In my opinion small businesses resist strategic planning not so much because they are immersed in the day-to-day tactical issues (which is true)  but rather because of their lack of discipline. They have not seen a direct correlation between their planning efforts and elevated results. It is our responsibility as professional consultants to help your client see the tangible value of the time and effort they spent doing planning. This requires taking them back to look at specific decisions of the past and recognizing how valuable it was (or could have been) for them to gather information, analyze the facts and work with their people to plan the key steps of their approach and implement according to the plan.