Before you redefine the ideal customer profile (ICP) your sales and marketing teams pursue, show the evidence that the current definition is wrong, write the new one precisely enough that two reps would qualify the same account the same way, count the pipeline and customers that fall outside it, and decide what you will measure differently. Paste the current and proposed definitions, win rates and retention by segment, the current pipeline, revenue by customer type, and the sales and marketing scorecards into one request. Instruct Pingpong to test the evidence, check the new definition for gaps, and flag measures that would still reward the old profile. Review your written answers in a second round.
This page is for chief executives, revenue and marketing leaders, and directors deciding whether to change who the company sells to. Executive starting points live under Pingpong for executives.
Check the evidence
A change in target customer usually rests on a pattern: higher win rates, faster deals, better retention in one group. Ask how many deals the pattern is built on, whether it holds across reps and quarters, and whether something other than the customer type explains it.
Write the definition in three parts
Firmographics: size, industry, location, and the systems the customer already runs.
Use case: the problem the customer needs solved, in words a rep can test on a first call.
Disqualifiers: the conditions that rule an account out even when it fits on paper.
Count who falls outside
List the open pipeline and the existing revenue outside the new definition. Decide how sales handles deals already in progress, and what existing customers outside the profile can expect from support and the roadmap.
Change the scorecard
Measures built for the old profile keep pulling teams toward it. Name what you stop counting, such as total lead volume or meetings booked of any kind, and what replaces it.
A worked example
This example is illustrative and does not describe a customer. A 160-person workforce scheduling software company sells to "retail and hospitality businesses with 50 to 5,000 employees." The head of revenue proposes narrowing the target to multi-location franchise operators. The case: franchise operators win at 34% against 11% overall, and their net revenue retention is 118% against 94%.
The chief executive pastes both definitions, win and retention data by segment, the open pipeline, revenue by customer type, and the marketing and sales development scorecards.
A useful pass finds that the win rate rests on 41 franchise deals, most of them from customers using one of two point-of-sale systems the product integrates with. The integration may matter more than the franchise model. The proposed definition has no disqualifiers, though some franchisors require every location to use a scheduling tool they choose. About 55% of open pipeline, roughly $3.1 million, falls outside the new profile, and 38% of recurring revenue comes from customers outside it. The proposal says nothing about either. Marketing is still measured on lead volume, and development representatives are paid on meetings booked, both of which reward the old, broader profile. No one has said what would show the change is working.
The revised definition reads: franchise operators with 20 or more locations running a supported point-of-sale system, who need to schedule hourly staff across sites; excluded are operators whose franchisor mandates another scheduling tool. Deals in progress outside the profile are worked to close this quarter, and new outbound outside it stops. Existing customers outside the profile keep full support, roadmap priority shifts over two quarters, and their churn is tracked monthly. Marketing moves to pipeline that matches the profile, and development representatives are paid on qualifying meetings. The 90-day proof is at least 60% of new pipeline inside the profile and a win rate above 25% across at least 30 opportunities, reported to the board.
If the new customer needs a different product or business model, see answer the board's questions before you pivot.
A request you can copy
Below are our current and proposed ideal customer definitions, win rates and retention by segment, open pipeline, revenue by customer type, and our sales and marketing scorecards. Test whether the evidence supports the change, including sample size and other explanations. Check that the new definition covers firmographics, use case, and disqualifiers. Count pipeline and revenue outside it. Flag measures that still reward the old profile, and check for a 90-day proof. Stop there so we can answer in writing, then review our answers.
How Pingpong runs the review
The web review app sends your request through several models in order. Each later model receives the original request and every earlier answer, with instructions to assess the work so far. For the steps inside the app, see running your first review.
What a model can't review
A model works from the data you paste. It does not know why deals were won or lost beyond your notes, or how the market will respond. You and the board own the decision.
When the change goes to the board, see war-game a decision before the board meeting. More guides live under work decisions before you commit.