Marketing on a Budget: How To Make An Impact Without Breaking The Bank
- Beverley White
- Feb 13, 2023
- 8 min read
Updated: Feb 20, 2024
These are difficult economic times we're living in. The fallout from Brexit, the war in Ukraine and the COVID-19 pandemic have all conspired to create a perfect storm of financial woes for many of us. Businesses aren't immune.
Increasingly we're noticing that clients, as well as suppliers and many of our competitors, are all looking at ways of tightening their purse strings.
The thing is, when it comes to marketing, the real goal many people miss is how to make smaller budgets work without a negative impact on the effectiveness of the message.
Marketing On A Budget. Less Money. More Impact.
To help you make your own budgets stretch a little further, we've put together 5 ways you can market your business whilst still achieving great results, all without breaking the bank! Let's start with....
1. Social Media
In just a few short years, social media has revolutionised how we engage with each other, the brands we love (and those we don't), famous celebrities we admire and even complete strangers.
It allows us to see the best and worst in humanity at times, but for business, it has also been an incredible way to connect with customers and has changed how we market our products and services with little or no cost.
If you're looking to build your brand and reach new customers, social media will be key to that, not least as it's free to use!

Whilst there are a wealth of social platforms available to you, it's important to utilise the one that best suits your customers.
Understanding where they are and how they use their platform(s) of choice will massively help you connect with them. For example, if your target market is older people, they're not likely to be using TikTok, as much as you might enjoy it personally. Go where they are.
The flexibility of social media posts gives you real scope to create marketing campaigns that suit almost all industries; whether you're posting images, how-to videos or promoting links, you can really let your imagination fly and create something that reaches thousands, if not millions of untapped customers.
Remember, if you're not utilising social media, chances are your competition will be, so don't miss out on that free advertising!
2. Video Content
Creating video content that is seen by millions of people is no longer the preserve of Hollywood movies. These days, thanks to video-sharing platforms like YouTube, Vimeo and Twitch, anyone with a smartphone can create a video, upload it and share it around the world in just a few clicks.
If you're unsure, it's worth noting that around 82% of ALL consumer internet traffic in 2022 came from video content! It's here to stay and it's only going to get bigger, even if the screens it's watched on are getting smaller. Businesses large and small should be embracing this medium.
Statistics show nearly half of consumers browse the internet for videos related to the product or service they're looking to buy before purchasing and YouTube is, after Google, the 2nd largest search engine in the world.
Whilst you can spend money on fancy video equipment, sound design and post-production, it's not always necessary or needed.
The range of video content you can produce for your business is huge. Everything from unboxing videos for your services, how-to guides, troubleshooting and product reveals, the list goes on. Plus, uploading videos to your channel is absolutely free!
Videos can vary in length, from a few seconds (known as 'shorts') to more in-depth guides that can run for hours. Play around with formats, length and content and you'll soon see the benefits.
Videos can be stored on the platforms, embedded on your website and even shared through social media and email campaigns (more on those later).
Video content also doesn't have to stop with pre-recorded videos.
Many platforms including YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok offer the chance to broadcast live. This is also a great way to leverage your expertise in a particular area and engage with your audience directly.
You could run a Q&A session with customers, talk about how to get the most from your product or launch new products through a live video. You get to respond to them and their comments in real-time, whether it's questions or general feedback.
This alone gives you the opportunity to have a genuine, authentic interaction with the people who buy your product or service and attract those who are still hesitant or new to your brand.
Obviously the videos you produce still have to be entertaining and showcase your product in a positive, professional light, but the increase you can get from click-through rates and conversions will amaze you.
If you need any help in producing content for your brand, please get in touch and take a look at our Video Production page for more details on how we can help.
3. Email Campaigns / Direct Mail
If you send a regular newsletter to a list of email addresses, then you'll be no stranger to email campaigns and, when looking for low-cost marketing methods, if it's not something you're doing regularly, you really should be taking advantage of it.
Everyone likes offers, discounts and a good deal, so this is the perfect opportunity to keep your already engaged audience coming back to your website to find more about your latest promotions, read and watch your latest content and catch up with your brand.
It's worth noting that around 58% of people say they prefer to receive coupons, discounts, and promotions via email, so make sure you craft an attractive subject line and compelling copy to capture their attention.
There are a number of sites you can use to manage your email lists if you don't have the facility to do it yourself. Be aware, you need to be wary of GDPR (General Data Protection Regulations) if storing data yourself.
Sites like MailChimp, Omnisend or SendInBlue all offer a free tier, so if you only have a small list, you can utilise them without paying anything.
Most of these sites only charge once your list reaches a certain amount, but by then, the revenue generated from your larger lists should pay for itself because it means people want to hear from you.
If your business doesn't offer an online store, then you could always engage with them with some direct mail marketing. We are specialists in this so be sure to speak to our team if it's something you're interested in.
Either way, whether you're marketing electronically as an email campaign or the more traditional direct mail marketing, they're both very cost-effective ways to engage with your audience, both long-term and new customers.
It's also one of the most reliable ways to get a return on investment compared to other methods.
4. Engage With Your Audience
Whilst we touched on it previously, social media is a great, cost-effective way to connect with your customers, clients, suppliers and the world at large, but you can also use them to your advantage that brings much more tangible cost-effective results.

