Hook the Right Customer by Avoiding These 4 ICP Mistakes

Have you ever watched how people fish with nets? To secure that big haul, they use a net to accommodate the size of the fish and ensure all of their hard work doesn’t swim away. 

Creating an ideal customer profile (ICP) to bolster sales strategies is like that. If the net is too broad and loosely woven, it might catch some fish, but it will also let some slip through while picking up debris and unwanted catches. 

However, if the team uses a net specifically tailored for the type of fish—that is, customers—they want to catch, the success rate will be much higher, and sales reps will spend less time sorting through the catch and more time reeling in those sought-after fish. 

While the net gathers various fish, automation identifies patterns and characteristics that align with the ideal customer, which allows for more targeted marketing and sales strategies. This innovation is timely, since over half (54 percent) of sales reps say selling is harder now than last year. According to HubSpot’s 2024 Sales Trends Report, less than 60 percent of sales reps said that leads from their marketing team are high-quality. 

Creating a strong ICP is crucial for sales teams to target the right customers and improve their sales strategies. However, there are common mistakes that teams often make in this process. Relying on outdated territory planning processes, underutilizing segments, and siloed RevOps interfere with leveraging sales opportunities. When creating ICPs, avoid these four most common mistakes. 

1. Relying on Habits Instead of Data-Driven Insights

Sales teams sometimes base their ideal customer profiles on assumptions rather than actual data. When reps fall back on the typical segments they always use, the outdated results can lead to a profile that doesn’t accurately reflect the best customers, and your sales team may get skunked. 

Don’t hesitate to get personal. According to research by McKinsey & Company, industry leaders credit personalization for driving 40 percent more revenue for their company. In addition to this research, 71 percent of customers expect companies to provide personalized interactions. If it’s missing, 76 percent of them aren’t happy about it. 

2. Overgeneralizing Profiles

Once limited to manual planning and spreadsheets, it made sense that sales managers would previously rely on broad market segments or overgeneralized profiles. But with AI-backed automation, today’s territory planning can track various points beyond geographic boundaries or general demographics. While demographics are important, focusing on them alone means overlooking critical factors that drive purchasing decisions, like customer behavior, needs, and pain points. 

Additionally, creating ICPs that are too broad can dilute the focus and will not help in effectively targeting specific customer segments. Not segmenting the customer base can lead to a one-size-fits-all approach, which is less effective than targeted strategies. 

3. Not Collaborating with the RevOps Teams

Failing to involve marketing, customer success, and product teams often results in an incomplete ICP. With an expanding global market space filled with sales opportunities, gathering input from different departments ensures a well-rounded profile, and leveraging a remote team is becoming more prevalent. 

“Unsurprisingly, RevOps is now turning its organizational eye to remote workers and adapting the framework to account for teams that may never meet in person but must work towards the same shared objective,” says Cory Plachy, senior marketing and communications manager at Convoso. 

According to Pedowitz Group, only 29 percent of large enterprises have aligned their sales, marketing, and customer success teams. Plachy adds that businesses rely on new tools and strategies to enhance collaboration. Tools like a centralized RevOps communication platform, an automated territory planning platform, Go-to-Market capabilities, lead-routing functionality, and other AI-backed tools ensure that teams stay engaged and aligned on GTM strategies.

4. Ignoring Pivotal Points on the Customer Journey

Tracking points in a customer journey are crucial for creating effective ICPs because they provide valuable insights into customer behavior, preferences, and decision-making processes at various stages of their interaction with a brand. 

With this knowledge, companies can proactively identify what might hinder conversion and then tailor their marketing strategies, personalize communication, and optimize the customer experience to better meet the rapidly changing needs and expectations of their audience. 

Studies show that buying interactions have nearly doubled, jumping from 17 in 2019 to 27 in 2021, and buyers are using an average of ten or more channels to assist in purchasing decisions.

“Just a few years ago, buying scenarios involving just one or two people were the easiest to find. Today, they represent just 18% of purchases,” said Beth Caplow, VP, Principal Analyst at Forrester Research.   

Overlooking where the customer is in their buying journey can lead to irrelevant messaging and missed opportunities to engage potential customers at the right time. 

By updating planning processes with AI-supported tools, leveraging data to provide strategic insights, and driving collaboration across departments, sales teams can create accurate and actionable ICPs that improve targeting strategies to haul in those higher conversion rates and stronger customer relationships. 

It’s ok; we all make mistakes. Eliminating these common mistakes can help businesses like yours unlock the full potential of GTM sales strategies and achieve sustained growth and success.