Strategic Marketing Planningfor SMEs in Zimbabwe Dissertation

Strategic Marketing Planningfor SMEs in Zimbabwe - Dissertation Example When it was termed that the strategic planning was not feasible, practitioners might want to emphasise short term planning for SMEs in Zimbabwe. Further, the findings for the case of SMEs in Zimbabwe could provide a basis for further study on the implications of strategic planning for other developing countries, and for countries in similar economic and political conditions to Zimbabwe. Acknowledgement I am greatly indebted to my dissertation supervisor, Professor David Crick, who has constantly provided me with his support, encouragement, and guidance. Declaration I, Charles Mudekunye, declare that all information in this project has been compiled by me. Any quoting is stated as so, and when references are made to previous work, they appear as references at the end of the report. No part of this dissertation has been submitted in support of an application for another degree or qualification from the university or any other institute of learning. Charles Mudekunye19th September 2006 Table of Contents Abstract 1 Acknowledgement 2 Declaration 3 Table of Contents... The review, analysis, discussion and case studies in the paper conclude that the strategic planning is necessary for the success of SMEs. Too much of it can also result in non-productive situations in the environment like Zimbabwe. The reason is that the long-term strategic planning cannot be applicable for the situation in the Zimbabwe. The reason is that the inflation and interest rates are changing sometimes on a quarterly basis. The market availability for the majority of the businesses was less and this restricts the use of strategic planning. The SMEs are finding tough to get funds in the form of loans as the lending rates are higher. These higher lending rates can come down when the inflation comes down and government decreases internal borrowings. So this lapse cannot be addressed immediately and can be solved in the course of time as the agricultural production increases and people spend less on agriculture and find enough money to spend on other goods. This study makes a conclusion that the prevailing inflation is capable of restricting the majority of the people to spend money on the things other than food, clothing, and housing. As the market was absent, the banks and financial institutions are also not finding enough businesses to lend their money. This, in turn, was resulting in nonavailability of the funds for low interest. The government should not budge to these types of pressures and must encourage the domestic industry to increase the production, which is capable of increasing the value of the ZWD.