Ideal customer profile examples are easier to learn from than definitions. Each example below is filled in field by field, for a different kind of B2B company: software, IT services, a manufacturer, an agency, an equipment supplier and a rental business. Every company, number and detail is invented. They show what specific looks like, so you can write your own with the same fields.
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What every example below contains
- Firmographics. Industry, size, region and ownership, written as filters you could search on.
- Situation. What is going on in their business that makes the offer matter.
- Technology. Tools that make them a fit, and tools that rule them out.
- The trigger. Dated events that make them ready now, and where each can be seen.
- Who buys. The person who approves the money, the one who pushes for it, and the users.
- Disqualifiers. Reasons to leave a company off, however well it fits.
These are the same fields as our blank ICP template, so you can copy one of these examples straight into it.
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Example 1. Software sold to service businesses
An invented company sells scheduling software to commercial cleaning contractors.
| Field | What they wrote |
|---|---|
| Firmographics | Commercial cleaning contractors, 40 to 400 staff, US, owner-run |
| Situation | Crews spread across many client sites; schedules kept in spreadsheets and group chats; missed shifts reach the client before the manager knows |
| Technology | Fit: accounting software plus spreadsheets. Out: already on a full workforce management suite |
| The trigger | A large new contract announced, a second regional office, or a first operations manager hired, each seen in local news or job posts |
| Who buys | The owner approves; the operations manager champions; site supervisors use it |
| Disqualifiers | Residential cleaning only; fewer than 3 client sites; part of a facilities group with one central system |
What to notice. The situation, not the sector, is what makes the fit: many sites and no system. A contractor with one large site has no scheduling problem worth paying for.
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Example 2. IT services for professional firms
An invented managed IT provider looks after small and mid-sized law firms.
| Field | What they wrote |
|---|---|
| Firmographics | Law firms, 15 to 150 staff, one or two offices in the UK, partnership owned |
| Situation | IT run by an office manager or a single in-house person; client confidentiality and insurer questions about security |
| Technology | Fit: common practice management software, office email on a standard cloud suite. Out: an existing contract with a legal-only IT provider |
| The trigger | A merger with another firm, a move to new offices, or the in-house IT person leaving, seen in legal press, office notices and job posts |
| Who buys | The managing partner approves; the practice or office manager champions; fee earners and staff use it |
| Disqualifiers | Part of a national firm with central IT; a sole practitioner; signed a multi-year IT contract in the last year |
What to notice. The disqualifiers carry as much weight as the fit. A firm that just signed a long contract looks perfect on paper and will not move.
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Example 3. A manufacturer selling to producers
An invented maker of food-grade packaging sells to small food and drink producers.
| Field | What they wrote |
|---|---|
| Firmographics | Food and drink producers, 10 to 200 staff, UK and Ireland, independent |
| Situation | Growing from farmers' markets and online sales into retail, where packaging must meet a buyer's specification |
| Technology | Not a deciding factor; packaging is bought by specification and volume |
| The trigger | A first listing with a supermarket or national retailer, a new product range, or a new production site, seen in trade press and the producer's own news |
| Who buys | The founder or managing director approves; the operations or production lead champions; the packing line uses it |
| Disqualifiers | Owned by a large group with central purchasing; makes only fresh goods with no shelf packaging; volumes below a minimum order |
What to notice. Technology does not matter here, and the profile says so. Not every field has to carry weight; write "not a deciding factor" rather than inventing one.
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Example 4. An agency selling to software companies
An invented video production agency makes product and customer videos for B2B software companies.
| Field | What they wrote |
|---|---|
| Firmographics | B2B software companies, 30 to 300 staff, US and UK, venture backed |
| Situation | A marketing team of one to five people, launching products faster than they can make content for them |
| Technology | Fit: a video hosting tool already in use. Out: an in-house video team listed on the company's careers page |
| The trigger | A product launch announced, a new funding round, or a first head of product marketing hired, seen in press releases and job posts |
| Who buys | The head of marketing approves; product marketing champions; sales uses the videos |
| Disqualifiers | Already hiring a video producer; selling only to consumers; no product launches in the last year |
What to notice. The trigger points at the champion. A newly hired head of product marketing is both the event and the person to write to.
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Example 5. An equipment supplier selling to hospitality groups
An invented supplier sells and services commercial coffee equipment for independent cafe groups.
| Field | What they wrote |
|---|---|
| Firmographics | Independent cafe and bakery groups with 3 to 30 sites, one region, owner-run |
| Situation | Machines bought one at a time from different suppliers; breakdowns handled site by site; no service contract across the group |
| Technology | Not a deciding factor |
| The trigger | A new site opening, seen in planning applications, local news or the group's own social pages; a change of head of operations |
| Who buys | The owner approves; the operations or area manager champions; baristas use it |
| Disqualifiers | A franchise tied to a brand's own equipment deal; a single site; a supplier contract that runs for several more years |
What to notice. The size is in sites, not staff, because sites are what drive the purchase. Use the unit that matches how your customers buy.
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Example 6. A rental business selling to logistics firms
An invented company rents forklifts and warehouse equipment to third-party logistics providers.
| Field | What they wrote |
|---|---|
| Firmographics | Third-party logistics providers, 50 to 1,000 staff, within a day's drive of the depots, independent or private equity backed |
| Situation | Volumes that swing with their clients' seasons; equipment needs that rise for months, then fall |
| Technology | Not a deciding factor |
| The trigger | A new warehouse leased, a large new client announced, or a seasonal hiring push for warehouse staff, seen in property news, press releases and job posts |
| Who buys | The operations director approves; site managers champion; warehouse teams use it |
| Disqualifiers | Owns its whole fleet with no seasonal swing; sites outside the depots' reach; tied into a national rental agreement |
What to notice. The region is set by the business, not by the market: the depots decide where a customer can be served. Put your own limits into the profile.
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What the strong examples have in common
Narrow, searchable filters. A size band and a region you could type into a database, not "mid-market companies".
A situation, not just a sector. The reason the problem exists is what separates buyers from lookalikes.
A dated trigger with a place to see it. Without it, the profile describes who could buy but never when. A trigger event turns a list into a reason to write.
Named roles. Who approves, who champions, who uses. Each one gets a different message.
Real disqualifiers. The companies that look right but will not buy, written down so nobody wastes a quarter on them.
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Weak and strong, side by side
| Field | Weak | Strong |
|---|---|---|
| Firmographics | B2B companies of any size | Law firms of 15 to 150 staff, one or two UK offices |
| Situation | Want to grow | IT run by one in-house person; insurers asking about security |
| The trigger | Growing fast | A merger or office move, seen in legal press and notices |
| Who buys | Decision makers | Managing partner approves; office manager champions |
| Disqualifiers | None | Central IT at a national firm; signed a long contract last year |
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Turning an example into your own
- Pick the example closest to your business and copy its structure, not its content.
- Fill each field from your best customers, not from what you hope is true. The full method is in how to create an ideal customer profile.
- Write the disqualifiers from your lost deals and from customers who churned.
- Test it on past deals. Your best customers should pass it, and most of the deals you lost should not.
- Use it to build your list. The firmographics and technology become filters for a target account list; the trigger becomes your reason to write.
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Where to go next
New to the research side? Start with what sales prospecting is.