Unlock Exponential Reach with Ideal Partner Profiles (IPPs)

Struggling with stalled pipelines and unpredictable revenue? Here’s why your ICP isn’t enough and what to do about it.

Every go-to-market strategy starts with identifying and prioritizing your target market segments and buyers (i.e. your broad Ideal Customer Profile (ICP). It’s the foundation for targeting, messaging, and resource allocation. But here’s the catch: if ICPs alone were enough, pipelines wouldn’t stall and growth wouldn’t slow.

The truth? An ICP sharpens your aim, but it doesn’t multiply your reach.

Why ICP Alone Isn’t Enough

Your ICP defines the market segments and buyer personas most likely to benefit from your offering. It helps sales teams prioritize high-return opportunities and guides marketing toward the right audience with the right message.

But even with a well-defined target audience, many companies still face:

  • Stalled pipelines
  • Unpredictable revenue
  • Sluggish growth curves

That’s because an ICP is only half the equation.

The Missing Multiplier: Ideal Partner Profiles (IPPs)

To unlock exponential growth, you need to pair your ICP with Ideal Partner Profiles (IPPs). IPPs define the types of partners who can help you reach, influence, and convert your ICP — at scale.

Think of it this way:

  • ICP alone = you chase every prospect directly.
  • ICP × IPPs = you align with partners who bring you to entire pools of your target audience.

That’s the difference between addition and multiplication.

What Makes a Great IPP?

Ideal Partner Profiles help you identify organizations that:

  • Already influence your target audience. Customers are more likely to buy when introduced by someone they trust.
  • Offer complementary value. Partners whose offerings fit naturally alongside yours help deliver complete solutions.
  • Accelerate sales cycles. Partners already serving your target buyers bring credibility and context, shortening time to close.
  • Expand your reach. The right partners open doors to industries, geographies, or segments you couldn’t reach alone.

And Here’s The Proof

Schneider Electric shows what happens when ICP meets IPPs — turning strategy into scalable growth:

“Ideal Partner Profiles (IPPs) are the strategic counterpart to Ideal Customer Profiles, creating a foundation for a diverse and resilient route to market. They serve as the building blocks for transformative growth and strategic initiatives— such as fueling partner program evolution, guiding offer creation & launches, enabling successful mergers and acquisitions, and driving co-marketing and co-creation across the entire channel ecosystem. In today’s AI-driven IT landscape, where the best solutions emerge from collaborative ecosystems, IPPs align partners with the right go-to-market strategies and co-innovation opportunities, ensuring customers receive the most integrated, value-rich outcomes.”

Leslie Vitrano Hubright, VP Global IT Channel & Partner Ecosystem
Schneider Electric, Data Center & Networks Division

Operationalizing ICP × IPPs

To make this strategy work, you need to embed both profiles into your daily operations:

  • Focus on the customer. Align definitions using real customer and market data.
  • Integrate across teams. Sales and marketing use ICP; partner managers use IPPs.
  • Enable with purpose. Train partners on how to identify and sell to your ICP.
  • Measure what matters. Track partner-sourced pipeline, influenced deals, and ecosystem expansion.
  • Create feedback loops. Refine ICP and IPPs based on insights and market shifts.
  • Think ecosystem. Move beyond individual partnerships to orchestrated collaboration.

The Strategic Imperative

The companies that win in 2026 and beyond won’t just define their ICP, they’ll multiply it through IPPs. Ecosystem-led growth is no longer optional.