The importance of ICP in B2B prospecting
Posted: Sun Dec 22, 2024 8:45 am
I often tell my clients that the main challenge for any company that wants to structure its outbound prospecting area is to plan and define processes before getting down to work. Planning is essential for aligning various processes, including defining the ICP in B2B prospecting .
The ICP – Ideal Customer Profile is nothing more than the ideal customer profile, the customer who has total affinity with your product or service.
Focus on the ideal customer profile
Using a very simple analogy, it's like seeing that the river is full of fish, but there are some of them wanting to jump into the boat without even having bait to attract them.
It is the perfect combination between the company's product or service and the customer's needs and purchasing potential.
Many companies skip this step with the idea that they already uk email address list know their audience or even want to prospect any and all profiles. Are you part of this group?
If so, be aware that this attitude can make your business lose money and reduce the chances of increasing sales .
Surprised by this statement? Well, it has a basis and I will explain why throughout this article.
Advantages of ICP for your company
Below, I have listed some advantages of defining your Ideal Customer Profile.
1. Clear understanding of the market you serve
Understanding your target market with the ICP means that you know the size of the companies that are your target, you know their main difficulties, region and understand their segment of activity.
Having this information clearly means that your company doesn't have to shoot in all directions. What's more, it's possible to specialize and convey more value to your services, gaining recognition in the market and credibility in your segment.
Econodata can help you with this. Using the data platform , you can identify your customers and, from there, analyze the main variables such as:
Average age of companies;
Regional distribution;
Number of companies x number of employees;
Number of companies x assumed annual revenue;
Size;
Segment (through identification by CNAEs ).
Econodata platform in B2B prospecting
With the analysis completed, you will be able to size and define the best strategy for your ICP.
For example, if my client portfolio is mostly comprised of companies in the Technology segment, which are small in size and predominantly in the Southeast region, I can say that your initial focus should consider this market as a priority .
2. Defining more consistent processes
Once you know which companies are your ideal customers, defining processes becomes simpler:
What kind of service do I want to offer?
How do I expect these services to help my audience?
What can I do to differentiate myself from the competition?
These and other questions receive objective and precise answers. This way, you can have a clear vision of the business, how it can grow , the strategies to be created, the size of the team you need and the investment to be made.
3. Creating a list of leads that deliver results
Once you define the necessary variables, it is important that you are able to select which potential customers you want to prospect.
With Econodata , you can combine a series of filters, more than 20 available, to map the size of your market and arrive at a list of the best and most assertive companies to prospect:
This way, it is much easier to reach your market with the use of Econodata. The mining and selection of companies becomes faster , increasing the productivity of your team.
4. Strategic alignment with your Sales and Marketing teams
If your company opts for mixed prospecting, whether by email or telephone, the Marketing team must be aligned with the commercial strategies, including understanding the defined ICP.
It is very important that the ICP is well aligned between all teams so that communications can be prepared assertively.
By achieving this, the customer's path through the purchasing journey is more effective. Consequently, the salesperson is prevented from wasting time trying to schedule a meeting with a specific company that will not generate results. And you know that wasted time means lost profit .
A clear example of a lack of alignment is when your company contacts several prospects who, when it comes time to finalize the purchase, end up giving up.
Another point of attention that can identify a lack of alignment is the Sales team's lead conversion rate. If this is your situation, it is worth investing energy in analyzing these points. Many times your sales team is not closing deals because of inappropriate leads that are attracted by Marketing.
5. Reduce churn rate
Churn rate is a metric that every company fears! If your company is not yet monitoring this indicator, you should evaluate it internally to implement it.
Churn rate
After all, it represents the number of customers who leave your company, canceling contracts, subscriptions or simply not renewing services.
There are several reasons why this happens. One of them is that the needs of the company you serve are not being met in the best possible way. This causes the customer to become dissatisfied and seek another type of service .
This type of situation can be avoided when your business has a well-structured ICP. This is because it is easy to get to know your audience in depth and, therefore, monitor and solve their problems. In addition, of course, to building a stronger relationship with them.
