How to discover your real ICP (using behavioral data, not guesses)

You're selling to sales Directors at SaaS companies. It's working. Response rates are decent. You're closing deals.

Then you look at your data and notice: 30% of people researching you are marketing leaders. You weren't targeting them at all. You didn't even know they were interested.

The question: Should you explore this? Is there a new customer segment here?

Most companies would never see this signal. They'd keep targeting sales Directors, missing an entire segment of buyers who are already interested.

This playbook shows you how to use Mavin to spot unexpected segments researching you, decide whether to explore them, and open up new markets by using their language and understanding their world.

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The Problem: You're Missing Segments You Didn't Know Existed

You're Focused on One ICP

You have an ICP. Maybe it's:

• Sales Directors at mid-market SaaS companies
• VPs of Operations at enterprise manufacturers
• Marketing leaders at healthcare organizations

You've built messaging for them. Your content speaks to their problems. Your outreach targets them specifically.

And it's working. You're getting responses. Closing deals. Building pipeline.

But You're Blind to Other Interest

Here's what you don't see:

While you're targeting sales Directors, marketing VPs are researching you. While you're focused on SaaS, manufacturing companies are checking you out. While you're messaging to one persona, a completely different function is interested.

You have no idea because:

• You're not tracking who's researching you beyond your target list
• Your marketing only reaches the people you're targeting
• Your outreach only goes to your defined ICP

The opportunity you're missing: There might be another customer segment—potentially larger, faster to close, higher value—that you don't even know exists.

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The Solution: See Who's Actually Interested

Mavin Shows You Who's Researching You

Mavin tracks everyone who views your team's LinkedIn profiles. Not just your target ICP. Everyone.

You'll see:

• What job titles are researching you
• What functions they're from (Sales, Marketing, Ops, Finance, etc.)
• What company sizes they represent
• What industries they're in

And you'll spot patterns:

"Wait—30% of people researching us are marketing leaders. We weren't targeting them at all."

"Interesting—40% of research is coming from manufacturing companies. We thought we were a SaaS tool."

"Huh—VPs are researching us way more than Directors. Should we adjust our targeting?"

These are signals. New segments showing interest you didn't know about.

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The Decision Framework: Ignore, Explore, or Go All-In?

When you spot an unexpected segment in the data, you have three options:

Option 1: Ignore It

When to ignore:

• Not enough signal (only 5-10 people, could be noise)
• Too far from your core business
• Not strategic priority right now
• You're resource-constrained and need to focus

It's okay to ignore signals. Not every segment is worth pursuing. Focus matters.

Option 2: Explore It (Recommended)

When to explore:

• Significant volume (20-30%+ of research from this segment)
• High-value titles or companies
• Complements your existing business
• Could open a new market without abandoning current focus

This is the sweet spot. You're not pivoting. You're experimenting. You're validating whether this segment is real.

Option 3: Go All-In / Pivot

When to go all-in:

• This segment converts way better than your original ICP
• Much larger market opportunity
• Clearer product-market fit
• Original ICP isn't working well

This is rare. Usually you explore first, validate, then decide to scale if it works.

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The Exploration Process: Open Up the New Segment

If you decide to explore (which we recommend for significant signals), here's the playbook:

Step 1: Pull the Data from Mavin

Identify everyone from the new segment who's been researching you.

Export the list:

• All marketing leaders who viewed your team (if that's the unexpected segment)
• All manufacturing companies researching you (if that's the surprise)
• All VPs instead of Directors (if that's the pattern)

Get their:

• Names, titles, companies
• LinkedIn profiles
• Email addresses (if available)
• When they researched, what they viewed

Step 2: Analyze Their Language

Before you reach out, do your homework.

Go to their LinkedIn profiles. Read how they describe their work.

Look for:

• What language do they use?
• What problems do they talk about?
• How do they describe their role?
• What's different from your original ICP?

Example:

Sales Directors talk about: "pipeline," "quota," "ramping reps," "forecast accuracy"

Marketing VPs talk about: "attribution," "demand gen," "proving ROI," "MQLs vs. SQLs"

Operations leaders talk about: "efficiency," "streamlining workflows," "reducing overhead," "system integration"

Notice the difference? They have different language for similar problems.

Step 3: Reach Out for Discovery

Don't try to sell. Try to learn.

The message:

"Hey [Name], saw you were checking out our team on LinkedIn—got me curious. What caught your attention? We've been focused on [original ICP], but I'm noticing interest from [new segment]. Would love to understand what you were looking for."

Keep it curious, not salesy.

The goal: Understand why they're interested. What problem were they trying to solve? What value do they see that you didn't know you had?

Step 4: Host Discovery Conversations

Book 10-20 calls with people from this new segment.

Ask:

• What were you researching when you found us?
• What problem are you trying to solve?
• How do you currently handle this?
• What would success look like?
• What language do you use internally to talk about this?

