# Ideal customer profile (ICP) explained | Propel

Source: https://runpropel.com/glossary/ideal-customer-profile

Glossary

# What is ideal customer profile (ICP)?

An ideal customer profile (ICP) describes the kind of company and person most likely to buy and keep paying for your product: their role, the size and kind of company, and the problem they have now. It decides who you write to, and who you leave alone.

## What goes into one?

- Who signs: the role that feels the problem and can say yes.
- What kind of company: its size, its field, what it already uses.
- Why now: a sign the problem is live, such as hiring for it or a new launch.

## How specific should it be?

Specific enough that you could name ten real companies that fit, and say why. "Software companies" is too broad to write a personal email to; "two-person developer-tool teams that just launched a paid plan" is not.

## How does Propel use it?

You describe who would pay in a sentence. Propel turns it into a search, finds people with your own Apollo key, and shows you a preview before anyone is added to your list. See [Get customers](https://runpropel.com/get-customers).

Where Propel does this

[Get customers →](https://runpropel.com/get-customers)

Related terms

- [Cold email](https://runpropel.com/glossary/cold-email)
- [Reply rate](https://runpropel.com/glossary/reply-rate)
- [Email sequence](https://runpropel.com/glossary/email-sequence)
- [All terms](https://runpropel.com/glossary)