Introduction
I’m often asked what the difference is between “audience” and “prospect.” While my answer might sound like I’m splitting hairs, the distinction between the two is critical. In my mind, the difference defines engagement, department ownership, and the primary methods by which each should be marketed to. As such, it’s a difference I take very seriously.
TL;DR: Your audience consists of contacts who fit your ideal customer profile but haven’t engaged with you yet. Prospects on the other hand are contacts who have already shown interest. Audiences are nurtured through demand generation, while prospects emerge through lead generation. Knowing the difference ensures you apply the right marketing and sales tactics at each stage of the funnel.
Defining Your Marketing Audience and Your Marketing Prospect
So let’s jump into it. Here’s how I define each:
- Audience: A contact (or contacts) you seek to engage but haven’t yet. Your audience is typically composed of target organizations or contacts that fit into your ideal customer profile.
- Prospect: A contact that has expressed interest in you (or your business). A contact you already have a level of engagement with – and one that has a degree of familiarity with what you have to offer.
Going a step further, your Audience typically represents Demand Generation targets. These are people who are at just beginning to become familiar with your products or services. By contrast, Prospects are typically the result of Lead Generation tactics. They’re specific contacts with a vested interest in what you have to offer.
How to Market to Audiences and Prospects
If you’re following my perspective, you’ll agree that it makes sense to treat (general) Audiences and (specific) Prospects differently. How and where the contact was acquired sets the stage for all future engagement tactics and helps you better nurture their level of interest. The key is establishing which category your contact fits into.
So where do we begin? Let’s compare the initial sources for both:
- Audience (demand generation): External initiatives like emails and direct mail campaigns designed to drive engagement. These campaigns would be classified as one-to-many style interactions initiated by you or your organization. It’s likely the audience member has little to no interest in your organization during this particular initiative, but you execute the process to foster awareness and recognition.
- Prospects (lead generation): Inbound/website contact forms, asset downloads, and event registrations. One-to-One style interactions primarily initiated by the prospect, who is showing a level of interest in your organization.
Per the definitions above, your Audience would fall into the category of developing interest and engagement. Until enough interest can be generated, Audience members would remain solely under the ownership of Marketing.
By contrast, Prospects are much further along in your sales funnel. At a bare minimum, Prospects represent a smaller pool of higher quality leads that Marketing can continue to engage and warm over time. However, by the nature of their engagement, Prospects have demonstrated an established level of interest in your organization and its offerings. As such, pending certain qualifiers, Prospects can and should be passed onto Sales for further nurturing and to begin a true sales cycle.
Summary
The distinction between “audience” and “prospect” may seem minor, but it’s essential for effective marketing. An audience includes potential customers who fit your ideal profile but haven’t interacted with your brand, making them demand generation targets. Prospects, on the other hand, have already expressed interest through actions like form submissions or event sign-ups, placing them further along the sales funnel. Audiences should be engaged through broad, awareness-driven initiatives, while prospects require more personalized, one-to-one nurturing. Ultimately, audiences are owned by marketing until they demonstrate enough interest to become prospects, at which point they can transition toward sales for deeper engagement and conversion.