Most shops can't tell you what % of their customers came from Google Maps vs Instagram vs referral. Without this data, marketing spend is guessing. Here's how to track it properly.
The categories
SalesThumb auto-detects + lets you manually tag from:
- Google search — organic Google
- Google Maps — local pack / Maps listing
- Google Ads — paid search
- Instagram — organic IG
- Instagram Ads — paid IG
- Facebook — organic FB
- Facebook Ads — paid FB
- TikTok — organic + paid
- YouTube — organic + paid
- Referral — explicit "Friend referred me"
- Drive-by / signage — physically saw the shop
- Other shop (subcontract from another shop)
- Dealership / collision shop — B2B referral
- Direct — typed your URL in (rare)
- Trade-in / past customer — already in your DB
Auto-detection rules
When a customer books online, SalesThumb captures:
- HTTP Referer header
- UTM parameters in the URL
- Click ID from major ad platforms (gclid, fbclid, ttclid, msclkid)
- Time-of-day pattern matching (e.g. midnight booking from outside your area = usually a referral or ad)
These auto-populate the lead source.
For phone calls, walk-ins, and other in-person leads, the front desk tags manually at customer creation.
Step 1 — Set up UTM templates for marketing campaigns
Every link you share in marketing should have UTM parameters:
- utm_source: where it's shared (instagram, facebook, google, etc.)
- utm_medium: type (social, paid, email, sms)
- utm_campaign: which campaign (spring-special-2026)
Example: yourshop.com/?utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=spring2026
When a customer lands at this URL and converts, SalesThumb auto-tags them with these UTMs.
Settings → Marketing → UTM tracking → Generate links for each channel.
Step 2 — Train front desk to tag walk-ins
At customer creation, the front desk should ask: "How'd you hear about us?"
Common dropdown: - Google search (most common) - Google Maps - Instagram - Friend / referral - Drive-by - Other (free text)
Make it a required field at creation. Yes, it's friction, but the data is gold.
Step 3 — View the report
Settings → Reports → Lead source. Shows:
- Lead count per source (last 30 / 90 / 180 days)
- Conversion rate per source (quote → install)
- Average ticket per source
- Customer LTV per source
- Cost per acquisition per source (if you've entered ad spend)
- ROI per source
What to do with the data
### Common patterns
- Google Maps is usually 30-50% of leads, low CAC, high conversion (~60-75%). Don't take this for granted — keep Google Business Profile current.
- Referrals convert highest (~80%) and have the highest LTV. Invest in referral incentives.
- Instagram organic is volume but lower conversion (~25-40%) — they're browsing.
- Facebook Ads often converts well for older demographics; less for under-30.
- Google Ads for "tint shop near me" types of high-intent keywords: high conversion, expensive CPC.
### Budget shifts
If Google Maps drives 40% of leads and you're spending $0 on it, but Facebook Ads drives 10% and you're spending $2,000/month — your spend is misaligned. Reallocate.
### Channel-specific landing pages
If 30% of your leads come from Instagram, build a tighter Instagram landing page (yourshop.com/ig) with that audience's questions answered. Conversion will lift.
Tracking offline marketing
Print, radio, signage — harder to track. Use unique:
- Phone numbers — per channel (Twilio sub-account for radio number, primary for everything else)
- Promo codes — "RADIO20" only mentioned on radio ad
- QR codes — separate QR for each piece of signage; the URL encodes the source