Intro to ICPs, Buyer Personas and Buyer Journeys for B2B Orgs

An Introduction to ICPs, Buyer Personas and Buyer Journeys for B2B Organizations: A 2021 Update

BUYER PERSONAS & BUYER JOURNEYS FOR B2B ORGANIZATIONS

HOW TO BUILD AN ICP (IDEAL CUSTOMER PROFILE)

If you still think any prospect is a good prospect, think again. There's a vital difference between your ideal target audience and your not-so-ideal ones. Focusing on your ICP can help you make better, more profitable use of your time and resources. Don't miss out on it!

THE ICP

Developing the ICP is one of the first steps B2B companies take to understand their target audiences and ultimately develop more buyer-centric marketing strategies. This needs to happen before you can even think about building personas and journeys.

An Ideal Customer Profile describes the type of org. or account you should be selling to. You gain value from them, they gain value from you. Specifically, these are organizations that:

cost the least to acquire
stay with you for a long period
have a strong lifetime value
are less likely to churn
are most likely to promote your offerings

ICPs are particularly useful if you want to drive ABM (Account-Based Marketing) initiatives. And it's 2021, folks. If you're in B2B and you're not implementing ABM, it's high time you get with the program. The time for that was yesterday.

LEARN MORE ABOUT ABM

Just because it's common to want to sell to everyone doesn't mean it's the best way. Focusing on your ICP is a far more efficient use of time.

HOW TO BUILD AN ICP

B2B sales cycles and targeting strategies are far too complex and nuanced to ever holistically fit into simple 1-2-3-step packages. We know that. But if you strip ICP building down to the studs, this is what you get. For an ICP deep dive, you know where to find us.

STEP 1 – GET DATA

Use historical data (e.g., website traffic, testimonials/case studies, financial data, etc.) to analyze your most successful customers.

STEP 2 – DEFINE

Conduct internal discussions with key reps (e.g., from marketing, sales, product development, etc.) to define what characteristics need to be reflected in your ICP. Multiple offerings may warrant multiple ICPs, but generally you're looking to leverage a range of firmographics and considerations:

No. of employees
Revenue and budget
Industry
Location
Customer base/segments

Other considerations can include:

Business objectives
Culture and values
Tech stack/current solutions
Market trends
Legalities/regulations

STEP 3 – DOCUMENT

Document your ICPs so that the information can be effectively distributed to wider teams.

Instead of counting the companies you reach, why not focus on reaching the companies that count?

WHAT'S YOUR ORG'S ICP STATUS?

Not in good shape.
We could do better!
Well documented and distributed!

Done right, an ICP can significantly help align your business offerings and operations with your buyers' needs and expectations.

What's more, defining your ideal buyers from the not-so ideal ones will make the jobs of Marketing and Sales much easier.

Because if you have the power to allocate and focus your teams' efforts on prospects that are the most likely to convert and advocate for you, then why wouldn't you do that?

If it's an extra pair of specialist hands you need, we've got enough to spare!

CONSULT A SPECIALIST

B2B BUYER PERSONAS

It's so much more than demographics. The most helpful buyer personas are the ones that dive into the psyche and effectively reflect human life. How is a persona affected by psychological, political, emotive, and commercial influences? If you want to develop buyer-centric strategies, you need to adopt a buyer-centric mindset. Developing your personas is a good way to start.

WHAT IS A BUYER PERSONA?

Buyer Personas are fictional and detailed representations of your target audience.

Ideally using both Primary (e.g., via interviews, surveys) and Secondary (desk) research, they're crafted to embody the attributes of real life buyers within your ICP.

Bear in mind, persona building isn't a one-and-done thing. Just like real people, personas can change in a lot of ways, and it's best practice to revisit and adapt your personas regularly (e.g., every 1-2 years).

The idea is to treat your personas more as a guide, rather than a golden rule!

That being said, the way you display and document your personas can vary greatly. Most people put them in PDFs or PPTs, while others go as far as hiring actors to film persona videos or even staging rooms that the personas supposedly live or work in.

ARE YOU BUYER PERSONAS WELL DOCUMENTED AND DISTRIBUTED?

Yes, absolutely!
Some know our buyer personas well, but most don't. We need to align and document!
Most of us know our buyer personas, but documentation would help.
No, but I'd like to change that!

THE IMPORTANCE OF BUYER PERSONAS

Reveals key data or insights that were previously unknown or unvalidated.

Informs the basis for more effective targeting, positioning, and content strategies.

Improves the focus, communication, and effectiveness of sales and marketing.

Enhances customer experience and overall satisfaction across the buyer journey.

Aligns different departments organisation through established ideas and concepts.

