Operational ICP Matrix

PURPOSE

Define customer segments that can be targeted, messaged, scored, sold to, or disqualified with confidence.

(If a segment cannot be acted on, it is not an ICP.)

USE CASE

Foundation for targeting, messaging, and channel strategy.

HOW TO USE

Complete one segment per instance. Write answers that would lead two different marketers to make similar decisions.

Use narrative descriptions for richness.

▶️ OWNERSHIP & STATUS

• Segment name

  (CRM-friendly label. Example: “Mid-Market B2B SaaS — RevOps-led.”)
  
  

• Owner

  (Role accountable for accuracy. Example: Head of GTM, VP Marketing, RevOps Lead.)
  
  

• Status

  ☐ Target
  ☐ Observe
  ☐ Exclude
  

  (Only “Target” receives active spend and outbound.)
  
  

• Primary success metric

  (Single metric used to judge this segment. Example: MQL→SQL %, ACV, sales cycle length.)
  
  

• Last validated (YYYY-MM) ___________________________________
  
  

• Next review ___________________________________ (typical: quarterly)
  

▶️FIRMOGRAPHICS

Who this applies to in practice.

• Primary industry

  (Specific vertical. Example: B2B SaaS, FinTech infrastructure, HR Tech.)
  
  

• Employee range

  (Typical closed-won band. Example: 100–500 employees.)
  
  

• Revenue range

  (Annual revenue where budget exists. Example: $10M–$100M.)
  
  

• Growth stage

  (Where urgency is highest. Example: post-Series B scale-up.)
  
  

• Primary geography

  (Where you actively sell. Example: North America, UK.)
  
  

• Explicit exclusions

  (Lookalikes you do NOT pursue. Example: PLG startups <50 employees.)

  
  

▶️ TECHNOGRAPHICS

What must already exist for adoption to work.

• System of record (CRM)

  (Example: Salesforce, HubSpot.)
  
  

• Required adjacent tools

  (Tools you assume are present. Example: Marketo, Segment.)

  
  

• Data maturity

  ☐ Low
  ☐ Medium
  ☐ High
  

  (Low = spreadsheets; Medium = BI dashboards; High = warehouse + analytics.)
  
  

• Required integrations

  (Non-negotiable. Example: Salesforce + Snowflake.)
  
  

• Security / compliance expectations

  (Example: SOC 2 Type II, GDPR.)
  
  

• Technical deal-breakers

  (Example: on-prem only requirement.)

  
  

▶️ CORE JOB-TO-BE-DONE

Only one primary job.

JTBD

💡When [trigger] ________________, I want to [action] ________________, so I can [outcome] ________________.

(Example: “When forecasts miss quarter-end, I want automated pipeline rollups so I can restore leadership confidence.”)

• Pain severity

  ☐ Low

  ☐ Medium

  ☐ High
  (High = visible to leadership.)

• Urgency

  ☐ Nice-to-have

  ☐ Must-solve

  ☐ Burned-platform
  (Burned-platform = something recently failed.)

• What breaks if this fails

  (Example: missed targets, loss of credibility, wasted time.)

▶️ BUYING COMMITTEE

How decisions actually move.

Champion

• Role ___________________________________

  (Example: VP Revenue Operations.)
  
  

• Personal risk ___________________________________

  (Example: forecast misses hurt credibility.)
  
  

• What success gets them ___________________________________

  (Example: trust, promotion, relief.)

  
  

Economic Buyer

• Role ___________________________________

  (Example: VP Sales, CFO.)
  
  

• Approval range ___________________________________

  (Example: $25K–$250K.)
  
  

• KPI protected

  (Example: sales productivity, CAC.)

  
  

Technical / Security Gate (if any)

• Role ___________________________________

  (Example: IT Lead, Security Officer.)
  
  

• Primary concern ___________________________________

  (Example: API reliability, data access.)
  
  

• Typical delay ___________________________________

  (Example: 2–4 weeks.)

  
  

▶️ TRIGGERS & BUYING SIGNALS

Why now?

For each trigger:

• Event ___________________________________

  (Example: new VP RevOps hired.)
  
  

• How detected ___________________________________

  (Example: LinkedIn job change, press release.) ___________________________________
  
  

• Buying window ___________________________________

  (Example: first 90 days.)
  
  

• Relative priority ___________________________________

  (Example: high vs other signals.)
  
  

(List 1–3. No reliable trigger = not a target segment.)

❗DISQUALIFIERS

When to disengage. Strategy without constraints is a never ending cycle.

• Hard disqualifiers ___________________________________

  (Auto-reject. Example: requires on-prem deployment.)
  
  

• Soft disqualifiers ___________________________________

  (Manual review. Example: ACV <$5K.)

▶️ PRIORITY SCORING

Score 1–5.

• Strategic fit ___

• Problem intensity ___

• Deal size / LTV ___

• Sales cycle length (reversed) ___

• Expansion potential ___

• Implementation complexity (reversed) ___

Overall score ___

Target threshold met

☐ Yes
☐ No

▶️ ACTIVATION

How this ICP is actually used.

• CRM segment tag ___________________________________

  (Example: ICP_MM_SaaS_RevOps.)
  
  

• Lead scoring inputs ___________________________________

  (Example: +30 if Salesforce + new RevOps hire.)
  

• Primary channels ___________________________________

  (Example: LinkedIn outbound, webinars, ABM email.)
  
  

• Primary message ___________________________________

  (Example: “Regain forecast control in weeks, not quarters.”)
  
  

• Primary CTA ___________________________________

  (Example: Demo, ROI calculator.)
  
  

• Linked playbook ___________________________________

  (URL or internal doc.)

  
  

▶️ VALIDATION

Why you believe this is true.

• Evidence used ___________________________________

  (Example: 6 customer interviews, last 10 wins.)
  
  

• Confidence level

  ☐ Low

  ☐ Medium

  ☐ High
  
  

• Key assumptions ___________________________________

  (Example: assumes RevOps owns forecasting.)

FINAL CHECK

Before marking Target:

☐ Triggers detectable
☐ Disqualifiers enforceable
☐ Messaging clear
☐ Sales motion defined

(Unchecked = not ready.)

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