The persona is an extraction from ICP, which in turn should be considered a guideline to follow in
Digital Marketing strategies that will optimize new customer acquisitions.
In other words, the most specific data identified from the Ideal Customer Profile will be
the parameters for creating the buyer persona.
Therefore, when describing it, the points that determine the ICP will be in its composition and will
allow the content and actions created from the persona to be more personalized and realistic.
What is the importance of ICP for sales and commercial success?
Let’s summarize: the target audience is the uk telegram data segment where potential customers
gather. The ICP and the buyer persona filter this information to improve the commercial approach.
While the first indicates who to look for, the second indicates how to do it efficiently.
The buyer persona, in turn, is a pre-sales marketing tool and uses the ICP as a reference to create a
content funnel capable of filtering and qualifying potential clients, right?
So, does ICP’s functionality and importance come down to justifying character creation? Of course
not. Below we list its most relevant contributions.
Sales Approach Effectiveness
Let’s be honest: it’s much easier to 5 tips to improve your prospecting! try to convince
someone who already knows their pains, demands, weaknesses and the routines they
are familiar with than to negotiate with someone who, although they show some compatibility with
our product, is a commercial unknown.
With ICP, you and your company will be able to approach potential customers whose needs will be
met by your product , thus creating a valuable relationship . It is as if the offer was designed for that
customer profile, which makes it much easier to focus on the approach.
Since each sales force member’s time is limited and it is not possible to serve all customers at once, it
makes a lot of sense to establish a criteria and talk to the leads that are most likely to convert.
Shortening the sales cycle
The Ideal Customer Profile allows the sales b2c phone list team to be more precise about the potential
customers to be approached within the database that was created. All language and arguments are
directed to those who are most compatible with the offer.
By comparing each lead to the ICP, the company can evaluate whether the characteristics and
situation presented are similar to the ideal profile designed , which would increase the probability of
conversion.
Beyond that, since the ICP also indicates who the decision maker is, the time to figure out who is
responsible and negotiate with them is much shorter .
Increase in conversion rate
If you know who you want to talk to, what you want to tell them, and can also demonstrate the value your solution adds, then the chances of conversion will increase greatly.
And if the sales cycle is shortened, the sales team will also be able to improve their approach performance by spending less time on each transaction.
This does not mean a lack of attention to detail, on the contrary, agility is based on efficiency and customer satisfaction .
Lifetime Value (LTV) Optimization
Another natural consequence of using an ICP is the conversion of more customers who will be satisfied with the products and services offered.
That is, after a successful conversion, all execution and relationship steps will be facilitated, customers will have satisfactory experiences and will be committed to the company and its products.
LTV is an indicator of the period in which customers remain commercially active. This metric will be extended, which will also drive other performance indicators ( KPIs ):
- Churn: the number of cancellations or returns will be reduced;
- Customer Lifetime Value (CLV): Customer value over time will also be optimized, as the costs invested to achieve it will be spread over a longer period, increasing the profit generated;
- Return On Investment (ROI) : the relationship between the amount invested to gain each client and what this client generates in profits for the business will also improve, since commercial efficiency will be enhanced.
The best way to summarise the importance of ICP is to say that it increases sales efficiency at the beginning of the process, at the capture stage, and, as a chain reaction, optimises the subsequent stages of the sales journey and the customer relationship.
How to create an ideal customer profile?
These benefits are unquestionable and you would surely like to apply them to your business, right? That is why we have thought of these tips and good practices so that you can have excellent results in the creation of your company’s ICP.
Collect relevant information about your lead
Identify the minimum information necessary for the sales team to work, including the name of the decision maker and the contact email.
Additionally , knowing the relevant questions about lead time is also important to provide good context for the conversation.
To do this, consider the following:
- Is that contact relevant within the potential client structure? What makes it different?
- What information obtained seems important to us and suggests possible actions?
- Is the lead a decision maker? What is his/her profile or position? What are the possibilities he/she offers to close the sale?
Map of pain and needs of leads
Conduct a survey of the pains and dilemmas that the lead experiences before making the first approach. This way, it is possible to prepare arguments to avoid any objections that may arise.
It is common in the market for people to follow a certain type of behavior regarding the solution that a company provides, even saying that they do not need it or that the product or service does not match their budget before starting to negotiate.
This type of action is much more natural when the company has a strong customer orientation , since it is constantly seeking to understand their needs and adapt to them.
Define what is not the ideal customer profile for your business
Once you understand the profile of your ideal client, it is important to do the opposite exercise, that is, to point out certain characteristics that could harm your results.
These references will not exclude a lead , but will guide the sales team in identifying opportunities with low returns and high commercial complexity, which will waste your sales team’s time.
It is possible, for example, to raise objections and characteristics that demonstrate that the business relationship will not progress, ensuring that the sales team’s attention is directed to the best opportunities.
Either way, it’s important to measure the pain that lead feels and find explanations to understand why you couldn’t be a solution at that moment.
Providing content to educate them on future improvements can keep that opportunity on their radar, allowing you to pursue it later.
Use business performance indicators as a reference
The customer base is an important source of information for the definition of an ICP and, especially, the performance indicators .
Knowing which customers have the best LTV and conducting an in-depth study of their basic and specific characteristics is a good way to rationalize the process, that is, not to assume more, but to define through data .
It is in the customer base that you will find real data on values, customer retention time, profile with the best cost-benefit, sales and margins, among other important information to define the ICP. But what happens if such data does not yet exist?
This is a situation that can happen to companies that are just starting their operations, entering a completely different market, or that have never systematically tracked their performance.
