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What to Compare in a Blackbird Marketing Proposal Before Approval
By Blackbird Marketing
Before approving campaign work, compare the proposal against five things: the business problem, the work included, the total cost, how progress will be measured and what you must provide. A polished document is not enough if you cannot tell what will happen or what decision the work is meant to support.
In short: approve a proposal only when it connects a clear business need to defined activity, sensible measures, visible responsibilities and costs you can understand.
Does the proposed campaign address the right business problem?
Start with the result you need to improve, rather than the name of a marketing channel. A trade business seeking stronger local visibility may need a different approach from one considering paid advertising for a specific service. The proposal should explain why its recommendation fits your situation.
Blackbird Marketing’s recorded services include SEO for Plumbers, SEO for Electricians, Local SEO for Trades, Digital Marketing for Tradespeople and PPC for Trades. If one of these is proposed, check what problem it is intended to address and what information supports that recommendation.
Which services do you want to promote?
Which areas do you genuinely cover?
What types of enquiry are useful, and which are not?
Why is the proposed channel suitable for those priorities?
A phrase such as “improve your online presence” is too broad on its own. Ask which issue has been identified, what work will address it and what may change if your services, coverage or capacity changes.
What exactly is included in the campaign scope?
Compare deliverables line by line, not just the service heading. Two proposals can use similar language while covering very different amounts of implementation, content, website work, advertising management or reporting.
What pages, accounts, campaigns or recommendations are included?
Will the work be implemented, or will you receive advice to carry out yourself?
Who writes, edits, approves and publishes changes?
Are tracking, landing pages or website improvements included?
What is excluded, and how will extra work be priced?
Blackbird’s published website design information describes a review, plan, build and launch/improve process for SEO-ready websites. That is relevant if website work forms part of the proposal, but it does not mean every SEO or advertising engagement includes a website build. Confirm the boundary in writing.
How will the work and commercial results be judged?
Separate activity from outcome. A proposal can define work to be completed without being able to guarantee rankings, enquiries or revenue. Search competition, budget, website quality, location, seasonality and customer demand can all affect the result.
The proposal should distinguish between:
Deliverables: the changes, recommendations or campaign activity to be completed.
Measures: the visibility, visits, calls, forms, enquiries or advertising costs to be monitored.
Decisions: when to adjust the budget, change a service focus or review the approach.
Be cautious about any document that presents rankings, lead numbers or revenue as certain. Ask what is within the provider’s control, what depends on your business and when the evidence will be reviewed.
Will the reporting show whether the work is useful?
“More traffic” is not automatically a useful measure for a tradesperson. Visitors outside your coverage area or looking for a service you do not provide may increase traffic without producing suitable enquiries.
Ask the proposal to explain:
Which calls, forms or other actions count as a useful enquiry?
How will irrelevant contacts, jobseekers and supplier enquiries be treated?
Which figures will be reported, and what baseline will be used?
How will you distinguish activity from SEO, PPC, the website or another source?
What decision is each report intended to support?
If your business mainly receives enquiries by phone, a report focused only on website sessions may not answer the commercial question. Ask for reporting that reflects the contact routes and types of work you can actually handle.
What is the full cost of approving the proposal?
Compare the complete financial commitment, not only the headline fee. Depending on the proposed work, this may include the marketing fee, advertising budget, website changes, software, content production, tracking, hosting or other third-party charges.
For PPC, separate the management charge from the advertising budget. For SEO, check whether implementation is included or whether your team or another supplier must make the recommended changes. A lower initial fee may not represent a lower overall cost if important work sits outside the scope.
Is the price one-off, recurring or divided into stages?
When does billing begin?
Are there minimum commitments or notice requirements?
How are additional requests charged?
What happens if you pause advertising or change priorities?
No fixed Blackbird Marketing prices or standard contract terms are established in the supplied information, so compare the written proposal and agreement you actually receive.
What will your trade business need to provide?
A campaign may be suitable in principle but difficult to deliver if the business cannot supply information or approve changes. Before agreeing, identify the time, access and decisions expected from you.
The exact services and types of work to promote.
The areas you genuinely cover.
Jobs or enquiries you do not want to attract.
Access to relevant website, advertising or business accounts.
Service details, photographs or customer questions where needed.
A person able to approve changes and answer queries.
Blackbird Marketing has a published article titled How to Record Your Trade Services and Coverage Before Contacting Blackbird Marketing. Recording these details first gives you something practical to compare with the proposed campaign scope.
Also ask what happens if information or approval is delayed. The proposal should make those dependencies visible rather than assuming unlimited owner time or immediate access.
Who controls the accounts, data and work produced?
Confirm who owns or controls the important assets before work starts. This may include your domain, website, business listings, advertising accounts, analytics, tracking data, creative assets and new pages.
Will accounts be created in your business name?
Will you retain access while work is ongoing?
What happens to campaigns, pages and data if the arrangement ends?
Who approves changes?
Can another supplier work on the assets if your requirements change?
This is a general business check whenever an external provider works on systems connected to your enquiries and online presence. The proposal should state the practical position clearly.
What should be clear before you approve the campaign?
Use this short checklist to test whether the proposal is ready for a decision:
What business problem is the work intended to address?
Which service is being proposed, and why?
What will be completed, and what is excluded?
What must your business provide?
Which measures relate to suitable enquiries?
What costs are fixed, recurring, variable or paid to third parties?
Who controls the accounts, assets and data?
When will the work or budget be reviewed?
How can the scope or priorities change?
What would make you pause, amend or continue?
If an answer is unclear, ask for the proposal to be revised before approval. Resolving an ambiguous scope at the start is easier than disputing whether a task was included later.
When should you discuss the proposed service?
Once your services, coverage, preferred work and practical constraints are clear, you can ask whether the proposed SEO, local SEO, PPC or broader digital marketing route fits the job. Review Blackbird Marketing’s SEO and marketing services as part of that next-step discussion, then confirm the exact scope, budget and responsibilities for your business.
If your services or priorities are changing, Blackbird Marketing also has a published article titled How to Brief Blackbird Marketing When Your Trade Business Is Changing. The proposal should still confirm what is included for the current brief.
Ready to check the proposed route? Use your service details, coverage and campaign questions to ask whether the planned work fits your trade business. Discuss Blackbird Marketing’s SEO and marketing services.
