditional demand generation campaigns forgot about this. By leveraging first party data, detailed segmentation, and emotion we motivate your ideal customer from apathy to action.<\/span><\/p>\n

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But, in order to dive deep into your customer’s psyche, you need to start with your ICP. So, let’s take a look at what is included under the umbrella of your ideal customer profile.<\/span><\/p>\n

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What Should Your Final ICP Look Like?<\/b><\/h2>\n

You don’t need to have a million datapoints to define your ICP. In fact, it should be (somewhat) simple. If it\u2019s too strict, you\u2019ll find yourself with too small a target to aim for. If it\u2019s too broad, it defeats the purpose of the whole exercise.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re struggling to find the right balance, start with lots of detail. When the time comes to size up your TAM (total addressable market), SAM (specific addressable market), or SOM (specific obtainable market), you can always remove certain filters to make your pool large enough to be meaningful.<\/span><\/p>\n

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How To Create An ICP<\/b><\/h2>\n

Let’s start with how to craft an accurate (and valuable) ICP. Let’s start off with a simple but sometimes brutal fact: your product\/service isn’t for everyone.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Step 1: Make a list of your best customers<\/b><\/h3>\n

It may seem like an obvious step, given the name. But the vast majority of search marketers fail to account for their most valuable source of consumer data: their existing customers.<\/span><\/p>\n

Instead of building your strategies on the back of ahrefs keyword data, maybe its time you dive into your NPS reviews to define your high priority verticals.<\/span><\/p>\n

Start by reviewing your current customers and highlight your top 5 who you\u2019d like to replicate if you could.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re in startup mode<\/a> and don\u2019t have many customers yet, think about the customer you\u2019d like to attract. My biggest piece of advice here is to focus on customers who have money and are growing.<\/span><\/p>\n

Questions to ask yourself in highlighting your best customers include:<\/span><\/p>\n