What a local service marketing review methodology assesses and what it leaves unverified

What to take away

What the review method assesses

The review scores a supplier on what it can prove on paper. Four fields are used: written scope, pricing structure, support for performance claims, and answers about customer data.

Each field scores from 1 to 5. A claim with no supporting evidence scores 1 on that field, however plausible it reads. Weightings are agreed before scoring begins and applied to every supplier equally.

A written reason must accompany any score below 3. That requirement stops a reviewer from marking a supplier down without saying why.

Pricing structure is recorded in three parts: the recurring fee, the setup charge and the minimum term. A low monthly figure with a twelve month minimum is a different proposition from the same figure on a rolling contract.

What the review method does not assess

Nobody running this review logs into a supplier's platform, launches a pilot campaign or interviews the supplier's existing clients. Those steps belong to a later stage of evaluation.

So the scores describe documents and answers, not working software. Where a claim cannot be checked, it is marked unverified. It is not treated as true, nor as false.

That limit belongs on the first page of the review document. Buyers who forget it tend to treat a desk score as proof of delivery.

The local service marketing reviews and comparison methods pillar shows where a desk review sits in the wider buying process. That matters when you decide how much weight to give the score.

Separating vendor claims from independent evidence

Every line in the review carries one of three labels: vendor-asserted, independently verified, or editorial judgement. The label travels with the claim into the final comparison table.

A stated conversion rate is vendor-asserted unless the buyer can see the underlying account. Independent evidence means a public source that anyone can open and read.

Before accepting an advertising claim, check whether the wording has already been examined. The published ASA rulings show how the regulator has treated comparable claims.

If a supplier offers to source contact data, the ICO guidance on buying marketing data through brokers lists the questions a buyer should ask before any data arrives.

Growth claims can be checked in the same way. ONS data on changes to UK businesses shows how business numbers have moved over time. That is a firmer base than a supplier's own chart.

Before and after: what changes when the method is applied

A rewritten methodology rarely changes the shortlist. It changes what the shortlist is judged on, and what the buyer can record afterwards.

Applied across four suppliers, the table above usually produces one clear change. The weakest data-handling answer moves a supplier down the list, even when its pricing looks keenest.

When the shortlist is close, the local service marketing product comparison walkthrough shows how to score every supplier against one set of criteria. Rewriting the criteria for each supplier makes the result impossible to defend.

Common questions

Does a desk review replace a trial?

No. A desk review narrows the field and records why each supplier stayed or went. A trial answers whether the supplier delivers. It belongs after the shortlist is set.

How many suppliers should be scored?

There is no fixed number. Once the same criteria have been applied to four or five suppliers, patterns in the scoring usually become clear and further scoring adds little.

Who should sign off the review?

Someone who will not run the campaign. Keeping the reviewer separate from the person buying the service is the simplest way to protect editorial judgement.