Lead source: what it means
DefinitionA lead source is a record of how a new customer first found the business, such as a Google search, a neighbor's recommendation, a yard sign or a flyer. Tracking it shows which marketing brings paying work, so spending can move toward what works.
How it works in a service business
Without sources, owners guess which ads pay off. With them, the pattern shows up within a season: referrals may be few but close fast, while a paid ad may bring many inquiries that rarely book. The tradeoff is accuracy, because customers misremember where they heard of you. Asking one question on the booking form, or giving a different tracking phone number per channel, helps. A common mistake is setting a source once and never recording the repeat customer's later channels. Another is lumping everything under word of mouth. Use a short fixed list, keep it consistent, and check the report each quarter before changing ad budgets or printing more flyers.
Example
A lawn company asks how each customer heard of it. After three months the list shows door hangers produced several jobs while an expensive directory listing produced none.
Where Apex touches this
Rolling out
The screen and the rules are built and tested. Saving real customer data is not connected yet. Status as of 2026-10-07; the badge shows the least-built feature involved.
- LD08Lead source tracking(Rolling out)
- LD09Call tracking numbers per source(Rolling out)
- RP09Marketing/lead-source reports(Rolling out)
Apex Flow Scheduler is in early access. See how we label status.