ECP vs ICP: Read before filling this in
Why it exists: teams often confuse "who we think our customer is" with "who we've proven our customer is." This distinction prevents bad targeting decisions.
This document starts as an Early Customer Profile (ECP) — a hypothesis. It becomes an ICP only after at least ONE of:
- Real customer interviews with repeating patterns
- First paying customers
- Results from outbound/inbound experiments
Until then: treat everything here as an assumption to validate, not a fact.
<aside> 📌 Executive summary: Who is our client and how they buy?
Why it exists: forces you to articulate the core insight about how your customer buys BEFORE going into segment detail. If you can't write this, your ICP work isn't done.
Answer these 3 questions in prose (not bullets):
Then list your segments: ICP #1, #2, #3...
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Duplicate this entire section for each segment. Label as CORE or SECONDARY.
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To write a good ICP label:
Describe WHO they are + WHAT they're trying to do. Not just a job title. Go beyond demographics. E.g. "Domain experts monetizing expertise" or "Ops-heavy SMBs automating manual work."
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Why it exists: every ICP has a "looks similar but isn't" cousin that wastes your sales time. Name them explicitly.
These are the engagements you never take on, regardless of which ICP they resemble: [e.g. people who want X but aren't willing to Y / companies that have Z but lack...]
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Why it exists: your customer doesn't start by Googling your service. They start with a vague problem. This table maps the stages from "something is wrong" to "let's work together" — in the customer's language, not yours.
Toggle: How to fill this in
Write the "what's happening" column in your customer's words, not yours. Each row should feel like something real they'd say or think. Map each ICP column separately — the same stage can look very different per segment.
| Stage | What's happening (customer language) | ‣ | ‣ | ‣ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0. Problem exists | "This has been annoying me for a while." | |||
| 1. DIY / temporary fix | "Let me just try to solve it myself." | |||
| 2. First value confirmed | "Okay this actually works." | |||
| 3. Fear of scaling it | "I'm scared to touch this now." | |||
| 4. Breaking point | "This can't keep going like this." | |||
| 5. Looking for help | "I need someone who can do this properly." | |||
| 6. Vendor evaluation | "Are these people going to waste my time?" | |||
| 7. Decision | "Okay, let's go." | |||
| 8. Relief | "I can finally use this." | |||
| 9. What's next | "Now what do we do with this?" |
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AI LIFEHACK:
Fill this doc with as many details as possible and ideally enrich it with real insights from customer development interviews.
Go to Claude Cowork and ask it to create an interactive HTML customer journey map based on the data.
You might just get a sheet as sleek as this! 👉
Follow me if you want more frameworks like this. And if you're working on your GTM right now, feeling stuck with your ICP, and want a second pair of eyes — DM me.
Connect with me:
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