6. More accurate creation of your persona
A persona is a representation of your ideal customer, so that through a quick analysis you can identify common characteristics among your potential customers and thus personalize your communication with them. In the case of B2B, it represents the professional you will talk to when closing a deal.
The ICP – Ideal Customer Profile is nothing more than the ideal customer profile, the customer who has total affinity with your product or service.
Focus on the ideal customer profile
Using a very simple analogy, it's like seeing that the river is full of fish, but there are some of them wanting to jump into the boat without even having bait to attract them.
It is the perfect combination between the company's product or service and the customer's needs and purchasing potential.
Many companies skip this step with the idea that they already uk email address list know their audience or even want to prospect any and all profiles. Are you part of this group?
If so, be aware that this attitude can make your business lose money and reduce the chances of increasing sales .
Surprised by this statement? Well, it has a basis and I will explain why throughout this article.
Advantages of ICP for your company
Below, I have listed some advantages of defining your Ideal Customer Profile.
1. Clear understanding of the market you serve
Understanding your target market with the ICP means that you know the size of the companies that are your target, you know their main difficulties, region and understand their segment of activity.
Having this information clearly means that your company doesn't have to shoot in all directions. What's more, it's possible to specialize and convey more value to your services, gaining recognition in the market and credibility in your segment.
Econodata can help you with this. Using the data platform , you can identify your customers and, from there, analyze the main variables such as:
Average age of companies;
Regional distribution;
Number of companies x number of employees;
Number of companies x assumed annual revenue;
Size;
Segment (through identification by CNAEs ).
Econodata platform in B2B prospecting
With the analysis completed, you will be able to size and define the best strategy for your ICP.
For example, if my client portfolio is mostly comprised of companies in the Technology segment, which are small in size and predominantly in the Southeast region, I can say that your initial focus should consider this market as a priority .
2. Defining more consistent processes
Once you know which companies are your ideal customers, defining processes becomes simpler:
What kind of service do I want to offer?
How do I expect these services to help my audience?
What can I do to differentiate myself from the competition?
These and other questions receive objective and precise answers. This way, you can have a clear vision of the business, how it can grow , the strategies to be created, the size of the team you need and the investment to be made.
3. Creating a list of leads that deliver results
Once you define the necessary variables, it is important that you are able to select which potential customers you want to prospect.
With Econodata , you can combine a series of filters, more than 20 available, to map the size of your market and arrive at a list of the best and most assertive companies to prospect:
This way, it is much easier to reach your market with the use of Econodata. The mining and selection of companies becomes faster , increasing the productivity of your team.
4. Strategic alignment with your Sales and Marketing teams
If your company opts for mixed prospecting, whether by email or telephone, the Marketing team must be aligned with the commercial strategies, including understanding the defined ICP.
It is very important that the ICP is well aligned between all teams so that communications can be prepared assertively.
By achieving this, the customer's path through the purchasing journey is more effective. Consequently, the salesperson is prevented from wasting time trying to schedule a meeting with a specific company that will not generate results. And you know that wasted time means lost profit .
A clear example of a lack of alignment is when your company contacts several prospects who, when it comes time to finalize the purchase, end up giving up.
Another point of attention that can identify a lack of alignment is the Sales team's lead conversion rate. If this is your situation, it is worth investing energy in analyzing these points. Many times your sales team is not closing deals because of inappropriate leads that are attracted by Marketing.
5. Reduce churn rate
Churn rate is a metric that every company fears! If your company is not yet monitoring this indicator, you should evaluate it internally to implement it.
Churn rate
After all, it represents the number of customers who leave your company, canceling contracts, subscriptions or simply not renewing services.
There are several reasons why this happens. One of them is that the needs of the company you serve are not being met in the best possible way. This causes the customer to become dissatisfied and seek another type of service .
This type of situation can be avoided when your business has a well-structured ICP. This is because it is easy to get to know your audience in depth and, therefore, monitor and solve their problems. In addition, of course, to building a stronger relationship with them.
6. More accurate creation of your persona
A persona is a representation of your ideal customer, so that through a quick analysis you can identify common characteristics among your potential customers and thus personalize your communication with them. In the case of B2B, it represents the professional you will talk to when closing a deal.