Importance of Marketing Research
Companies use marketing research to identify problems or opportunities that they might encounter. Organizations may also use marketing research to identify their strengths and weaknesses, and certain trends that are forming in their market. H&R Block is a tax service company that prepares state and federal taxes for individual customers and small to mid-size companies (H&R Block, 2010). This company has defined their marketing research and has different types of marketing research techniques it uses. Furthermore, there are other types of H&R Block’s marketing research techniques that would be beneficial to if they were implemented correctly.
Definition of Marketing Research
Marketing research can be defined as the “planning, collection, and analysis of data relevant to marketing decision making and the communication of the results of this analysis to management” (McDaniel & Gates, 2006, p. 7). H&R Block uses marketing research to find how well their customers enjoy their services and how they can acquire more clients. They use marketing research to find out how much their competitors are saving their clients from their tax returns and then compare the statistics. H&R Block then presents that data to future clients by promoting through television advertisements and local, face-to-face interaction, specifically during tax season. H&R Block has conducted marketing research in the South Austin, Texas area and found that a large demographic is Hispanic. The company later developed marketing campaigns that would cater to a new Spanish speaking cliental.
There are three functioning roles that marketing research has: descriptive, diagnostic, and predictive (McDaniel & Gates, p. 7, 2006). ...
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...are forming in their market. H&R Block is a tax service company that prepares state and federal taxes for individual customers and small to mid-size companies (H&R Block, 2010). This company has defined their marketing research and has different types of marketing research techniques it uses. Furthermore, there are other types of H&R Block’s marketing research techniques that would be beneficial to if they were implemented correctly.
Works Cited
Current Issues in Marketing Strategy. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.ciims.net/2008/07/h-block-positioning-around-july.html
H&R Block. (2010). Secure Your Place with the Industry Leader. Retrieved from http://www.hrblock.com/company/tax_franchise/resources/hrb_brochure.pdf
McDaniel, C., & Gates, R. (2006). Marketing Research (7th ed.). Retrieved from The University of Phoenix eBook Collection database.
Marketing research is the systematic design, collection, analysis, and reporting of data and its findings relevant to the specific marketing situation that a company faces (Kotler, 2012). By researching the motorcycle rider, Allstate is able to identify who they are and what they experience. In 2008, Allstate conducted a “Who’s Behind the Helmet” survey. They defined their qualifications as a motorcycle owner who is 18 years of age or older with an income of $50,000 or more. (Floyd, 2008). The 500 person sample size produced insightful and interesting details for Allstate. Jeff...
In order to solve our research problem, we used a descriptive research design with two types of sample surveys that estimated the strength of competition, what attributes students value most in a haircut, and the potential effect of promotional tools on demand. The answers to our experiment will ultimately give us a general idea of how promotional tools will affect the demand of our target market, what our target market wants, and an overall sense of competition intensity.
The CEO of the company has maintained a steady visit to some of his stores but this was not really any type of market research. These visits were more of an internal quality assurance program. He did speak with customers and received valuable feedback during his visits which certainly can be market research.
Armstrong, Gary, and Philip Kotler. Marketing: an introduction. 11th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2013. Print.
Cravens, D. W., & Piercy, N. F. (2009). Strategic marketing (9th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Company.
As we all know, marketing is a necessary part of our daily life. Not only are products and services marketed, but we market ourselves as part of everyday business. I spent time this week speaking with a close friend of mind who is a Store Manager for H&R Block discussing the 4-Ps and how they pertain to his organization. It was very interesting to see how different industries market their products and services. Does the thought of receiving your tax return immediately grasp your attention? Well it has definitely helped H&R Block in boosting their ability to attract customers. It seems as thought immediate gratification is a promotion marketing tool that many companies are now using. After briefly describing the 4 P's of marketing we will review how H&R Block utilizes all of the steps in their marketing mix.
Lamb, C. W., Hair, J. F., McDaniel, C. D., & Wardlow, D. L. (2009). Essentials of marketing (6th ed.). Cincinnati, Ohio: South-Western College Pub..
Etzel, Michael J., Stanton, Bruce J., Stanton, William J. (2004). Marketing. (13th ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill.
Market research assists a company to determine the best media outlets to place their advertisements. For instance, a youth-based market may prefer an online advertisement while older customers may opt for radio stations and television adverts.
Doyle and Stern (2006) also state the role of marketing research in order to retain customers and fulfil their needs. Stability, development and profit of any business totally depends upon the ability of management to orient the organisation by meeting the needs of the customers. Day (2005) states that market research also help businesses to identify different opportunities and if a business is planning to start a new service or offer a new product to customer, identifying is very much important and essential to make sure the progress of product is stable and highly focused towards demand. Market research is the only way where progress is measured in terms of customer satisfaction for their current service with customers opinions and recommendations for new products to be developed. The Times 100(2014) discuss the role of marketing research in market oriented businesses as the demands for the product can fluctuate and it is important for the company to forecast any upcoming downfalls to be able to successfully tackle them.
The main aim of this discussion is to discuss the main aspects that are very important in planning and implementing the activities of marketing in the global context. Once all the issues have been addressed, the organisation then needs to plan out the global marketing strategy. Marketing research is the core area of marketing, as the entire marketing strategies depends on how well the organization has conducted the research of the market. Mar...
Briefly it is a systematic design, collection, analysis, and reporting of data and findings relevant to a specific marketing situation facing the company, allows management to make the changes necessary for better results through adopting a proactive approach. Therefore, if a company wants to know what type of products or services would be profitable it should make a market research. Furthermore, a comprehensive research will enable the company to know about the product imperfections (if there are) and to know if it has been able to satisfy customers’ needs. It attempts to provide accurate information that reflects a true state of affairs. Due to market research the company can formulate a viable marketing plan and estimate the success of its existing plan. There are two main sources of marketing research information:
Grover, R & Vriens, M 2006, The handbook of marketing research: Uses, misuses, and future
Cravens, D. W., & Piercy, N. F. (2009). Strategic marketing (9th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
...cular market. Companies that conduct market research normally save a lot of money by understanding what type of product or service is needed, other than entering the market blindly without knowing what to expect.