Our Definitive Guide to Ideal Customer Profiles [requires free registration] sets out how to build an ICP to enable customer-led growth. Data is key to building an effective ICP, pointing to the characteristics that correlate with profitable revenue growth.

The same type of data indicate the success of your ICP, helping identify where tweaks may be needed. Here are some metrics to keep a weather on.

• Customer results: A CLG company recognises the central role measurable results for chosen customers play in driving growth, in new customer acquistion, retention and expansion revenue. It's an essential constituent of an ICP. Tracking the percentage of customers achieving results and the quantum of their achievement will point to the characteristcis of companies that benefit most from your products and worth reinforcing in your ICP.

• Cost of acquisition (CAC): An effective ICP will lower the cost of acquiring, retaining and expanding customer revenue.  Available dollars can be focused on more targeted campaigns that convert at higher rates.  A good ICP reduces disputes and friction across the different teams, allowing them to focus better on the job of winning customers and delivering the results that underpin retention and expansion.

• Win rate: ICP prospects understand better your value proposition and how it enables thme to improve results that matter to them. This stronger problem-solutuion fit generates a higher lead:win rate. Other than significant macro-economic issues, a falling win rate may indicate a change in customer needs or gaps in your messaging. Both need your attention.

• Deal cycle time: An ideal customer relates better to your value proposition and therefore tales less convincing.  Remember the old sales adage; a good opportunity closes quickly; a bad one dies slowly!  The same number of reps can therefore close more business, improving productivity and reducing CAC.

• Logo churn:  Ability to achieve results is an important component of an ICP.  A good fit customer is therefore less likely to churn as they are more likely to achieve the results they expect according to your value proposition.  If your results enablement process is not at fault, your ICP may need tweaking.

• Net and Gross revenue retention (GRR/NRR): Bad fit customers are less likely to achieve results from using your product and therefore unlikely to renew and buy more.

• Cost to serve:  Good fit customers recognise the issues/opportunity they face and are motivated to address them.  As a result they typically respond better to the advice and guidance needed to achieve their goals.  A tightly defined customer profile also reduces the need for custom content, increasing further GTM productivity.

• Word of mouth sales (WOM$):  Customers that achieve results are far more likely to recommend you to others.  That also contributes to a lower CAC as referrals are typically the lowest cost and highest converting lead source.

• Feature adoption:  Customers with similar needs are more likely to want similar capabilities in the product.  Keep an eye on the relationship between feature adoption, customer results achievement and revenue growth to identify the features that contribute most. If more successful customers have different patterns, look at the relationship between features and the results you enable and tweak your ICP accordingly. This relationship is also invaluable in shaping how you advise customers to use your product. Prioritising your roadmap based on contribution to improved customer results and company revenue, new features are likely to have higher adoption rates. 

• CSat/NPS: Customers that achieve results are more likely to return higher satisfaction scores because they are more likely to achieve the value they bought the software for.  It is also easier to design and deliver an experience for customers with similar characteristics, improving your chances of delivering a great experience.

Metrics inform, but they are only part of the picture. Use them as triggers to dig deeper. The changes can be caused by a number of factors, not least the quality of execution. But don't overlook your ICP as a possible cause.