Notwithstanding the proliferation of pedagogical literature associated with strategic planning, scant empirical evidence exists to explain and characterize the consequential outcomes of the planning process. That is, while executives may systematically plan their firms’ commercial activities, the justification for such a discipline has, primarily, relied upon an intuitive appreciation of the benefits. Here, it is proposed that an empirical study of the benefits of strategic planning may be more incisive, which will serve to demonstrate an approach for assessing the utility of planning among firms. Furthermore, in constrast with the plethora of studies relating planning formalization to business performance, a lacuna of knowledge exists regarding the relationship between formal planning and perceived organizational planning benefits. Therefore, an attempt is made here specifically to: explore the existence of possible underlying planning benefit dimensions; examine potential differences in perceived planning benefits based upon the level of planning formalization among firms. The study identifies several significant differences in perceived planning benefits between different groups of firms considered in terms of planning formalization. The implications of these findings for executives are highlighted with associated future research directions specified.