Welcome to Part I of Edition No. 77 of my weekly newsletter, providing practical analysis in the world of digital content strategy.
Wrapping up this three-part series on ICPs, next week I’m going to talk about how to use audiences in Google Analytics 4.
How To Get the Most Out of Your ICP
We have talked about the importance of ICPs as well as how to determine it for your business. Now, let’s take the final step and put that knowledge into action.
What do you do with your ICP once you have defined it? Here are eight steps you should take, many of them overlapping.
Share Across Your Organization
Create/Update Your Copy
Build Dedicated Email Prospecting Sequences
Create New Sales Enablement Materials
Identify Key Buying Signals, Set up Automated Alerts
Build a Lead-Scoring System Based on ICP Benchmarks
Tier Accounts Based on Expected ACV or LTV
Next Steps
1. Share Across Your Organization
All the work you have done will go to waste if you don’t have internal alignment. Imagine your marketing material describing your product one way and your sales team another.
This disconnect would be a disaster because leads would come into the top of your funnel expecting one thing from your product or service and being told another.
How can you get your team aligned on your ICP?
Since sales will have been involved in the process of identifying the ideal customer profile, there should be some level of anticipation for the final product created by marketing
Send an email and/or internal chat to the whole company notifying them of the final product. Attach a one-page PDF that makes clear the six (or so) characteristics you identified
Distribute physical copies – whether in an office or by mailing them – to team members to display at their desks
Don’t leave it to your team to print these themselves. Produce them and mail them so all they have to do is hang them
Customize sales collateral to share with new prospects (more on this below)
Your sales team should constantly ask: “Who am I selling to? What are their pain points?” The answer to those questions are informed by the ICP.
Your marketing team should constantly ask: “How can I make it clear that we understand their problem and provide a relevant solution?”
2. Create/Update Your Copy
Whether you have existing copy or you’re starting from scratch, you need to update the language you use to speak to prospects. Since your ICP has high potential value + high likelihood to convert, everything you create should be filtered through their perspective.
Where does this copy go?
Your website
Ads
Emails
Social media bios and posts
Decks and other sales collateral
Based on all your research, you should be able to use language to which they can relate, which may look much different from what you had in mind before starting this exercise.
What should the language include?
Recognizing pain points
Hedging off objections
Sharing how your product/service will benefit the user
In other words: “Here’s your problem as we understand it, and here’s how we can help.”
3. Build Dedicated Email Prospecting Sequences
A dedicated email sequence, when done right, can be an effective way to develop a relationship.
I say “when done right” because we can all relate to the annoyance of a poorly crafted, non-targeted email that immediately gets deleted or sent to spam.
Since your ICPs are, in theory, more valuable and more likely to convert, it’s worth taking the extra time to get this right.
After all, it may be your only chance to carve out some real estate in their inbox.
Why create prospecting sequences?
Build awareness with new potential leads
Create “recognition refresh” with those who already know who you are
Show genuine interest in solving their problem…
…by providing something of value in your message
Get specific to show you understand their needs, which will increase trust that what you’re offering can solve it for them
What are the goals of prospecting sequences?
Initiate a conversation (for cold emails)
Build a genuine relationship. If you try to cut corners and scattershot hundreds of emails, forget about it
Eventually, convert this relationship into a paying customer
4. Create New Sales Enablement Materials
The sales team depends on its marketing companions to create content it can send prospects. This content should be tailored to your ICP in a way that prospects “see themselves” in the content.
Demos
This is critical for B2B SaaS companies. While we won’t get into the finer details of best practices for demos, here’s what you want to convey:
Show value of product
Address top problems head-on
Highlight key features to do this
Demonstrate how it will save them time and or money (or generate more money)
Ease of use (hopefully!)
Show product integrations
Support and resources
Concluding call to action
Lots of places “gate” their demos, requiring you to fill out contact forms to see the video. I’m against this.
If your demo was good enough, users will contact you of their own volition – they don’t need to be forced to give you their information before they even see the product.
Case Studies
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