Importance of Market Research Businesses use market research to identify problems or opportunities they may face. Organizations can also use market research to identify their strengths and weaknesses and some trends that are forming in their market. H&R Block is a tax services firm that prepares state and federal taxes for individual clients and small to medium sized businesses (H&R Block, 2010). This company has defined its own market research and uses different types of marketing research techniques. Additionally, there are other types of H&R Block marketing research techniques that could be useful if implemented correctly. Definition of Marketing Research Marketing research can be defined as “planning, collecting and analyzing data relevant to marketing decision making and communicating the results of this analysis to management” (McDaniel & Gates, 2006, p. 7) H&R Block uses market research to find out how well their customers value their services and how they can acquire more customers. They use market research to find out how much competitors are saving their customers from their tax returns and then compare the statistics. H&R Block then presents that data to future customers by promoting it through television advertisements and local face-to-face interactions, particularly during tax season H&R Block conducted marketing research in the South Austin, Texas area and found that a large demographic is Hispanic. The company subsequently developed marketing campaigns that targeted a new Spanish-speaking customer base. Marketing research has three functional roles: descriptive, diagnostic, and predictive (McDaniel & Gates, p. 7, 2006). ... half of the paper ... are forming in their market. H&R Block is a tax services firm that prepares state and federal taxes for individual clients and small to medium sized businesses (H&R Block, 2010). This company has defined its own market research and uses different types of marketing research techniques. Additionally, there are other types of H&R Block market research techniques that could be useful if implemented correctly. Works Cited Current Issues in Marketing Strategy. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.ciims.net/2008/07/h-block-position-around-july.htmlH&R Block. (2010). Secure your place with the industry leader. Retrieved from http://www.hrblock.com/company/tax_franchise/resources/hrb_brochure.pdfMcDaniel, C., & Gates, R. (2006). Market Research (7th ed.). Retrieved from the University of Phoenix eBook Collection database.