As you move from crisis to recovery, you are not going to have time to rebuild relationships. If you let your networks fade now, someone else is liable to swoop in and take your place. You need to be staying connected to people outside your company.

Maintain your links to your customers. Even if they aren’t buying, or you aren’t selling, don’t let relationships die. It could involve calling them and catching up, it could be regular emails, it could be a newsletter, it could be some small, free offerings. Make an effort to stay engaged with your customers.

The same goes for your vendors and suppliers. Even if you have reduced your operations and so are buying less yourself, stay connected with your providers. If you find yourself having to restart a relationship with someone new, you’re going to waste time and your own recovery will go more slowly as a result.

As you stay connected with customers and suppliers, you can learn how they are affected and what their plans are. Try to get an idea of when your customers will start buying again, and make sure you understand how your own supply chain of vendors has been affected. This gives you a better idea of the market’s potential for recovery, and helps you come up with better plans, such as changing your product to meet their needs, or figuring out a timeline for restarting some of your own work.

As you ask them about their plans, be open about your own plans, too. Obviously, people will be more transparent with you if you are transparent with them. Also, it allows them to make plans that include you if they know what your capabilities and expectations are. Try not to keep too many secrets from the people whom you need in order to recover.

Making the effort to keep your relationships going can have a huge payoff. You will have a much smoother recovery if you are able to use existing relationships rather than starting over.