Improves ability to personalise and increases your relevance and impact on your buyers.

Like people, buyer personas change over time with the market, the times, the ebbs and flows of products and services. They absolutely require work, but they are entirely worth it.

PRECISION DEMAND MARKETING GROUP

MEET CLARA.

Buyer Persona Example

CLARA MILLS

CEO at Moon Textiles Global

Clara is a CEO and founder with over 25 years of experience within the textile manufacturing industry. While based mostly in the UK, Clara oversees global operations across Southeast Asia, the United States, and Europe.

Her empathetic, intelligent and untiringly curious manner makes her a well-respected and admired leader in both her organisation and field of work.

WHAT KIND OF BUYER DOES CLARA REPRESENT?

Note: It can be tricky to strike the balance between being too general and too specific with your personas. To achieve the best of both worlds, build a persona that represents a wider audience, but add a human example (like Clara) to make it feel more real.

PART 1 of 3

DEMOGRAPHIC ATTRIBUTES

AGE RANGE	40-55
GENDER	Not relevant
EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND	Bachelor's to PhD
INCOME CLASS	High
YEARS IN ROLE	3-5
YEARS OF EXPERIENCE	20-40
COUNTRY OF RESIDENCE	Typically WEIRD (western, educated, industrialized, rich, democratic) countries

PART 2 of 3

EMOTIVE ATTRIBUTES

HIGHEST PRIORITIES	Grow revenue and manage P&L Define and continually improve strategy Position the org. as a market leader Constantly explore new market opportunities Ensure teams are productive and motivated
BIGGEST PAIN POINTS	I have multiple stakeholders to consider at all times: execs, board members, employees, press, etc. I need to make sure everyone in our team, esp. the leaders, are motivated and incentivised. I’m concerned about how our brand and reputation come across, especially to different audiences. My strategic decisions need to differentiate us offer as much value as possible.
PREFERRED DIGITAL SPACES	The Economist, Financial Times, New York Times, Bloomberg, LinkedIn

PART 3 of 3

DECISION PROCESS ATTRIBUTES

REPORTS TO	Myself, my board.
ORGANISATIONAL INFLUENCE/BUYING	I make key decisions and have sign-off on major purchases, but I'm also influenced by board members and fellow executives.
BUDGET CONSTRAINTS	I consult with the CFO and consider overall business strategy to define budgets.
OTHER INFLUENCING STAKEHOLDERS	Advisors, board members, execs, employees, unions, press and public opinion, competitors.
DECISION CRITERIA	When making large purchases, it is usually because a trusted advisor, board member, or executive has already justified it to me. For vendors, I consider cost, credibility, ROI and other financial projections, PR impact, cultural fit, and long-term value.

B2B BUYER JOURNEYS

Nobody likes feeling misunderstood. We also hate being let down, especially when someone promises something to us and they don't make good on it. That's just human nature, and buyers are no exception. Get better at satisfying your buyers and meeting their needs by understanding their experiences.

WHAT IS A BUYER JOURNEY?

A Buyer Journey is the process that buyers go through from (1) the point of first becoming aware of their needs or problems; to (2) then considering and comparing different potential solutions for their problems; and to (3) finally purchasing their selected solution. The Buyer Journey ends at the moment of purchase.

SiriusDecisions, a global B2B research and advisory firm (acquired by Forrester), assigns three main phases to the Buyer Journey:

1) EDUCATION
2) CONSIDERATION
3) SELECTION

Under each main phase, there are also sub-phases.

Click photo to expand.

MAPPING OUT THE BUYER JOURNEY

Get into the psyche of each persona across each stage. Put yourself in their shoes. What are they going through at each stage of the journey --from education, to consideration, and all the way to selection?

GO STAGE BY STAGE AND ASK YOURSELF THESE QUESTIONS:

What is your persona's goals and expectations here?
What specific triggers brought them to this stage?
What barriers will stop them from moving along the journey?
Which touch points (both digital and human) are they facing at this stage?
What specific actions are they taking in relation to the touch points mapped to this stage?

By doing this exercise, you can clearly identify what your buyers are going through, what you're doing right for them as they go through their journey, where you could be doing better, and ultimately how you can improve their buyer experience overall.

If you need help mapping this out, want a clear template or just some best practice insights from a specialist, we'd love to help.

CONTACT A SPECIALIST

A DEEP UNDERSTANDING OF YOUR AUDIENCE IS KEY TO DEVELOPING MARKETING AND SALES STRATEGIES THAT ACTUALLY WORK.

Your ICP, personas, and buyer journeys form the foundation of successful and buyer-centric strategies that boost revenue, drive buyer satisfaction, and enhance brand loyalty.