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Identifying, clarifying, and accurately describing your Ideal Customer Profile is the #1 priority for any B2B marketer in 2023.
Here’s why…
As a result of the magnitude of the shifts in the market over the past year, your Go-To-Market strategy will have to look very different in 2023.
Suppose you want your marketing to result in an increase in conversion rates and accelerated sales. In that case, you have to adapt your strategy and execution to the way your audience is buying today.
Without defining your ICP first, you won’t be able to craft any personalized messaging or understand which media to use.
To be honest, when was the last time you redefined the ICP for the company?
Over time, almost all businesses change and pivot in some way or another as they gain a deeper understanding of their solutions and customers.
As a marketer, you need to be confident that your Ideal Customer Profile is on point in terms of what you’re solving for them today.
Your 2023 Go-To-Market strategy may use advanced tactics, and your tech-stack may be the latest, but unless you understand your target audience and what drives them to buy today, your strategy will fail.
By defining an ICP, you can determine who and why you should target.
So that
Once you have these, you can then
? Increase the speed of the sales cycle
? Boost your conversion and retention rates
The market looked different when you last defined who would benefit most from your product or service – or the ideal customer for what your business offers.
Their company looked at things differently.
Their problems were different.
Over the course of 2022, things have changed in the market across industries and especially in the technology industry.
What does it mean for you? That your buyers also have changed. Their needs have changed, and you need to rethink everything you thought you knew about them.
The basic definitions for your ICP are based on Firmographic data like the industry, size, revenue, and demographic data like location.
But it’s not enough.
How do you categorize these companies? What are the characteristics of these companies?
To maximize the effectiveness of your marketing efforts, you need to narrow the ICP audience as much as possible.
As competitiveness is increasing In 2023, your audience needs to be super niche and defined by new categories.
“But, hey… If I narrow down my audience so much, how would I be able to build a scalable business model?” You might ask.
Many companies suffer from this issue. They’re afraid to narrow down their ICP and miss a huge part of their potential TAM.
But that is the wrong to look at it!
By nailing your first ICP, and generating consistent revenue, you will be able to grow your business and reach a larger audience.
We recommend defining your audience by the following 3 things:
How urgent is the problem that you are solving in 2023 for your audience?
Making sure your buyers want the problem solved as soon as possible is the most important part.
If there is a subcategory within your audience that doesn’t understand this urgency, drop them.
How big is the problem that you are solving? How significant is the solution for the company?
You should focus less on features because that kind of messaging resonates with an audience that is already using your competitor.
And if they are using your competitor then your solution falls into that “Nice-To-Have” category.
Get out of the “Nice-To-Have” mindset.
Instead, focus on what your happiest customer will say about your product/solution after they have experienced its full potential.
Only those who can benefit from the solution you offer at that level are who you should target.
Are you sure there is a budget allocated for this issue?
The answer is likely not known at this point because it depends on you to get them there!
It is your job to crystallize the significance and urgency of the problem by giving it a name and story that will come to life in a well-planned and razor-sharp Go-To-Market strategy and execution plan.
You have to take a progressive approach to help you clarify who your messaging is resigning with. The audience that connects to your execution on the messaging of the first two criteria, will allocate the budget.
You must have predetermined stages of reflection on which part of the audience is not responding and simply drop them.
In order for your marketing to succeed in 2023 you must go back to the basics and rethink your audience and the buyer’s journey.
Reevaluate the value of your solution through the lens of your audience and where they are today.
When you have the right audience defined, only then can you focus on their journey and break it down by stages and understand each stage’s triggers.
Once confident that your ICP and the buying journey are adjusted accordingly, you can proceed to build a kick-ass Go-To-Market strategy that will bring home the money.
