I really enjoyed a recent ECI Partners hosted webinar in which they explore the Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) as a key growth pillar. So I thought I would share the love – Click here for a summary.
The takeaways caught my attention as to how our own clients have deployed ICP (also known as personas) as a successful strategy. An ICP outlines the characteristics of customers that are most likely to benefit from your product or service, leading to higher conversion rates and customer satisfaction. These are customers who are the most valuable to your business model.
Polestar is currently advising a B2C professional services firm, which has defined its customer focus to great effect and seen it become a leading provider to its demographic. By focusing on the middle- to high-end of the market, it does not spread itself too thin, staff are aligned, and it sees consistent profitability (so no over-reliance) by customer. This also allows for highly tailored messaging and marketing, drives higher revenue per customer; the client stands out in a fractured market.
It deliberately sticks to the geographies it knows contains its target clientele. When looking for new locations, the firm uses curated criteria that align to the characteristics of its IPC, looking for other services and amenities in the area it knows its customers also use. The firm understands it is not best suited to serve every customer – ‘If you build it, they will come’ does not always ring true.
Similarly, Schoolblazer, whose shareholders we advised in its sale last autumn to Australian group, Hancock and Gore, skilfully defined its ICP 20 years ago within the school uniform and sportswear market. It targeted private schools, who it believed were underserved.
Schoolblazer, in reality, has two types of customers, the schools, who want distinctive uniform and sportswear, at a good price, delivered with excellent service, and the parents who desire a hassle-free experience and very short delivery times. Historically, private schools sold school unform through retailers, department stores such as John Lewis or their own school shops. In developing a proprietary online platform where it exceeded the expectations of the schools and parents it has become number one in its market, where real value is placed on name-taping, bespoke designs, ethical manufacturing practices, supported by efficient online ordering systems and intelligent sizing.
Understanding the unique requirements of its ideal customers allows Schoolblazer to build stronger relationships with all its stakeholders, leading to increased customer loyalty and long-term partnerships and extremely low customer churn.
What these two approaches to ICP exemplify is why ECI’s panel believe ICP’s matter and had the following benefits
What were ECI’s key learnings: essential takeaways for having a successful ICP
