A common question I ask entrepreneurs is who is their ICP? Some entrepreneurs have a very broad answer (everyone) while others have a more nuanced answer. How do you figure out who your ICP is and why is that so important?
First customers can be very different
When you get your first paying customers, they are often all over the board. Different segments, different sizes, sometimes different use cases. While this is normal, you want to quickly test which segments have the most must-have problems and you can generate the most value to solve those problems. Keep iterating until you start to see consistency in problem/segment/use case/value that can be a sign of early product-market fit.
Match go-to-market process and solution to ICP
Once you find the right ICP, now you can start building out the go-to-market process. How do you find customers, how do you create awareness, how do you move them through the sales funnel, how do you onboard them, how do you deliver value, and how do you maintain their business. With multiple segments early on, that can complicate the process and divert your resources.
Focus is critical
One thing you don’t have as a startup is time and money. To start building momentum you want to quickly be able to focus on one specific niche in the market where you can solve one problem for an underserved customer segment and be 10x better. If you have too many different ICPs to serve, it is hard to focus and you end up being just average across multiple areas.
Be very crisp on the specific ICP you plan to focus on to start. Keep listening and learning. After you achieve some success in your initial ICP, then eventually you can consider expanding to the next one. But out of the gates be laser focused on one ICP.