Teleconferencing has been front and center in recent weeks. Many of you may have already been using the likes of FaceTime, Zoom, and WebEX  to connect with colleagues in different offices —this has become the way we not only connect professionally, but personally as well. Using these applications have become routine. Industries that weren’t loving the idea of “remote employees” have no other choice, but to adapt.

For our industry, connection is key, and we relish in face-to-face interaction. This is not only true for our clients, but for our vendor partners as well. We’ve worked incredibly hard to create our relationships and now we need to work to keep them, just differently. Luckily for us, this concept of teleconferencing is a perfectly reasonable mode of communication, more so for real connection than email. Clients are inundated with emails on a personal level, as retailers and other businesses send numerous communications regarding hours of operation, sales and the new protocols surrounding our current climate. The last thing you want, is your email to be lost among the shuffle!

Branch out, keep the personal relationship you’ve worked so hard for and schedule that video chat with your client or even a vendor partner you’ve worked so closely with over the years. Even if it’s not to talk business, but to check-in on a personal level. This opportunity would be another touchpoint helping to keep the connection and trust between you. Everyone is craving F2F time with friends and family, why would your clients be any different? Many times, you have become like family during the planning process, and this can only help to put your authentic self, front and center.

We all know it’s hard right now; so much has changed, and we’ve had to learn to adapt to these new circumstances. At this time, I find myself remembering one of my favorite movie quotes: “It’s supposed to be hard. If it wasn’t hard, everyone would do it. The hard … is what makes it great.” A League of Their Own