Like many buyers in America today, I cringe whenever I swipe my credit card. Amid a “shifting economic landscape” (read: messy economic times), we’re all watching our wallets, trying to keep spending down, and questioning where our dollars go. And it’s not just consumers — businesses, too, are monitoring budgets and seeking better deals.
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All told, these budget-conscious prospects want great value for their money, and they’re more price-motivated than others. While much of your marketing mix doesn’t necessarily need to change, you should meet these buyers where they are and talk to them using language they appreciate.
How do you reach these prospects, and what tools and resources can get you started? Read on to find out.
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How to Market to Budget-Conscious Consumers
We’re midway through 2025, and U.S. consumers have become the most cost-conscious they’ve been in years. Economic uncertainty and rising prices have buyers snapping their wallets shut. I know I’ve been slower before hitting the buy button on anything that isn’t an essential good.
B2C businesses are no doubt feeling the pinch. If you’re offering a non-essential good or service, you face an uphill battle to reach budget-conscious consumers. But it’s not an impossible task. It just requires more creative approaches to connecting with buyers and helping them weigh your value against the dollars. Where should marketers begin?
Frame effort as value.
Price is an easy way to communicate value, but it’s certainly not the only way. Benjamin Samaey, AI-driven performance marketeer at Benjamin Samaey Marketing, has seen effort as a framing device work well with his clients.
“One pattern I consistently observe with cost-conscious buyers in both B2B and B2C contexts is anchoring to effort, not price. When customers perceive you invested care, clarity, or customization into presenting your offer, they attribute greater value to it regardless of the fixed price point,” he said. “This psychological anchor works more effectively than simply reducing numbers.”
Samaey then shared an example for a SaaS client — an upgraded comparative feature page which revealed why they designed specific features their way, including what they intentionally excluded and their reasoning.
“This transparency didn’t minimize objections; it completely transformed the conversation,” he shared. “Instead of questioning ‘Why does this cost more?’ prospects began asking ‘Does this align with how we operate?’”
He notes that, in his experience, budget-focused customers aren’t looking for cheaper options but smarter trade-offs.
“When you clearly demonstrate what you prioritized and what you intentionally omitted, customers feel included in your thinking process and commit more readily. Price matters, but framing matters even more.”
Reflect buyer identity.
Who buys your product or service? If you do enough market research, you should have detailed information on personas and buying behaviors. But don’t overlook your consumers’ desire to align their identity to your brand, says Jason Hennessey, CEO of Hennessey Digital.
“Psychologically, budget-conscious customers crave alignment with their identity. If they see your product as misaligned, they disengage. So it’s vital your messaging reflects their lived realities,” he said.
To apply alignment, Hennessey recommends you shift away from luxury vibes and toward grounded wins. One tool they used? Short video testimonials featuring real customers in modest settings.
“No filters, no sleek sets, just real voices. That felt like a mirror, not a commercial,” he said. “We heard buyers say, ‘I felt like they got me.’ That alignment translated directly to conversions. Emotionally, it was pure recognition.”
Reduce mental load.
Dr. Rosanna Gilderthorp, clinical psychologist and director at Know Your Mind Consulting, notes that increased financial pressure has consumers seeking more psychological safety in their buying decisions. One factor many companies overlook? The impact of cognitive load.
“Parents facing financial pressure while juggling work and family responsibilities have diminished decision-making bandwidth. Simplifying choices and highlighting immediate practical benefits reduces this burden significantly,” she said.
Dr. Gilderthorp also shared with me where she’s seen this cognitive load reduction work well in marketing.
“A strategy I’ve seen work remarkably well is transparent storytelling that normalizes struggles. When Bloomsbury PLC implemented our line manager training, they didn’t focus on cost but instead shared real examples of how supporting working parents reduced their 25% early-parenthood turnover rate. Their authentic communication about difficulties created connection that price competition never could.”
