Produce an ICP document that operationalizes — narrow enough that sales can identify a fit account in under 30 seconds in the CRM. Synthesizes TK Kader's three-part frame (firmographics + triggers + macro trends), Lenny Rachitsky's "comically narrow" attribute model, and JTBD statements anchored to named customers.
When to use
Pre-$10M ARR with diffuse customer base. Post-pivot. Before any beachhead campaign. Before a sales-team-sizing decision.
Inputs
- CRM export with revenue, deal size, industry, company size, subscription duration, churn status
- Product usage data (feature adoption, engagement, integration use, volume metrics)
- Founder interview
- 5–10 best-customer interviews
- Sales-team input (fastest-closing deals, shortest cycles, common objections by segment)
- Win/loss data
- Product docs
Steps
1. Align on business context. What question must the ICP answer — pricing, sales hiring, vertical bet, expansion?
2. Analyze customer data. Segment current base by firmographics, subscription characteristics, LTV, and usage patterns. Find the high-value clusters.
3. Identify winning verticals. Rank industries/segments by account volume × revenue × ARPA × retention × strategic fit.
4. Define firmographic criteria. Company-level attributes: size, industry, geography, tech stack, business model. Minimum 3 specific attributes — "SMBs" is not an ICP.
5. Map triggers and macro trends. Triggers = events creating urgency (funding, hiring spike, leadership change, regulatory shift). Macro trends = market-level "why now" (AI shift, channel deprecation, regulatory).
6. Run customer interviews. 5–10 best customers. JTBD, purchase trigger, evaluation process, value realization. Use Moesta's switch-trigger frame (JTBD interviews surface the customer's actual language and the switch trigger).
7. Build buyer personas. Champion + secondary personas. Real job titles, real pains, real day-to-day. Persona comes AFTER the ICP, never before.
8. Write JTBD statements. "When a [customer type] [situation]... they hire [product] to [outcome]... so that [bigger outcome]." Anchor each to a named customer.
9. Define exclusion criteria. Who you are NOT for, with reasons. Protects positioning.
10. Build ICP scoring model. Weighted criteria you can embed in CRM for lead qualification.
11. Connect to TAM/SAM/SOM. TAM = everyone. SAM = ICP segment. SOM = Initial Customer Profile for the next 12 months.
12. Operationalize. Embed in CRM, weekly sales meetings, product roadmap. Quarterly review cadence.
Frameworks
- TK Kader 3-part frame: Firmographics (Who) + Triggers (When) + Macro Trends (Why Now).
- 10x rule: Identify the segment where your solution is 10x better than the next-best alternative. Lead from there.
- Beachhead strategy (Moore): Dominate one narrow segment before expanding.
- JTBD statement format: "When [situation]... they hire [solution]... so that [outcome]."
- Vertical deep-dive template: Sub-segments, size, geography, integrations, usage patterns, JTBD per vertical.
Quality gates
- ICP grounded in customer-data analysis, not founder intuition.
- At least 3 specific firmographic attributes.
- Includes triggers AND macro trends, not just static firmographics.
- Champion persona has a real title and real day-to-day.
- JTBD statements anchored to named customers.
- Exclusion criteria documented with reasons.
- Sales can find ICP accounts in under 30 seconds via CRM filters.
- Quarterly review cadence is set.
Common failure modes
- Confusing TAM with ICP.
- Persona before ICP (creating "Marketing Mary" before defining her company).
- The FOMO trap: ICP too broad because the narrow market feels too small.
- Set-and-forget: writing the ICP once, never updating.
- Multiple ICPs too early. Pre-$10M ARR, focus on one.
- ICP in a slide deck nobody reads. Operationalization means CRM + sales meetings + roadmap.
- Static firmographics with no behavioral signals.
- Ignoring usage patterns. Firmographics tell you who fits; usage tells you who gets value.
Outputs
1. Firmographic definition with attribute table.
2. Trigger events + macro trends.
3. Vertical prioritization tiers.
4. Primary + secondary buyer personas.
5. JTBD statements per vertical.
6. Exclusion criteria ("who we're NOT for").
7. Representative customer profiles with data.
8. ICP scoring model for CRM.
9. TAM/SAM/SOM sizing.
10. Strategic positioning implications.