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I can't think of a business plan that I've helped develop (as a consultant) in the past three years that wasn't accompanied by a presentation in Windows media or on DVD (or both). A media presentation can do more than a written abstract to quickly grab the interest of a potential lender or investor, and to let the founder showcase his or her knowledge, skill, and experience in a way that "connects" person-to-person. Plus a lot of angel groups and business incubators are asking for these now (in lieu of scheduling so many "live" pitches). What I do is a bit more involved than just having the founder talk into a camcorder, but it doesn't necessarily have to be a big, expensive production (unless you're seeking VC-sized funding, then maybe it does).

A traditional written plan is still required, of course, to communicate detailed financial information and provide all the supporting evidence on which a decision will be based. Very often, sections of the plan are split apart and passed to different people within a bank or investment group for due diligence -- and they expect to see all the facts in black and white, and in a fairly "standard" format. Springing anything too different on those folks would be a mistake, I think.

To ever get a plan to those folks, however, you have to get someone's attention up front. Placing a CD or DVD in the package couldn't hurt -- and I can think of a couple of instances where it allowed firms to get looks and consideration that they probably wouldn't have otherwise. So, yes, I think small businesses should take advantage of the technology in this case.