Listen for patterns. If 15 out of 20 marketing leaders say "we need to prove marketing's impact on pipeline," that's your value prop for this segment.

Step 5: Adapt Your Messaging

Now create content and messaging using their language.

Don't use your original ICP's language. Use theirs.

Example:

For Sales Directors (original ICP): "Help your reps prioritize outreach and hit quota faster"

For Marketing VPs (new segment): "Prove marketing's impact on pipeline with behavioral attribution"

Same product. Different language. Different angle.

Step 6: Test and Validate

Create a focused experiment:

• One person spends 30 days targeting this new segment
• Use the adapted messaging
• Track: response rates, meeting bookings, pipeline, closed deals

Validate:

• Do they respond better than your original ICP?
• Do they move through pipeline faster?
• Do they convert to customers?
• Is this a segment worth scaling?

If yes → expand focus on this segment. If no → back to original ICP, maybe revisit later.

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Real Example: Discovering a New Segment

Starting point:

• Selling to sales teams at SaaS companies
• Messaging: "Help your reps hit quota"
• Working fine, steady pipeline

Discovery in Mavin:

• 30% of research is from marketing leaders, not sales
• Mostly at SaaS companies, but marketing function

Decision:

• 30% is significant, worth exploring

Exploration:

• Pulled list of 50 marketing VPs who researched
• Read their LinkedIn profiles: they talk about "attribution," "proving ROI," "demand gen impact"
• Reached out: "Saw you checking us out—curious what caught your attention"
• Discovery calls: They want to prove which content drives pipeline

Adaptation:

• Created marketing-specific messaging: "Prove which content actually drives revenue"
• Used their language: "attribution," "pipeline impact," "marketing ROI"
• Showed understanding of their world

Validation:

• Response rates 2x higher than sales Directors
• Faster deal cycles (marketing had clearer pain)
• Converted 5 customers in 60 days

Result:

• Opened up marketing as a new segment
• Now 30% of revenue comes from marketing buyers
• Didn't abandon sales teams—just expanded addressable market

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Common Mistakes to Avoid

Mistake #1: Ignoring the Signal Completely

You see 30% of research from a new segment. You think "that's interesting." You do nothing.

You keep targeting only your original ICP. You miss the opportunity.

Fix: At least explore. Reach out to 10-20 people from the new segment. Validate if it's real.

Mistake #2: Chasing Every Shiny Object

You see 5 people from a new segment. You pivot your entire business.

Fix: Volume matters. If it's 5% of signal, probably noise. If it's 20-30%+, worth exploring.

Mistake #3: Using the Wrong Language

You discover marketing leaders are interested. You reach out using sales language: "help your reps hit quota."

They don't respond. They don't relate.

Fix: Learn their language first. Use their words. Show you understand their world.

Mistake #4: Not Validating

You assume interest = fit. You don't test if they actually convert.

Fix: Always validate. Do they book meetings? Move through pipeline? Close? If not, it's not a real segment.

Mistake #5: Abandoning Your Original ICP

You discover a new segment. You pivot completely. You stop targeting your original ICP.

Fix: Explore the new segment without abandoning what's working. Expand, don't replace.

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When This Is Most Valuable

This playbook is especially powerful for:

Early-Stage Companies

You haven't locked into one ICP yet. You're still figuring out product-market fit. Small changes in targeting can have huge impact. You're flexible enough to explore quickly.

Companies with Broad Appeal

Your product solves problems across multiple functions or industries. You're not sure which segment is best. Behavioral data shows you where traction is highest.

Companies Hitting a Ceiling

You're maxing out your current ICP. Growth is slowing. You need to expand addressable market. Discovering new segments opens new growth vectors.

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The Result: Expand Your Market Without Guessing

What changes when you use behavioral data to discover new segments:

• You see opportunities you didn't know existed (new functions, industries, titles)
• You expand addressable market (30% more buyers without changing product)
• You use their language (so messaging resonates immediately)
• You validate before scaling (test with 10-20, then decide)
• You don't abandon what works (explore new segments while keeping original ICP)

The realistic outcome:

If you spot a significant signal (20-30%+ of research from unexpected segment), explore it with 10-20 discovery calls, adapt your messaging using their language, and validate they convert—you can open up an entirely new market in 60-90 days.

You're not guessing. You're following behavioral data. You're responding to interest that already exists.

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Quick Reference: The Exploration Workflow

Step 1: Pull Mavin data, spot unexpected segment (20-30%+ of research)

Step 2: Export list of people from that segment who researched you

Step 3: Analyze their LinkedIn profiles—what language do they use?

Step 4: Reach out: "Saw you checking us out—curious what caught your attention"

Step 5: Host 10-20 discovery calls, learn their problems and language

Step 6: Create messaging using their words, test with focused experiment

Step 7: Validate: Do they respond? Convert? Is this real?

Step 8: If yes → expand focus. If no → revisit later or ignore.