Strategic Planning in the Small Business

HO

7, 5 (continued)

Unit

2

objective

and unbiased

evaluation of

these factors.

Often, out­

siders  should

be consulted

since, small

business owners

some­

are

too close to

their products

to make an

objective

times

assessment.

Finally,

product service

should be

considered.

Product ser­

vice relates

to the business'

assurances

that consumer

and prod­

uct concerns

will be effectively

and fully

addressed once

sales

have occurred.

Here, product

warranties

and guarantees

are

important,

as is the

number, availability,

and

qualiLy of the

ser­

vice

representatives

and service

technicians.

Advertising and

Promotion

Next, the

strength of the

company's

advertisingand

promotion

efforts should

be evaluated.

In some situations,

objective

evi­

dence of

the effectiveness

of these efforts

may exist.

For ex­

ample, a

business may

note sales growth

following

certain

advertising

or certain promotional

campaigns.

Frequently,

such

information

is

not present

making advertising

and promotion

one

of the most

difficult areas

to assess.

Although

most small business

owners

realize the

signifi­

cance

of reaching

consumers, informing

them

of the company's

products,

and encouraging

them

to make purchases,

the overall

advertising

and promotional

emphasis

is rarely

analyzed from

an objective

and competitive

perspective.

This

may be one

rea­

that managers

often

feel that advertising

and

promotion

son

is one of the

most expendable

resources

at their disposal.

Con­

sequently,

when the business

encounters

financial

strains, the

is

one of the

first to be

advertising

and promotion

budget

eliminated.

In order,

to evaluate advertising

and

promotion,

one must

have

a feel for

how important

these factors

are to the

industry

in which

the business

operates.

For example,

if competitors

in

the industry

rely heavily

on these

factors for

generating

sales,

then meager

and ineffective

ad'-ertising

and promotion

may

be a siguiificant

and

mearingful weakness.

However,

if the

in­

dustry sales

are driven

by a few established

and

regular contract

sales, strong

investments

in advertising

and promotion

may be

76 PartOne

The Analysis

Phase

219