According to a recent study by SMB DigitalScape & BIA Kelsey almost two-thirds of websites are missing contact details.

This is a worrying figure – how are you supposed to get new customers if they have no way of contacting you?

The study surveyed 1 million SMB websites from the US and here’s what they found:

• 6 out of 10 SMB websites in the U.S. are missing either a local or toll-free telephone number on the home page to contact the business.
• 74.7% of SMB websites lack an email link on their home page for consumers to contact the business.
• 65.7% of SMB websites lack a form-fill option to enable consumers to request information.

And they fair even worse when it comes to social media:

• Only 19.5% of SMB websites have a link to a Facebook page
• Even fewer have links to Twitter and LinkedIn.
• 93.3% of SMB websites are not mobile compatible and will not render successfully on mobile devices or smartphones.

Gone are the days when a potential customer would open up their Yellow Pages to find your phone number, customers now turn to Google and more importantly your website. If they have no way of contacting you, then they will not hesitate to head straight to your competitor.

Charles Laughlin, Senior Vice President and Program Director at BIA/Kelsey, puts it quite bluntly:

Consumers are growing to expect certain levels of SoLoMo (social, local, mobile) functionality.

If SMBs don’t catch up with consumers, national players could gain a critical advantage over local independent providers.

Here’s my tip: every local business website should have a clear phone number and full address. Every online business should have a clear email address and / or a contact form.

If you’re website doesn’t include adequate contact details, then it might be time to get your phone number and email on there at the very least.