---
type: "Glossary Term"
title: "What is an ICP (ideal customer profile)? | Roicool"
description: "What is an ICP? The shared traits of the customers that create the most value in B2B: how to build one, how it differs from a persona and why it matters."
url: "https://www.roicool.com/en/glossary/icp"
lang: "en"
dateModified: "2026-10-20"
resource: "https://www.roicool.com/en/glossary/icp"
alternates:
  tr: "https://www.roicool.com/sozluk/icp.md"
generated: { by: "process:roicool-cms", at: "2026-10-20T15:58:44.273Z" }
related:
  - { title: "B2B marketing", resource: "https://www.roicool.com/en/glossary/b2b-marketing.md" }
  - { title: "Intent data", resource: "https://www.roicool.com/en/glossary/intent-data.md" }
  - { title: "Cold outreach", resource: "https://www.roicool.com/en/glossary/cold-outreach.md" }
  - { title: "Data enrichment", resource: "https://www.roicool.com/en/glossary/data-enrichment.md" }
  - { title: "CRM consulting", resource: "https://www.roicool.com/en/services/crm-consulting.md" }
  - { title: "Glossary", resource: "https://www.roicool.com/en/glossary.md" }
---

# What is ICP?

An ICP (Ideal Customer Profile) describes the shared traits of the customer companies that get the most value from a B2B company's product or service and bring the most value back: industry, size, country, technology, budget and problem, for example. A persona, by contrast, describes the people inside those companies.

## In short

An ICP is the definition that B2B target lists, ad audiences, outbound campaigns and content plans are built on. It is usually derived by working backward from the best existing customers: what the fastest-closing, highest-value and longest-retained accounts share, checked against won and lost deals in the CRM. Without a clear ICP, budget goes to the wrong audience. For example, the ICP for an HR software product might be multi-branch retailers in Turkey with 200 to 1,000 employees.

## Key points

- An ICP describes the company; a persona describes the person inside it.
- Typical criteria are industry, size, country, technology, budget and problem.
- It is built by working backward from your best existing customers.
- Won and lost deals in the CRM are the main data source.
- Target lists, ad audiences and the content plan all rest on the ICP.

## How do you build an ICP?

Work backward from your best customers: find what the fastest-closing, highest-value and longest-staying customers have in common. Won and lost deals in the CRM are the main source for this analysis.

## ICP vs. persona

|  | ICP | Persona |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Describes | The company | The person in the company |
| Example criteria | Industry, headcount, country | Title, responsibilities, concerns |
| Used for | Target lists, channel choice | Messaging and content |

## Why it matters

Targeting, outbound lists, ad audiences and the content plan are all built on the ICP. Companies without a clear ICP spend their budget on the wrong audience. Related services: [B2B lead generation agency](https://www.roicool.com/en/services/lead-generation-agency), [Apollo.io consulting](https://www.roicool.com/en/services/apollo-consulting).

## Related terms

- [B2B marketing](https://www.roicool.com/en/glossary/b2b-marketing)
- [Intent data](https://www.roicool.com/en/glossary/intent-data)
- [Cold outreach](https://www.roicool.com/en/glossary/cold-outreach)
- [Data enrichment](https://www.roicool.com/en/glossary/data-enrichment)

## Related service

- [CRM consulting](https://www.roicool.com/en/services/crm-consulting)

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Related pages:

- [Glossary](https://www.roicool.com/en/glossary)

Source: https://www.roicool.com/en/glossary/icp · Last updated: 2026-10-20