How to track where your customers come from

First, separate the source from the contact type

A lead source explains how someone discovered your business: a Google search, a recommendation, a social post or a sign. A contact type explains how they contacted you: a call, a walk-in, an email or a visit.

For example, a customer might find you through a friend and then phone the business. Record Customer referral as the source and Call as the contact type. Recording only Call would hide the referral that brought them in.

A simple routine your team can repeat

1. Choose a short list of source choices that fits the marketing you actually do. Keep Google search separate from Google ad when the customer can tell the difference.
2. Ask ‘How did you find us?’ during the first conversation. If the answer is vague, use one neutral follow-up such as ‘Do you remember where you first saw our name?’
3. Record the date, source, contact type and business location while the conversation is fresh. A name can be optional.
4. Keep Didn’t ask and Not sure as separate answers. A missed question and a customer who cannot remember are different problems.
5. Review the same date range each week. Check both total inquiries and whether the team is consistently capturing a named source.

What a useful inquiry record looks like

A fictional example: on October 21, a caller contacts your Main location after seeing a Google search result. The record is date: October 21; source: Google search; contact type: Call; location: Main. No phone number is needed just to count that source.

Keep the source wording consistent across teammates and locations. If one person writes ‘Google’, another ‘Search’ and another ‘Internet’, the same channel can end up split across several rows. Agree on the categories before drawing conclusions.

What to look for in the weekly review

• Which named sources brought inquiries, and how did their counts change?
• Did the business hours, location coverage or number of people recording inquiries change too?
• How many records say Didn’t ask or Not sure? A source ranking is less useful when most answers are missing.
• Do you have enough observations to call this a pattern, or is one unusual day driving the chart?

If a source rises, investigate before moving your budget. Compare similar periods and check sales quality, costs and revenue separately. Inquiry counts measure interest; they do not prove that a channel produces profitable customers.

Use a spreadsheet or a shared source tracker

A spreadsheet works when one person maintains a small list. Use the template below to start with consistent columns. When several teammates record inquiries, a shared tool can make the source choices and history easier to keep consistent.

How They Found You lets your team tap a source for a call, visit or message, then lets the owner review source trends by time and location. It records what customers tell you; it does not automatically identify visitors or connect your ad accounts.