This study investigates cost-effective marketing strategies adopted by small businesses in Bangalore and explores their effectiveness in terms of sales growth. The paper collects primary data from 100 small businesses, analyzing the impact of strategies such as social media marketing, SEO, word-of-mouth, and influencer marketing, using descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, and ANOVA Edelman and Singer (Edelman and Singer in Harvard Business Review 93:88–100, 2015). The results also brought to light the fact that social media marketing is the best approach toward realizing sales growth since it secures the highest, yet relatively stable growth. SEO follows. Further policy recommendations are as follows: digital marketing training, more affordable tools, and tax incentives for small-scale businesses. This study further emphasizes the utilization of digital platforms in resource-constrained environments towards business growth.