Word of Mouth
Word of mouth is a new enquiry that came from someone hearing about you unprompted. It costs nothing to run, but you should still count it. It is a lead source like any other.
What it means
It is tempting to treat word of mouth as background noise. Nobody bought it and nobody asked for it directly. Count it like any other lead source: tag it on the enquiry and weigh it by jobs won. It is usually the cheapest source on the list. That is why you should name it and not assume it.
A referral is the asked-for version. A specific client, prompted, points a specific person your way. Word of mouth is wider and unprompted. It is a name mentioned in passing, or a van remembered from the street. Nobody has to ask for it.
A new client says a friend mentioned your name after a job you did for them two years ago. Nobody asked for that mention and nobody paid for it. It is still where the job came from, so it belongs on the list.
Leaving word of mouth off the source list because it feels like "no source". It is often the cheapest and best-converting source you have.
See also
Where this shows up
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