If you've been in business for a while and offer a newsletter to your customers, chances are you'll have collated a healthy database of contact details for them.
This list gives you easy access to the email inboxes of an engaged community who have consciously decided to be an active part of your ecosystem.
Remember that not only is it much harder to sell to new customers, but it’s also more expensive, so utilise the ones you have already to attract them.
Whilst you can send the standard weekly or monthly email campaign about your latest sales offers, new products, discount codes or the latest business updates, you can also use them to drive your business forward.
Give them the chance the film their own review videos (to post on your own channel) or run a competition that involves them, e.g. the most innovative, funniest or ingenious use of your product.
There will need to be a prize, but whether that's a free product, a discount code to use on your website or a gift card, the benefits of the brand exposure you'll get will far outweigh the cost to you.
Combine this approach with social media and you can massively increase your reach and your audience as it creates a social proof of influence, i.e. the idea that people copy the actions of others in an attempt to emulate their behaviour in certain situations.
If your ideal customer is classed as a millennial, then research shows that this kind of user-generated content directly influences their purchasing decision.
5. Create Great Content
The internet has undoubtedly changed how we live. Today, we often take it for granted and it's easy to be daunted by all its possibilities.
Whilst it is barely recognisable from its first iteration, one thing that has never changed is the desire for content. We all want to see, read or be inspired by what we find online.
Obviously, there's plenty of truly awful, generic, cookie-cutter content online, but there are also some amazing people creating genuinely inspirational content which they attract millions of views with every post.

The lesson here is that whatever your industry, people are always attracted to unique, quality and engaging content and you can provide that.
When you're fighting with your competitors, bloggers and the media at large for every view, customer and visitor to your website, you can rise above them by posting regular content with your own unique viewpoint.
Whatever your speciality, no one will quite have your combination of experience, knowledge and understanding and you can turn those into blogs, ebooks or videos quite easily
Whatever form they take, whether they come in the form of videos, photography, recipes, user guides, how-to's or blog posts, people are always going to want to read new, engaging and unique content they can't get anywhere else.
Publishing content on your own website is free or, if you don't have one, you can create an online blog for free using sites like Tumblr, Blogger or WordPress.
You could also offer to write for existing blogs or websites as a guest blogger. This is also a great way to spread the word about your business and get exposure with an established community and perhaps collect some new customers along the way.
No matter how niche your business is, there will be a community of people interested in new ideas and perspectives.
If you're not much of a writer or just need some ideas on what to write about, then we have a copywriting service that can help you to create something amazing to start your creative journey.
Conclusion
"For wisdom is protection just as money is protection, but the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the lives of its possessors." - Ecclesiastes 7:12
It's a myth that marketing has to cost the earth to be effective. Of course money talks in many circumstances, but there are plenty of ways to make your mark without breaking the bank.
We work closely with small businesses, non-profits and charities around the world, so we understand that getting the most from your marketing budgets is key.
Whether you choose to create live video, get active on social media or community engagement, we've only listed some of the ways P45 Consultancy can help you in this blog.
If you want to find out all the innovative strategies we use which can make a difference to your business, get in touch with our team and let's start on the road to help you succeed.
Money might be tight but there's never been a better time to #BelieveInSuccess.
Are there any low-cost marketing techniques that you have used in your business that have generated results? Have we mentioned anything here that you haven't considered before? If so, we'd love you to come back and tell us how it went by leaving a comment below.
At P45 we understand how to bring real value to our clients and have 20+ years of experience to draw upon so, whatever you budget, wherever you're located, get in touch with us today and let's have a conversation.
If this blog has given you some value or knowledge, please consider support me by buying a virtual coffee using the link below. It keeps me grounded ;-)
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