How to Market to Budget-Conscious Businesses
While consumer spending quickly adapted to price fluctuations, business spending is proving a larger ship to turn. Recent reports show businesses have maintained spending even amid economic changes — though recent U.S. domestic tariffs could push a downward shift in GDP and spending.
That said, every department is not created equal. Marketing budgets are expected to hold steady or experience “anemic growth” through 2025 (and 2026, I’d wager). So, marketers will do more with less. That challenge trickles down into discretionary spending on new tools or renewing contracts.
If you’re selling to business buyers, you’ll be pressed to show value-per-dollar from day one, and you’ll really need to turn current users into internal brand champions. In short, you must build trust with your buyers. Here’s where to start now.
Simplify your value proposition.
There is such a thing as “too much of a good thing,” and I see it in B2B selling constantly. Companies throw every feature-benefit combination at their prospects, hoping one hook lands. Meanwhile, you’ve overwhelmed your buyer with choice paralysis, and they bow out entirely.
Aaron Whittaker, VP of demand generation and marketing at Thrive Digital Marketing Agency, sees decision fatigue creep in when budget-conscious buyers continuously run cost–benefit calculations. His organization changed its approach and has reaped the benefits.
“Shifting our approach to emphasize life simplification rather than savings dramatically improved engagement among price-sensitive segments. The most effective strategy has been transparent value demonstration rather than competitive price positioning,” said Whittaker.
For example, when working with a B2B software client targeting cost-conscious small businesses, they created an interactive calculator showing the actual time saved by their solution expressed as recovered billable hours. This approach framed the purchase decision around value gained rather than money spent.
He encourages others to make their products’ benefits feel more real: “When implementing similar strategies, focus on quantifying intangible benefits through concrete metrics that matter to your specific audience segment — whether that’s time saved, stress reduced, or operational simplicity.”
Let buyers take ownership early.
When you own something, you probably feel like it’s more valuable, right? Even if others disagree? Welcome to the endowment effect. You place more value on something you “own.”
Will Yang, head of growth and marketing at Instrumentl, notes the endowment effect offers a path to help bring budget-conscious businesses onboard via more personalized free trials of products and services.
“Consider structuring the trial so that users can fully customize or personalize their experience. Allowing them to set preferences or integrate the product with tools they already use can foster a stronger connection and sense of control, making them more likely to perceive value and stick around after the trial ends,” said Yang.
Yang recommends businesses focus on encouraging customers to engage with the features to bridge the gap between a temporary experience and full ownership.
“For example, educational platforms might let users save progress or educational settings, creating a sense of continuation that makes giving up the product feel like losing something personal and valuable,” he shared. He has found that this strategy builds trust and loyalty without directly competing on price, as users are persuaded by the value they’ve already begun to appreciate.
Help them feel smart, not cheap.
Being seen as “cheap” or financially unwell still carries deep social stigma and shame for many people — and that feeling extends into businesses. Even if you’re operating with tight budgets, you don’t want to feel bad about exploring budget-conscious options. And as a seller, you do not want to elicit those feelings in your prospects.
Julian Knox, marketing and PR coordinator at Web Search Optimisation, took a different approach to framing value. He explains how his organization’s “Proof of Saving” tool helped them reach cost-conscious buyers.
“Instead of pushing a limited-time discount, we showed prospects a personalized dashboard comparing their current costs with what they’d save over six months by switching. It wasn’t flashy, but it reframed the conversation from price to smart decision-making,” he said.
They paired that with third-party reviews and user stories right in the trial funnel to reinforce social proof. He shared that activation rates went up by 38%, and churn dropped noticeably within the first month.
Knox also dropped a line that’s really stuck with me: “If you can make a budget-conscious buyer feel wise instead of cheap, they’re far more likely to stick with you.”
How to Market Higher-End Products (If You Can’t Change The Price)
Maybe your product or service carries fixed costs that need recouping. Maybe your brand equity hinges on quality, durability, or prestige. Or maybe deep discounts would erode trust with your buyers.
