Dear Mid-Market Services Firms: Narrow Your ICP, or Accept Your Fate
If you run a services firm, there’s a good chance your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) is too broad—and it’s quietly sabotaging your growth.
This trap is all too common in founder-led boutique consultancies. Many founders started scrappy, building a business with a sharp focus. They weathered market swings and lean times by taking on generalist staffing work—think plugging IT gaps or providing temp project managers. Over time, that revenue grew, maybe even becoming half the business. It’s not all bad: it can secure client MSAs to upsell, fund solution R&D, and keep cash flowing. But here’s the catch—it’s also a giant distraction. It clouds your firm’s true focus, dilutes your positioning, and forces offerings into vague, buzzword-heavy territory. Sales gets confused about what to prioritize if compensation isn’t aligned, and soon you’re competing on price with commoditized staffing firms charging a fraction of your rates. Sound familiar?
I’ve Been There
This isn’t just theory—I’ve lived it. I’ve felt the resistance to refocusing an ICP when revenue hits a comfortable level. It’s tough to let income dip temporarily to regroup, refine, and reposition. But dodging that choice is what sends firms sideways instead of forward. It starts with client attrition, then a stagnant pipeline, and eventually, key employees bail out of frustration. I’ve seen it play out too many times: firms flounder because they won’t define a tight ICP, wrecking their go-to-market strategy before it even begins. At Trelliswork, we’re obsessed with this because we know everything hinges on a clear ICP. Skip it, and no fancy tech or marketing budget will save you.
Generalists Are Invisible
Broad, catch-all service labels like “digital transformation” don’t cut it anymore. In today’s crowded market, they’re not differentiators—they make you invisible. Clients don’t want generalists; they want specialists.
Take a firm that started with a narrow retail analytics ICP but took on generic IT staffing during a slow year. Five years later, they’re losing deals to low-cost giants like Randstad or global outsourcers, wondering how they got stuck in a price war. That’s the fate of an unfocused ICP.
Why Specialization Wins
Narrowing your ICP isn’t just a buzzword—it delivers results:
- Clarity in Focus & Positioning – A tight ICP sharpens your story. Compare “We help businesses with digital transformation” to “We help mid-market healthcare firms streamline patient data systems for compliance and efficiency” or “We help fintech startups accelerate customer onboarding with automated workflows.” Which one grabs attention?
- Stronger Marketing & Content – A broad ICP leads to generic, forgettable content. Focus lets you zero in on your ideal client’s pain points—think whitepapers on HIPAA compliance or blog posts on fintech scaling woes—making your marketing hit harder.
- Higher-Value Clients & Better Close Rates – A clear ICP attracts clients who need exactly what you offer. Less persuading, more closing deals with prospects who already get your value.
- Increased Pricing Power – Specialists charge more. When you’re the go-to expert in a niche, clients pay a premium for your expertise. If you’re facing pricing pressure, it’s a sign your differentiation’s gone soft.
The Hard Truth: The Game’s Changed
I get why firms cling to a broad ICP—it worked before. Staffing gigs kept the lights on, landed MSAs, and opened cross-sell opportunities. But that steady revenue? It’s a short-term crutch that erodes your long-term edge. The market’s shifted, and today’s game demands an ultra-tight ICP and laser-focused positioning. Fix that before you waste time tweaking marketing or chasing a flat pipeline.
How to Start Narrowing Your ICP
Ready to refocus? Here’s how to kick things off:
- Audit Your Clients: Look at your last 10-20 clients. Which ones were most profitable and aligned with your strengths? That’s your clue.
- Test a Niche: Pick a segment—say, mid-market manufacturers—and target them with tailored content and outreach for 90 days. Track the response.
- Align Sales: Tweak incentives to reward your core offering over staffing revenue. Clarity starts with what you pay for.
The firms crushing it today aren’t the ones doing everything—they’re the ones owning a niche so well they’re the obvious choice.
Your Move
Take 5 minutes today: Write down the one industry or problem your firm solves better than anyone else. That’s your starting point. Is your firm focused enough to win, or are you still playing yesterday’s game? Specialization isn’t optional—it’s survival.
