NAIOP Strategic Plan

The NAIOP leadership and staff have been busy throughout quarter one implementing the first phase of our strategic plan. Below are some highlights of our progress.

Goal 1: Strengthen our member value proposition by increasing our understanding of our customers and our competition.

1. Increase the accuracy and the volume of the association’s data.

An initial step toward this goal is to draft and deploy a member survey to all NAIOP members to gain a better understanding of the value that they receive from NAIOP – i.e., why our new members are joining, and why our long-standing members have stayed. A member survey is currently being drafted and is scheduled for deployment later this spring.

A larger effort is underway to better define the scope and size of the commercial real estate industry in North America.

We are currently drafting a data integrity policy, which will include internal procedures to enhance data procurement on our members, as well as ensure greater quality control of the data we have. Outreach to our members to ascertain additional data will start this summer.

2. Cultivate an inclusive culture and develop a system/framework to engage and support traditionally underrepresented groups in CRE.

Quarter one was spent forming the NAIOP DEI committee, which will help guide our strategy around DEI. We have confirmed 18 members of this committee. Meetings will start in April, 2024.

Meetings took place to better understand the data we currently have on our members regarding diversity metrics. In conjunction with our upcoming efforts to procure additional data on our members, we plan to incorporate questions that will yield additional data on our current diversity demographics.

We held a meeting on how to increase our efforts to elevate traditionally underrepresented populations throughout all NAIOP touchpoints, including our leadership, marketing, research, education and events. Action items included enhanced, multi-channel communication regarding our desire to attract a wide range of talent to our leadership, as well as outreach to outside real estate groups that may have greater access to diverse CRE professionals for speaking and other leadership opportunities.

3. Expand the scope of our services to include a more holistic focus on all CRE asset classes.

It has been 15 years since NAIOP last examined its brand and name, and much has changed for both the industry and the association since that time. We are no longer an association that is focused almost exclusively on the industrial and office asset classes. Our members have greatly diversified their offerings and reflect a much wider breadth of asset classes. To continue to serve our members’ needs, NAIOP is evolving to reflect these changes.

The first phase of this goal is to examine the need for an association name change, to better reflect our current membership demographics. As a first step, we hired a professional branding firm. Over the last several months, the firm conducted four focus groups and 25 interviews with key member and nonmember stakeholders. A branding survey is being developed and will deploy in April. The branding firm will present its findings to the NAIOP Executive Committee in May.

Under the educational realm, to better reflect our current demographics, we are taking a closer look at our conference survey results to determine patterns in feedback; working on offering more Canadian content to appeal to our increasingly large Canadian member base; and creating a system to better identify and flag content at our conferences that appeals to specific asset classes.

Goal 2: Strengthen our position as the association of choice for CRE professionals.

1. Increase the visibility, engagement and involvement of CRE senior leaders.

Quarter one featured strategic discussions about appealing to our senior leader members, particularly those in the C-suite. In 2025, by request, we will pilot a new, boutique event for a small number of our longest-standing Forums members. This event will involve increased time for networking, recreation, and building connections among this group.

We are also developing a survey geared toward our chapter leaders to gather input about desired services and products that NAIOP Corporate can provide to assist their efforts locally. This survey will deploy in May.

2. Establish baseline of member engagement and develop a strategy to increase inclusion and participation.

Quarter one efforts focused on evaluation of our current tools for gauging member engagement and initial idea sharing on how to develop a more comprehensive tracking process. The member survey being done in April will provide initial insight into member engagement.

NAIOP’s database team has developed a process that enables chapters to provide NAIOP Corporate with their prospect lists for enhancement of member recruitment efforts. Chapters have begun to submit their prospect lists and marketing from NAIOP Corporate to their prospects will begin later this spring.

3. Develop capacity to identify future needs of the industry and provide resources to ensure member success.

One of the most consistent pieces of feedback we receive from members is that they place high value on NAIOP’s networking opportunities. Quarter one discussion focused on how to continue to enhance our networking experiences, including integrating creative ideas and new technologies that allow our members to connect virtually. Just recently, NAIOP introduced a new feature of our conference app that allows members to connect virtually to schedule meet-ups at the conferences. As we continue to market this new offering, our hope is that adoption will steadily increase.

Goal 3: Deepen NAIOP’s leadership and involvement in federal, state, provincial, and local advocacy efforts.

1. Increase member awareness of federal legislative priorities and efforts.

Our government affairs staff works tirelessly on Capitol Hill and on the state and local level to advance the interests of commercial real estate. We need to ensure that our members know what we are doing and feel invested and empowered to join our efforts.

In quarter one, we scheduled two legislative update webinars that will take place later in 2024 (free to members) and will be sending brief video messages to members regarding important legislative and political updates. We also are exploring ways to increase our PAC support.

2. Collaborate with chapters to understand and support regional legislative priorities and positions.

In the last three months, our government affairs staff increased their chapter visits to promote our legislative priorities and how other chapters are addressing CRE-related legislation. Our team recently spoke at I.CON West (Southern California), and events in Utah, North Carolina, Texas and Minnesota. We are in the beginning stages of planning a multi-chapter legislative summit later this year that will provide legislative-focused personnel a chance to connect and share ideas and guidance on how to make positive progress on the legislative front.

Goal 4: Enhance the public perception of the CRE Industry.

1. Establish a baseline of existing perceptions about the commercial real estate industry.

This initiative was put on hold until the end of the branding initiative.

2. Develop and implement strategies for improving the baseline.

This initiative was put on hold until the end of the branding initiative.

3. Increase awareness of career opportunities in the CRE industry.

We are currently in the process of developing a welcome packet for University members with CRE career information that can be passed along to the students. We also plan to update the career section of the NAIOP website later this year.