Not every brand can — or wants to — change prices. You can still reach budget-conscious buyers (though I’d be remiss to not acknowledge it’ll be tough). How do you start?
Offer modular, customizable options.
When I bought my house, I saw the amount of money my mortgage would cost. Logically, I understood the number. Emotionally? I just tuned it out.
As it turns out, I’m not alone. Most people simply freeze when looking at big numbers. And, when budgets tighten and you sweat every dollar, your mind processes the costs of high-value products and services differently.
Daniel Lynch, the owner of digital agency Empathy First Media, recognized that trend and recommends a way to give buyers more control.
“Scarcity changes the way people process decisions — it creates tunnel vision and loss aversion. Marketing to budget-conscious audiences requires you to reduce that stress by giving them a sense of control,” said Lynch.
“One approach I’ve used successfully: offering modular solutions where the buyer customizes their spend. When we gave integrative medical clinics à la carte marketing bundles (instead of a rigid retainer), conversion rates jumped. They weren’t buying less — they were buying on their terms, which immediately built trust.”
Lynch found that trust built this way helps buyers feel empowered — which keeps them in your orbit.
“Brands win long-term not by slashing prices, but by meeting people where they are without making them feel small.”
Anchor prices to highlight mid-tier value.
I geek out around the psychology of marketing — I think it’s neat to discover more about behaviors and motivations and apply those lessons practically.
So, I enjoyed it when Louis Balla, VP of sales and partner at Nuage, surfaced the “center stage pricing” approach.
“Rather than competing on price alone, we position our mid-tier option as the focal point, flanked by premium and basic offerings. This creates a psychological anchor while giving buyers control over their decision,” said Balla.
They implemented this for a food manufacturer during their digital change, resulting in 30% faster adoption rates without sacrificing margins. Balla extends this anchoring approach even further to touch on operational efficiency (a method I now want to explore for my work).
“For building trust without competing on price, focus on demonstrating frugality in your own operations. When we showcase how we manage our internal resources efficiently, budget-conscious clients recognize that mindset alignment,” he said.
“In fact, we’ve found that businesses that foster a culture of cost efficiency within their own operations have 25% higher customer retention rates than those that simply offer the lowest price.”
Tighten connections between your brand and customers.
If you’ve read Robert Cialdini (I recommend Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion), you’re familiar with reciprocity as a persuasive strategy. Basically, people feel obligated to give back to someone who’s given them something. A favor for a favor.
But that concept requires a genuine connection between two people. You need to know the other party to feel that sense of obligation and act upon it. CJ Miller, CEO of Techtonic Marketing, notes that reciprocity has all but vanished in the digital buying environment. He recommends an interesting tactic to help you reestablish connections with your customers.
“A founder’s letter can go a long way in telling the story and creating a personal connection with potential customers. ClickUp did this really well for a long time by showcasing a video of their CEO sharing his story directly with the customer on their landing page,” said Miller.
“For my own personal business, I built my founder’s letter into our proposal as the second page, and it’s by far the thing mentioned most in follow-up meetings whether the meeting is with me or the sales team.”
Tighter connections with buyers or prospects help you establish reciprocity and can help you position your brand past the price barrier.
5 Tools You Can Use to Market to Budget-Conscious Prospects
Your buyers are scrutinizing every dollar, but you don’t need to outspend them to reach them. A simple and affordable tech stack can help you build trust, showcase value, and reduce friction throughout the buying process.
Here are five no- or low-cost tools I recommend for reaching budget-conscious prospects.
1. HubSpot’s CRM
I got my start with CRMs using HubSpot’s free plan. While many offerings are often associated with mid-sized companies and enterprises, its free tools offer small teams a powerful way to build consumer trust at scale.
You can set up contact forms, email sequences, lead tracking — even live chat — without paying upfront. HubSpot gives you that polished buyer experience, helping them feel like they’re making great deals even with tight budgets.
