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
- Align on business context. What question must the ICP answer, pricing, sales hiring, vertical bet, expansion?
- Analyze customer data. Segment current base by firmographics, subscription characteristics, LTV, and usage patterns. Find the high-value clusters.
- Identify winning verticals. Rank industries/segments by account volume × revenue × ARPA × retention × strategic fit.
- Define firmographic criteria. Company-level attributes: size, industry, geography, tech stack, business model. Minimum 3 specific attributes, "SMBs" is not an ICP.
- 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).
- 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).
- Build buyer personas. Champion + secondary personas. Real job titles, real pains, real day-to-day. Persona comes AFTER the ICP, never before.
- Write JTBD statements. "When a [customer type] [situation]... they hire [product] to [outcome]... so that [bigger outcome]." Anchor each to a named customer.
- Define exclusion criteria. Who you are NOT for, with reasons. Protects positioning.
- Build ICP scoring model. Weighted criteria you can embed in CRM for lead qualification.
- Connect to TAM/SAM/SOM. TAM = everyone. SAM = ICP segment. SOM = Initial Customer Profile for the next 12 months.
- 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
- Firmographic definition with attribute table.
- Trigger events + macro trends.
- Vertical prioritization tiers.
- Primary + secondary buyer personas.
- JTBD statements per vertical.
- Exclusion criteria ("who we're NOT for").
- Representative customer profiles with data.
- ICP scoring model for CRM.
- TAM/SAM/SOM sizing.
- Strategic positioning implications.