Creating the ICP can often be overwhelming at the start, as many broad terms are often used to describe a technology. For instance, a “sustainable technology” could be of interest to any company that has set an intention to improve its sustainability. Likewise, a “carbon reduction technology” could apply to any company that is trying to reduce its carbon emissions. In our experience, a broad outreach such as this is unlikely to be successful; if you can’t provide a specific reason for why you are reaching out to that person at that company, there is often no point in reaching out at all. By not identifying the ICP, a company can find itself wasting time in conversations where the ‘fit’ between their technology and a potential customer is uncertain.

In pinpointing the exact customer and narrowing down the ICP to a very specific individual, company and ‘beachhead market’ where the technology meets a defined need, a valuable fit is created. A narrow set of criteria, although hard to identify at first, creates a set of specifics to follow when identifying a company and person within the company to engage, leading to higher success rates during market outreach. For example, a highly specific criteria for a soil carbon measurement technology looking at potential customers would perhaps be ‘a F&B company that has already advocated for better soil health’. Once that fit has been researched, if this fit is then clearly articulated in a well-written, well-thought-out email, the time spent on researching and writing pays dividends later.

The secondary advantage of using an ICP comes from viewing the criteria within it not as a fixed list, but as a set of hypotheses that need to be proved. This is because clear articulation of beliefs in the type of market a product or service addresses can often help prove out or disprove hypotheses that over time have become gospel truths within a company. A useful analogy here is a science experiment, where the same method is used to systematically work towards a data-driven conclusion.

The ICP tool is used across all practices at RIG to ensure that throughout market outreach, the ‘fit’ between a technology and a potential customer is suited for successful engagement. Conducting value-inflective deals often stems from the creation of the ICP, highlighting the importance of creating a set of criteria to follow when engaging the market.