Should you run a local service marketing launch review?

What to take away

A launch review records what you can prove about a campaign and what you take on trust. The output is a list of fixes, not a score.

When a review is worth running

Run a local service marketing launch review when a supplier holds the logins for the profile, ad account or landing page; when the creative carries claims about price, response time or results that you cannot put a source against today; when more than one location is involved; or when the people who build the campaign are not the people who will run it.

Skip the full version when you hold the accounts yourself, one location is involved and the copy makes no performance claims; a one-page note recording who owns what is enough. The rest of this guide covers what a review should examine when you decide to run one.

What the review covers

Scope it to three areas: ownership of the assets, claims in the creative, and the handover between the people who build and those who run. Our Local service marketing: operations and delivery guide sets out the workflow this review plugs into.

The review is a documentary exercise. It does not cover campaign performance, because none exists before spend, and it does not test a supplier's platform.

Ownership is skipped most often. A profile, ad account or landing page sitting under a supplier's login is a risk at renewal, not just at launch. Google Business Profile sets out the owner and manager checks, and where a listing is already claimed you can request access from the current owner, with a support route if that request is refused.

Claims come next. Every price, response time and result in an ad needs a source: a dated rate card behind a 'from' price, your own call log behind a promised response time, client records behind a results claim. The advertising advice for businesses published by the ASA and CAP is the practical starting point for what a UK audience will accept.

Advertising claims are not the only regime in play. Consumer-facing promotions fall under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008, enforced by Trading Standards, while personal data collected through enquiry forms or call tracking falls to the Information Commissioner's Office.

Date every source you rely on. A claim resting on a document from three years ago invites a question you cannot answer.

Video sits apart because it is harder to amend after publication. The principles for digital video creative best practice from IAB UK describe what buyers are asked to apply, and are worth reading before a shoot rather than after.

Deciding what to do with the findings

Findings turn into action in one of two ways. Fix before launch takes the ownership gap or the claim with no source behind it. Accept and monitor takes the source that is simply out of date. Each carries a temptation to resist: accepting a verbal promise of a fix, or treating a vendor assurance as evidence.

Renegotiating the contract is the exception, and applies only when the review shows the supplier cannot meet the ownership or reporting terms you need. For the staffing half of that question, Local service marketing team roles in England explains which roles are usually kept in house.

Record who signs off each fix and by when.

Who should run the review

The person who signs the invoice should not review alone. A second reader catches claims the commissioner has stopped seeing.

How long it should take

For a single location, allow half a day. Multi-location launches take longer as ownership checks multiply. The cost is that internal time rather than a fee, and it is the person who will run the campaign who pays it.

Where vendors and evidence diverge

Vendor material describes what a product can do, rarely what happens when access is disputed or a claim is challenged. A sales deck's promise of more enquiries than your current ads, for instance, sits opposite the enquiry log you already keep. Keep the two separate and label each item vendor claim, independent evidence or editorial judgement.

Sales material also ages. A feature described at the point of sale may not match what is delivered, so note the date beside every promise.

Editorial judgement is the part no source can supply: whether the campaign fits your capacity to answer the enquiries it generates.

Common questions

These are the questions that come up most often when a review is proposed.

Is a launch review the same as a trial?

No. A review examines documents, access rights and claims. It does not involve running the campaign or testing a supplier's platform.

What should be fixed before launch rather than after?

Ownership and claims. Both are cheap to correct before spend begins and expensive once an ad is live or a profile is locked to another account.

Do small firms need a written review?

A one-page record is enough. It gives a dated reference if a supplier changes hands or a claim is questioned later.

How does this fit with the wider operations guide?

The review is a gate in the delivery process. Once passed, the campaign moves into routine running and reporting.