Know which marketing actually works

Most owners have no idea which of their marketing actually brings customers, so they either keep spending on the wrong things or quit the thing that was working. You don't need analytics software to fix this — you need one habit: ask every new customer how they found you. In a month, you'll know exactly where to put your time and money.

Do this

1. Ask every new customer "how'd you hear about us?" and jot the answer.
2. After a month, look: which sources actually brought paying customers, not just clicks?
3. Do more of what works; stop pouring time into what doesn't.
4. Check again every so often — channels change, and so does what pays off.

The one-question marketing tracker

No dashboards needed. Ask one question, keep a simple tally:

"How'd you hear about us?"

HOW THEY FOUND YOU JOBS THIS MONTH ---------------------- --------------- Referral / word of mouth |||| ||| (8) Google search / Maps |||| | (6) Facebook / Nextdoor ||| (3) Flyer / sign | (1) Paid ad | (1) ← is it paying for itself?

At month's end the answer is obvious: pour time into the top rows, and stop guessing about the bottom ones. What gets counted gets improved.