What I like: HubSpot’s CRM is a comprehensive tool that lets you save lead information, track how they interact with your brand, and communicate with them seamlessly.
Pricing: HubSpot’s free CRM is free to use. You can upgrade capabilities and storage starting at $15/seat/month.
2. Google Trends
People sleep on Google Trends, but I’ve used it for years as a basic keyword finder and trend tracker. It’s barebones, but you get (very high-level) access to Google’s search volume.
You can monitor terms you choose and watch how those terms shift over time. And as you build your campaigns, you can also tighten searches to region or category to tailor your messaging appropriately.
What I like: Google Trends is great for market research and content strategy. You can see how user behavior and searches shift over time to keep your content relevant.
Pricing: Google Trends is free to access and use.
3. Outgrow
I’ve taken my fair share of Buzzfeed Quizzes before — mainly to remind me that millennials are approaching middle age. But interactivity isn’t limited to Facebook shareable quizzes, and if you can get buyers to engage with you beyond reading a pricing page, you can start moving them toward a buying decision.
That’s why I like Outgrow. You can quickly build ROI calculators, quizzes, and savings estimators — interactive content that also educates prospects on your value and makes it feel real. Plus, Outgrow integrates with many CRMs, so once a potential buyer takes your quiz, you can pursue them as a lead.
What I like: This tool can help you build the quizzes and calculators some experts I spoke with mentioned above. With the right interactive content, you can better demonstrate the value of your offering.
Pricing: You can start with a free trial for seven days, and then you’ll need to add your credit card and commit to a plan. There’s a limited Freelancer plan, but if you’re going to invest in Outgrow, I suggest starting with the Freelancer Pro at $45/month. Custom plans include a free survey option (very limited) or a “startup special” for $55/month with much more to offer. You’ll need to apply to Outgrow for this special plan.
4. Hotjar
Even if you make great content and build a process to reach potential customers, are they actually looking at it? Tools like heatmaps, scroll tracking, and session recordings can help you understand how buyers interact with your content — and help you tweak it for optimal results.
I’ve used Hotjar for exactly that purpose on past projects. And I will say that you should dig deeply into heatmap results to understand where people clicked and why (sometimes it’s not always clear). But if you pay attention to the platform’s metrics, you’ll find a goldmine of behavioral data. Paired with A/B testing tools, Hotjar is a solid addition to your stack.
What I like: Hotjar provides helpful insights to improve your web pages. With websites serving as virtual storefronts, I think it’s essential that this valuable real estate is optimized for success.
Pricing: Hotjar offers a “free forever” plan with up to 20,000 monthly sessions, unlimited heatmaps, one month of data access, and standard filters and integrations. Additional paid plans extend those limits.
5. Canva
I’ve sung Canva’s praises for years as it helps me bring to life the visuals that live in my head. And honestly, the platform just keeps getting better.
Canva just launched the second version of its AI studio, and you can do a ton. We’ve graduated from just social media graphics. Now, Canva can help you craft comparison charts, product tiers, and other content to show buyers what you offer. Its new AI capabilities include developing more complex options like ROI calculators using a few natural language prompts.
What I like: Canva can fulfill all of your design and content marketing needs through their beautiful and streamlined software.
Pricing: I pay $15/month for Canva Pro, and it’s easily the best value in my tech stack. I even use it in my higher level marketing classes so students can practice with a useful tool they’ll encounter in the real world.
Budget-conscious prospects are still buyers — treat them well.
Economies fluctuate, and budgets shift. In time, more consumers and businesses will loosen their grips on their wallets. But for now, you’d do well to recognize economic realities and adjust your marketing.
It doesn’t take much: Budget-conscious prospects want to be treated fairly and realize value for their money. Ensure your messaging meets that need, and equip them with the language and data to have productive buying conversations in their households and boardrooms.
That’s just good marketing, no matter the economy.
