For Bisnow Director of Client Success Hunter Davis, Where There’s A Will, There’s A Way

In March 2023, New York City’s commercial real estate market earned the title of No. 1 U.S. city to invest by investors around the world. For Bisnow Director of Client Success Hunter Davis, this news inspired him to continue to hone his approach to CRE marketing to help the industry connect with investors in NYC and across the Northeast.

“Working mainly with clients in the Northeast, success means having a targeted approach, and knowing exactly who will bring you more business instead of just throwing ideas against the wall and seeing what sticks,” Davis said. “It’s imperative for clients to forge long-lasting connections with other individuals and businesses so that when deals are being done, or when people are looking for work and advice, you're top of mind.”

Bisnow sat down with Davis to talk about what marketing strategies are working for clients in the Northeast market right now, the trends he’s noticing in the industry and what he enjoys most about his role.

Bisnow: What inspired you to pursue a career at Bisnow?

Davis: I came to Bisnow with years of sales experience in the fashion industry. I worked in many different markets across the Southeast, including New Orleans, Charleston and Atlanta. Through this role and working in multiple cities, I learned so much about what makes people tick and how different businesses operate in their own unique way based on their values, the work that they do and their lifestyle. 

I started at Bisnow as the market leader in Atlanta, and as a native of the city I loved that I was consistently surrounded by like-minded individuals and helping my city continue to grow in the CRE space. However, when the world started to change during the pandemic, I wound up moving to New York and joining the Bisnow team in this market as a client success manager.

Bisnow: What do you enjoy most about your role?

Davis: There are two things that I love about my role: the clients I work with and the data we gather. As director of client success, I get to spend the entirety of my time focused on these two aspects. I often ask, ‘What is the client looking to accomplish by working with us,’ ‘How can we accomplish their goals,' and ‘How can the client and I work together effectively?’

We continue to provide clients with a data-driven approach and work together on marketing strategies based on that data year after year, which I also appreciate. The data that we're able to pull is second to none, and we use it in order to show our clients that our combined effort is successful and if we need to change our mindset we’re able to be flexible to achieve success.

Bisnow: What's working for clients in the Northeast markets right now? And what marketing approaches are driving deals and creating new business?

Davis: What works for clients in the Northeast real estate climate is a mixture of both targeted marketing and increasing their relevance.

Skilled marketers know that visibly putting what your company or service has to offer into the market and being relevant is key. For instance, if you're looking to lease space, you're looking to have visibility of that property in front of as many leasing brokers, tenants’ reps and potential tenants as possible. The classic Bisnow opportunity to do exactly that would be to do a raw space sponsorship and host a Bisnow event where you're able to show it off in real time to upward of 500 people. 

With what we've learned in the past few years about how data-driven the industry has become, you can either bring as many eyeballs as possible to your property site, or you can digitally drive as many clicks to a property brochure showing how much space is available within that property and targets strictly leasing brokers and tenant reps. Clients who are using our digital platform to target these types of clients are seeing significant success.

Bisnow: Where do you see the Northeast market heading in the next year? What trends are you seeing that you're the most excited about?

Davis: I’m most excited about how New York City is leaning into both multifamily affordable developments and mixed-use spaces. I've always taken a liking to mixed-use spaces because they include a diverse range of functions, and they incorporate a very real sense of live, work and play into everyday life for their tenants.

In the Northeast market, we’re seeing how buildings are all increasing their sustainability approaches and improving their carbon footprint. This only adds value to existing properties and increases the longevity of our cities, as well as offering a more sustainable and comfortable lifestyle for the taxpayers within that city. Many young professionals are starting their careers in these cities, especially New York City, so making a city more sustainable allows it to stay consistent with what has worked over the years and how business is done, but at the same time welcoming growth and change.

In Boston, we’re seeing a lot of activity in the last-mile warehousing and the industrial class, while the creation of more lab space in the life sciences sector continues to be impossible to ignore. Boston is booming in life sciences, and this trend can only continue in the future, but everybody we work with is not so positive about that.

Bisnow: What makes you unique?

Davis: My perspective of life as a whole makes me unique. It's different from other people because I would never shy away from being in an uncomfortable situation. I've never said ‘no’ to something out of fear and love to be the first person to jump into whatever the situation is. I’ve had some serious physical hurdles with two collapsed lungs, two major back surgeries and losing multiple teeth from rolling a car — all with a positive attitude.

Bisnow: What’s one life goal you want to accomplish?

Davis: One goal I have is to qualify for either a PGA Tour or Champions Tour event in my lifetime. I also would love to either act or sing in front of a live studio audience. In New York City, after a long day’s work, I find jumping onstage in front of a bunch of strangers and doing karaoke to be very therapeutic.