Strategic Planning in the Small Business

Unit

2

HO 2-5

(continued)

For many small businesses,

no intrmediaries are involved.

The business sells directly

to the consumer. Although simpler

to evaluate, the effectiveness

of the sales and delivery activities

must still be considered.

In summary, we have

suggested that the evaluation or

rat­

ing of the business'

marketing resources cover the six areas

of:

market performance, knowledge of markets,

product, advertisingand

promotion,

price, and distribution. Within

these categories several

ideas that may prompt

or facilitate the assessment have

been

discussed. One should remember

that objectivity and realism

are the keys to effectively

performing an internal marketing

analysis.

TECHNICAL AND

ORGANIZATIONAL RESOURCES

Technacal resources refer to

the physical elements of the job

with which the personnel interact

to produce the products of

the business.

Organizational resources refer

to the design and

internal culture of the business. Clearly,

resources relevant to

these

categories are numerous. However,

seven key areas will

be noted for this analysis.

Location

The first evaluation deals with

the location of the business. Al­

though established and

often unalterable, location dynamics

can exert significant impacts

on the business. In fact, poor

location is generaly listed as one

of the primary causes of small

business failure. Rating the

relative strength of a location in­

volves the examination of some rather

obvious issues. Location

may be a source of considerable

strength if it provides the

business accessibility

to its target market or clientele.

On the

other hand, a superb product or

service may never be accepted

if the business

suffers from a bad location.

Location involves more than visibility

though. Ease of ac­

cess,

availability of parking, and

the image of the business lo­

78 PartOne The Analysis
Phase

221