Abstract
Recent research has confirmed that marketing continues to have a low status among small firms in the UK. This paper considers the theory of marketing planning and its relevance to small firms, and reports on the key findings of a qualitative research project which investigated the levels of understanding and utilisation of marketing and marketing planning in small Cambridgeshire firms. The results of this project confirm that marketing is misunderstood and underutilised in most small firms. However, the findings also show that many firms are anxious to improve their marketing activity, but are unsure about where to turn for assistance. A practical framework is proposed which would assist small firms in taking a more disciplined approach to marketing without adopting strategic marketing planning, which is seen by many as daunting and inflexible. The findings of this research project have implications both for small firm owner/managers and for service providers who want to assist small firms to survive and grow in the mid‐1990s and beyond.
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