International Journal of Management Vol. 29 No. 1 Part 1 Mar 2012 159 The Effect of Strategic Marketing Planning Behaviour on the Performance of Small- to Medium-Sized Firms Gabriel O Ogunmokun United States University of the Virgin Islands Elaine Chen Hsin Tang Academy of World Business, Australia According to the literature very few small enterprises survive the long-term. However, despite the continuing interest in the concept of strategic marketing planning, very little research has been done particularly in Singapore to examine whether the level of performance in small to medium sized business organizations is related to the extent to which the components of the strategic marketing planning process are carried out in small to medium sized businesses. This paper aims to present the results of a study that addressed whether there are signiicant differences in the extent to which small to medium sized business organizations in Singapore with a high level of performance versus those with a low level of performance carried out the various activities of the strategic marketing planning process. Introduction Although strategic marketing planning practitioners and theorists have been writing for many years about the importance of strategic marketing and the beneits to be derived by organizations from the utilization of strategic planning process (Armstrong and Kotler 2011; Bergeron and Rivard 2003; Cravens 2008; Cravens and Piercy 2006; David 2009; Greenley 1986; Johnson et al 2008; Kotler and Keller 2009; McCarthy 2009; Morgan, McGuinness and Thorpe 2000; Paley 2006; Parnell 2000; Perreault et al 2008; Pride and Ferrell 2010; Rajaratnam and Chonko 1995; Stanton, 2008) very little research has been done to examine whether the level of performance of small to medium sized business organizations in Singapore is related to the extent to which the components of the strategic marketing planning process are carried out by the small to medium sized businesses in Singapore. This paper presents the result of a study that was designed to address whether there are signiicant differences in the extent to which small to medium sized business organizations in Singapore with a high level of performance versus those with a low level of performance carried out the various strategic marketing planning activities. What is a Strategic Marketing Plan? According to Perreault et al (2008), strategic marketing planning means inding attractive opportunities and developing proitable strategies that speciies a target market and related marketing mix. Kotler and Keller (2009) and Armstrong and Kotler (2011), stressed that a strategic marketing plan involves laying out the target markets and the value proposition that will be offered, based on the analysis of the best market opportunities. The marketing plan is the central instrument for directing and coordinating the marketing effort of an organization and the content of a marketing plan includes laying out current situation,