It’s an understatement to say that people are increasingly disconnected from each other. I know plenty of professionals who have now worked many months with colleagues they have never met face-to-face. Even people who outwardly seem well-adjusted just don’t feel fully themselves.

So when we think about your relationship with key clients and customers—I use the two terms to acknowledge both B2B and B2C businesses—it’s easy to imagine that gaps may have opened up where they didn’t previously exist.

So much has shifted over the past two years; the world is a very different place than it was in 2019. An optimistic perspective is that we may be on the edge of things starting to settle back to some semblance of normalcy. But even someone with this point of view needs to acknowledge that we still need to adjust for an extended period in which our relationships shifted tremendously. To cite one simple example, many of us have gone two years without seeing numerous people we typically see a few times a year.

For those of us in B2B professions, we have lost numerous opportunities to engage in relaxed interactions. It’s much easier to have a heart-to-heart conversation in person than over Zoom. Plus, reliance on Zoom virtually eliminates those small moments scattered across a business trip: waiting together at the airport, driving together to a restaurant, sitting in a reception area before or after a meeting.

It’s easy to assume all is okay, and that no bad news is good news. Unfortunately, we all know that’s not necessarily how the world works. It’s wise to proactively check in and even to ask questions you might rather not ask:

●      “All niceties aside, how are you really doing?”

●      “What do you need us to do differently?”

●      “Have we disappointed you in any way?”

●      “Are we checking in with you in a manner and frequency that works for you?”

I’m suggesting that you open up a dialogue that recognizes the world has shifted and proactively raise the question of whether you and your client need different ways of keeping in touch. This is an opportunity to rethink your relationship and how to keep it strong.

One word of caution: it pays to treat different customers differently. Not all have the same needs. Not all have the same value. Rather than assuming you know what “your customers” need, it is prudent to start with your most valuable relationships and to reach out individually. Be prepared to accommodate for their differences, even if doing so may be inconvenient.

The first step to thriving in a changed world is to recognize how much it has changed and seek more information to understand the implications.