Unlocking Riches: Zeroing in on Your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)

We’ve all heard the saying, “The riches are in the niches.” But how do you pinpoint those lucrative niches?

The answer lies in another key term in sales and marketing: your ideal customer profile, or ICP.

While most experts offer complex, data-heavy strategies to identify your ICP, you might not have access to extensive data or resources as a founder or early-stage startup. Let’s simplify this process.

Step 1: Define Customer Avatars

You have an idea — a problem, a solution, a product, or an opportunity you’ve identified in the market. Who needs to know about it?

Start by creating 2–3 basic customer avatars.

Give each avatar a title and describe their daily activities. For B2B, focus on their professional roles; for B2C, emphasize their personal routines. Most importantly, identify their pain points. What challenges them? What obstacles are they facing in achieving their goals?

Step 2: Develop a Lean Market Test

Notice the word “solution.” It’s crucial.

Ideally, you haven’t yet invested heavily in product development. Before building, you must test the market: Is there demand for your…