It’s easy to assume that the people following you, watching your videos, clicking on your ads or opening your emails are all potential buyers.
But in reality? Most of your audience isn’t your customers.
And that’s fine, as long as the right people are in the mix and you’re showing up in the right places when it counts.
Yes, your audience includes customers. But it also includes:
That’s why the marketing parlance about funnels can be misleading. It suggests that everyone hanging around the top is a potential customer, and your job is simply to build the right mechanism to suck them down the funnel.
But most of your marketing isn’t about converting everyone. It’s about building surface area. You’re making the pool big and enticing enough to attract as many customers as possible, but that doesn’t mean everybody is there to buy what you’re selling. Sometimes they’re just floating about.
And that’s fine! Because you’re building presence, consistency and relevance so the right people can find you when they’re ready.
Marketing at scale is not about precision. It’s about staying visible, building trust, and being useful often enough that people remember you when it matters.
Not all platforms are equal. In some industries, like music gear, the audience-to-customer ratio can be surprisingly high. Platforms like Reddit and YouTube are not just for entertainment; they’re where buying decisions happen.
Reddit is full of honest reviews, peer advice and no-nonsense feedback about every instrument, gadget and gizmo imaginable. YouTube creators do more than just show products - they validate them, compare them and influence what gets attention.
Take Josh Scott from the eponymous JHS Pedals. A relatively small business (35 staff) in a niche industry producing effects pedals for musicians, his brand’s Instagram account has 330,000 followers, but his YouTube channel has 547,000 subscribers. Talk about an engaged audience.
In a video comparing classic overdrive pedals (a staple of rock music), he demoed the long-forgotten DigiTech Bad Monkey*, a discontinued US$59 pedal, and casually praised it as a great alternative to the unobtainable and astronomically expensive Klon Centaur*.
Within days, used Bad Monkeys were listed for up to US$650. Data from the secondhand music equipment platform Reverb.com confirmed that average resale prices jumped from around US$60 to US$180, all without paid promotion.
The twist is that the Bad Monkey isn’t even a JHS product. Josh wasn’t selling. He was contributing, and that’s why it worked.
This isn’t a suggestion to rush out and launch a YouTube strategy or start filming weekly demos. It’s a reminder that the brands that cut through are the ones that show up in the places their customers already spend time. Not instead of traditional channels, but alongside them, with a human voice and something useful to add.
*For the uninitiated, we have it on good authority that these are all genuine products. You might need to ask your guitarist friend to explain it…
There are moments when your audience absolutely should be your customer:
But these are more like sales than broad marketing.
Your content marketing, brand campaigns and organic social channels are doing something else: building presence and trust. They’re there helping people understand who you are and what you’re good at.
If you expect every blog reader or LinkedIn follower to convert, you’ll be constantly disappointed.
You’re not trying to win everyone. You’re trying to be remembered by the people who matter, and a big part of that is being where they are.
This takes more than gut feeling or doing what everyone else is doing. Here’s where to start:
You don’t need to speak to everyone, and you absolutely do not need to be everywhere. You need to be clear, consistent and present in the spaces your customers already trust.
Not everyone in your audience will become a customer. That isn’t a failure: it’s just how audiences work.
A lot of businesses want to ponder the question, “is this person a buyer?”
But here are some better questions to ask:
Remember, you’re building familiarity, so don’t stress if your engagement rate is low or half your followers never buy.
Focus on staying relevant to the ones who might. That way, when they are ready, they already know where to go.
How do I identify which parts of my audience are actual customers?
Combine your analytics with a bit of direct outreach: look at engagement signals like product-page views, form fills or webinar sign-ups, then validate with a quick poll or email asking about their needs. Those who interact with purchase related content and confirm interest are your real potential buyers.
How should I engage the non-customer portion of my audience?
Treat them as long-term prospects: keep sharing useful, no-sell content (guides, tips, stories), follow up with light-touch emails or social reminders, and invite feedback. This builds trust so when they’re ready to buy, they think of you first.
