The Dynamic Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)

Picture this: You’re building a company, and everyone keeps telling you that nailing down your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) is the holy grail. The key to unlocking all that potential revenue. But here’s the thing—they're wrong. Treating your ICP like a fixed target is exactly what's holding you back. It might even be the reason you're stuck. You see, the truth is, your ICP is not some snapshot in time. It’s not an artifact to be framed and hung up in your sales playbook. Your ICP is dynamic. It evolves. It changes with your company, with your industry, with your ambition. If you want to thrive, you need to harness this evolution and wield it like a weapon.

The Problem with a Static ICP

Most companies set their ICP early on and only revisit it when something breaks. When everything is going smoothly, they ignore it. But that’s where the trap lies—success lulls you into complacency, and before you know it, the market shifts, and you’re playing catch-up. On the other hand, when things go wrong, companies tweak and adjust their ICP, but through a reactive lens. A frantic fix-it mentality.

A Static ICP is a relic. It’s built from established best practices, shaped by industry norms, and aimed at an "average" customer that everyone else is also chasing. In the market research industry, a static ICP might mean targeting only those companies with big research budgets, internal teams, and a love for traditional methodologies. But what happens when the market changes? When disruption hits and the rules change? A static ICP leaves you vulnerable.

And it ignores a bigger truth: Your future self—the company you want to become—needs to set its sights on ideal future clients, and you need to start working on that today. You can't afford to wait until the bills are paid to figure it out.

Introducing the Dynamic ICP

A Dynamic ICP throws out the old playbook. It acknowledges that an ideal customer profile is never a singular entity—it’s fluid. It evolves as your company grows, as the industry shifts, as new opportunities arise. Instead of aiming for a single target, a dynamic ICP embraces the tension between adapting to current market conditions and shaping future market dynamics. Here’s what that looks like:

1. Adaptive ICP: This is about today. It’s about staying sharp and tuned into where your company stands in the market right now. Are you the disruptor changing the game, or the improver fine-tuning what’s already there? Your Adaptive ICP should reflect those customers willing to take risks, adapt, and go along with you on this journey—those who are bold enough to choose an alternative over the industry norm.

2. Influential ICP: This is about tomorrow. The vision of what your future looks like, and the clients who will get you there. These customers may not be ready for you today. They might not even know they need you. But your job is to influence the market, to mold it so that these customers become your holy grail. This is about laying the groundwork so that when the future arrives, you're the one they turn to.

Take MotivBase, the company I built, as an example:

• Adaptive ICP: Smaller, nimble companies that used traditional research but were open to exploring new technologies to move faster, cheaper, and better.

• Influential ICP: The forward-thinkers—the companies willing to bet on disruptive solutions, those that wanted to push the industry toward something entirely new, not just do things slightly differently.

Dynamic ICP: A Balancing Act of Market Realities and Future Vision

Here’s the rub: Managing a dynamic ICP means walking a tightrope. On one side, you’ve got today’s customers—the Adaptive ICP. On the other, you’ve got tomorrow’s dream clients—the Influential ICP. Spend too much time chasing today, and you’re at the mercy of every request that comes in. You become reactive, losing sight of where you want to go. Focus too much on tomorrow, and you lose the ground under your feet. You’ve got to do both. Serve today’s needs while steering the ship towards where you want to be.

How to Define a Dynamic ICP

1. Understand Your Position in the Innovation Cycle: Are you disrupting or improving? Disruptors need early adopters willing to take risks. Improvers need those who want to optimize what they already have. It’s that simple. Disruptors attract smaller, risk-tolerant companies. Improvers can go broader, targeting anyone who sees the value in making things better.

2. Assess Customer Maturity: The truth is, readiness is all about workflows. Who’s ready to evolve? Who has fewer legacy systems holding them back? Your Adaptive ICP focuses on those ready to innovate. Your Influential ICP is about guiding those entrenched in legacy but who know they need a future game plan.

3. Embrace ICP Evolution: Your ICP will change. It has to. Every quarter, reassess. Are your adaptive clients pushing forward with you? Are you building trust with the influential ones who will be your future? That’s your north star.

Don’t Just Respond—Shape the Market

Startups aren’t just along for the ride. You’re not a passenger. You’re driving this thing. Shaping your market, influencing who your future customers are—that’s the game. It means putting your vision out there. Thought leadership, events, content—whatever it takes to bring those influential customers closer to your world.

The customers you start with may be risk-takers, niche players. But over time, as you build authority and trust, you’ll bring in the bigger fish. The ones who are more conservative, more risk-averse. The market starts to trust you because you’ve been laying the stones for years.

The Journey of the Dynamic ICP

A static ICP is easy—it’s paint-by-numbers. But that’s not going to build you a company that thrives. A dynamic ICP takes work. It takes constant refinement, bold moves, and a clear vision. But it also brings something invaluable: resilience. In a world that changes fast, your ICP must change with it. In a subsequent post, I’ll discuss how a dynamic ICP also helps you prioritize both short-term and long-term product development. The point is simple: If you can master this balance, your company won’t just survive—it will define the industry you’re in.

So ask yourself: Is your Ideal Customer Profile set in stone, or is it evolving with your company and the market?

The startups that succeed don’t just find customers. They create them. Adapt today, envision tomorrow, and make it happen.

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