How to create your ICP right - A new way!

Business without right ICP cannot grow and we have been creating ICPs same old way that doesn't work anymore.

Author

Akash Kushwaha
November 09, 2024

Your business is based on your ICP and if you guess it wrong... the business might go in the wrong direction without any significant growth!

I've created a bunch of ICPs for my own business and other businesses. But the problem was the same everywhere.

When we create it, we go through a few steps.

  • Get a template from the web

  • Sit for a few hours and fill it!

  • and we've created the ICP.

The problem here is,

  • We've no research on our own.

  • The template might work for one niche but not for all.

  • We've created this as we thought it should be rather than how a customer might need it.

And this is an old approach that might not work today.

What's the better approach?

Few rules to keep in mind before working on it.

  1. Think like a customer, not like a founder when creating your ICP.

  2. You don't need to work on everything but one that fits your business perfectly.

  3. Ask questions to yourself, like you'll ask it to your client when being on the call.

Now you'll work on a few steps when creating a Buyer Persona: ( keep in mind, when you'll be doing so, think like a customer. )

Step 1: Know your buyers

  • Here you'll learn in detail about your buyer's struggles and needs.

  • Create a buyer journey - how they choose to go from one stage to another.

  • How they make decisions etc.. etc..

Step 2: Describe them

  • Their age, sex, location etc.

  • Their money habits: how they spend money, budgeting strategy etc.

  • Their likes and dislikes

  • Their daily life

Step 3: Mandatory Checks

  • How ready are they for the solution?

  • How ready for the change?

  • Awareness of problems etc..

Step 4: Bring them together

Here you'll create a few sentences to describe your buyer and put all the research together that you've done before.

  • Make sure to keep it brief and exact.

  • This will be the person you've to reach.

     

After this, you can create a new sheet where you can put all pieces of information in one place. and it's ready!

P.S. > I've created an in-detailed overview of some questions that you could ask yourself to complete this exercise. These questions are in a way that you feel like you're asking your customer which will help you build it better.

Just reply “ICP DOC” and I’ll send it to you!

Have a lovely day.

Akash