It’s always exciting when your product or service attracts new prospective customers effortlessly.
The temptation to seize all available revenue opportunities can be strong.
However, it’s crucial to remember that every customer requires resources to manage, regardless of how easy they may seem to work with.
Before welcoming a new customer, ask yourself: Does this customer align with my Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)?
If you don’t have an ICP, it’s essential to create one before accepting any new prospects.
Your ICP will not only serve as a benchmark to evaluate incoming prospects, it will help you identify what prospects to target. Take this example;
Early in my sales career, I sold two clothing ranges to two distinct retail channels which spread me thin. Then, a third brand was added to my collection for a UK launch: children’s Gore-Tex clothing, which was gaining traction in Germany and was primarily sold through children’s boutiques.
This addition required a third retail channel, so I needed to think strategically to be successful with limited hours in the day.
I developed three criteria to help qualify which customers I should focus on:
- Does the buyer have an awareness of Gore-Tex? – True/False
- Does the retailer has multiple outlets? – True/False
- Is the retailer is an opinion leaders in performance outdoor clothing? – True/False
This approach disqualified children’s boutiques but qualified four national ski and outdoor retailers. This would become my Ideal Customer Profile (ICP).
In the first year, the product was carried by all four retailers. By the second year, independent retailers followed as they saw the product in national catalogues. By the third year, the UK had become the largest market in Europe for this product line.
By creating your ICP, you ensure that your resources are invested in customers who truly value your offering to bring maximum lifetime value.
When is the last time you reviewed and up-dated your ICP?