A Chinese digital marketing agency proposal can look detailed while leaving the most important decisions unclear. A long list of platforms does not explain why those platforms belong in your campaign, who will do the work or how the business will judge progress.
I would compare proposals by turning each one into a short operating plan. What is the goal? Which customer decision is being addressed? What will be implemented? What information will guide the next adjustment?
You can use the same review whether you are considering an agency or an independent consultant. It helps you assess the work rather than the presentation.
Check whether the proposal understands your offer
A useful proposal should describe the products or services being promoted, the market you can serve and the customer action you want. If those details are missing, the recommendations may be too general to guide a campaign.
Look for the distinction between eCommerce and lead generation. A plan for an online store should consider the catalogue, purchase journey and product economics. A service-business plan should consider enquiry fit, service area and follow-up.
Ask the provider to identify the biggest uncertainty. It might be customer demand, weak creative, inaccurate tracking or an unclear landing page. Naming that uncertainty gives the first stage a purpose.
Give every proposed platform a reason to be there
For each channel, ask which customer behaviour it addresses and what resources it requires.
Google Ads might address existing search demand. Meta Ads might test an offer through visual creative. Xiaohongshu might explain a product, answer a service question or support discovery through Chinese content. Each needs a different operating plan.
A proposal should also explain what it will prioritize if the budget cannot support every suggested channel. Spreading a small budget across several platforms can leave the business with fragmented information and insufficient creative support.
The useful question is not how many channels a provider can list. It is whether the chosen channels have an achievable job within your budget and team capacity.
Look for a complete localization process
Ask which assets will be adapted into English, Simplified Chinese or Traditional Chinese. The list may include advertisements, landing pages, product explanations and form fields.
Then ask who confirms the business facts. Your team should approve prices, service conditions, product claims and availability. The provider should explain how language and market context affect the message.
Check whether localization continues beyond the first click. A Chinese advertisement leading to an incomplete page and unexplained English follow-up can create an inconsistent experience. The proposal should identify that dependency even when implementation sits with your team.
Inspect the measurement plan before the forecast
Forecasts can be useful assumptions for planning, but they are not verified future results. Separate them from evidence and ask which assumptions would change the forecast.
The measurement section should identify meaningful actions. For a store, purchases and recorded value matter. For a service business, a genuine enquiry and a qualified enquiry may be different stages.
It should also explain who checks tracking and who fixes technical issues. “Analytics included” is too broad to determine whether the project covers a diagnostic review, implementation or ongoing troubleshooting.
If several platforms are involved, ask how reports will be interpreted together. Platform attribution can overlap, so the business needs a view of actual orders or lead records as well as individual account reports.
Use a comparison sheet with evidence, not scores alone
| Proposal area | Evidence to request |
|---|---|
| Business fit | A description of your offer, audience and conversion goal |
| Channel selection | The role, budget needs and required assets for each platform |
| Localization | Named assets, written languages and approval responsibilities |
| Measurement | Event definitions, checks and access requirements |
| Optimization | Examples of decisions the reporting should support |
| Costs | Management fees, advertising spend and separately quoted work |
| Handover | Account ownership, usable assets and agreed documentation |
Write “not specified” where an answer is missing. A numerical score can conceal an important omission if you give every row equal weight. Some dependencies, such as functioning tracking or usable creative, may determine whether the campaign can start at all.
Ask what the first review could change
This question reveals whether the provider has an operating method. A useful answer might describe reviewing search relevance, lead quality, product performance or the effect of a landing page change.
It should connect evidence to a decision. “We optimize continuously” does not tell you what will be examined or why a change would be made.
You should also know what information the business must supply. Campaign management cannot replace accurate stock updates, customer feedback or decisions about the offer.
Turn the selected proposal into an agreed scope
Before starting, document the platform accounts, deliverables, dependencies, costs and approval process. Resolve important omissions rather than assuming the provider’s broad description includes them.
I can help review the advertising and measurement side through a PPC audit or an agreed management scope. Share your campaign requirements if you want a clear explanation of the work I can cover directly.