icp-analysis

Ideal Customer Profile Analysis

Produce a structured ICP analysis that identifies, segments, and ranks target customers for a product.

Analysis Framework

Evaluate potential customers across four dimensions:

1. Demographics & Firmographics

For B2B products:

• Company size (employees, revenue)
• Industry / vertical
• Geography / markets served
• Growth stage (startup, scale-up, enterprise)
• Technology stack and maturity
• Budget authority and procurement process

For B2C products:

• Age range, income bracket
• Occupation / role
• Location (urban/suburban/rural, region)
• Technology comfort level
• Spending patterns in the category

2. Psychographics

• Goals and aspirations related to the problem space
• Frustrations and pain points (what keeps them up at night)
• Values that influence purchasing decisions
• Risk tolerance (early adopter vs. late majority)
• Decision-making style (data-driven, peer-influenced, authority-driven)

3. Behavioral Signals

• How they currently solve the problem (workarounds, tools, manual processes)
• Where they spend time online (communities, forums, social platforms)
• How they discover new tools (search, peers, analysts, social)
• Purchase triggers (what event makes them start looking)
• Buying cycle length and complexity

4. Economic Fit

• Willingness to pay for this category of solution
• Customer acquisition cost feasibility (can we reach them affordably?)
• Expected lifetime value
• Expansion potential (do they grow into higher tiers?)
• Churn risk factors

Segmentation Methodology

Step 1: Identify All Potential Segments

Use WebSearch to research:

• Who complains about this problem online (forums, Reddit, Twitter, reviews)
• Job postings that mention the problem or related tools
• Industry reports on the problem space
• Competitor customer bases (who do they target?)

Step 2: Score and Rank Segments

Rate each segment on a 1-5 scale:

Factor	Weight	Description
Pain severity	30%	How painful is this problem for them?
Reachability	25%	Can we find and reach them affordably?
Willingness to pay	25%	Will they pay enough to sustain the business?
Market size	20%	Is the segment large enough to matter?

Weighted score = (Pain x 0.3) + (Reach x 0.25) + (WTP x 0.25) + (Size x 0.2)

Step 3: Define Primary and Secondary Segments

• Primary segment: Highest weighted score. This is who you build for first.
• Secondary segments: Score within 20% of primary. These are expansion targets.
• Anti-personas: Customers who look like a fit but aren't. Explicitly call them out to avoid wasted effort.

Step 4: Build Customer Profiles

For each segment, create a profile:

## [Segment Name]

**One-liner:** [Who they are in one sentence]
**Example:** [A specific example person or company]

**Demographics:** [Key traits]
**Pain:** [Their specific version of the problem]
**Current solution:** [What they use today]
**Purchase trigger:** [What makes them start looking]
**Willingness to pay:** [Price range and model preference]
**Where to find them:** [Channels, communities, platforms]
**Weighted score:** [X.X / 5.0]

Research Approach

Use WebSearch with these query patterns:

• "{problem}" site:reddit.com — real user complaints and discussions
• "{problem}" frustrating OR painful OR hate — pain validation
• "{competitor}" reviews pricing — competitor customer analysis
• "{industry}" "{problem}" market size — segment sizing
• "{role}" "{problem}" tools — behavioral signals
• "{problem}" site:linkedin.com — professional context

Anti-Persona Identification

Explicitly identify who is NOT a good customer:

• Too small: Can't afford the solution or don't have the problem at scale
• Too large: Need enterprise features, compliance, or sales cycles you can't support
• Wrong vertical: Problem manifests differently and your solution doesn't fit
• DIY preference: Strong preference for building in-house, won't buy
• Low pain: Have the problem but it's not painful enough to pay to solve

Output

Write the analysis to the product's PDE spec directory using the template at ../pde/assets/templates/icp-analysis.md. The analysis feeds directly into the PDE pipeline's Stage 2 (Filter) to validate market fit and competitive edge.