Congratulations to our August Partner of the Month, Natchez Ford! We had the pleasure of sitting down with Joshua Fauver, the BDC Manager of Auto Group South, which includes the highly successful Natchez Ford. Joshua worked his way up, starting as a sales representative at a sister dealership. He has continued to elevate Natchez Ford’s marketing through partnerships and digital marketing.
Give us a quick intro. Tell us about Natchez Ford, your career in automotive, and what you do now at your dealership.
Natchez Ford, located in Natchez, Mississippi, is our local Ford dealership and a second-generation business with over 30 years of strong community ties. The dealership was acquired by the current owner, Brad Yarbrough, from his father, Charles Yarbrough, giving it a real hometown feel. I joined the company in October 2015, starting as a BDC agent. After working my way up to sales at one of our sister dealerships, I returned to manage the BDC Department in 2017. Since then, I’ve been overseeing the Business Development Center and took on a digital marketing role in 2019. For nearly nine years, I’ve been wearing both hats for the organization, shaping my career in the automotive industry.
How has it been working with TradePending?
Working with TradePending has honestly been great. Before, we were in a situation like many other dealerships, using KBB ICO as part of our trade process with mixed results. We were willing to try something else, so we went with TradePending. We started off with just the Trade tool and have been really happy with it, which led us to expand our partnership. I often tell our account rep that while many vendors feel like they’re just trying to sell us things, TradePending is a valued partner. It’s not about constantly pushing new products at us; we feel like we have a partner who stands alongside us and helps us navigate the challenges we face.
What have you seen as the most beneficial product for your dealerships?
It’s hard to say, but recently, the video platform has stood out. We tried different video products before but never found a good fit until we started using Snapcell, now TradePending’s video platform. We’ve been using it for nearly a year, and it’s been very user-friendly for both our sales reps and BDC agents. This has increased the number of videos sent to customers, enhancing their experience. The platform fits well in various areas, from lead response to follow-ups, thanking customers, prospecting, and checking in on previously sold customers. It allows us to offer a personalized and unique experience, setting us apart from competitors, especially in today’s market where AI has become prominent. With the ubiquity of AI, many customers are often unsure if they are interacting with a person or an automated system when texting or emailing. This uncertainty can be frustrating, especially with the increasing use of AI chatbots and lead handling in the automotive space. Post-pandemic, we observed an increase in consumers enjoying a return to brick-and-mortar stores, and similarly, with the rise of AI, customers now crave actual human interaction. Video allows us to provide this, ensuring that the person on the other end is indeed human.
What were you doing or using before starting with Video?
Before working with TradePending, we used FlickFusion. We have been doing video since around 2019 or 2020, but it was challenging to do consistently due to the cumbersome nature of the VinSolutions mobile app, which involved four or five steps. TradePending’s video platform has made this process much easier with its user-friendly mobile app, similar to Snapchat, which most people are familiar with. The ease of use has been a great selling point, making it easier for adoption on the sales floor and with BDC agents, significantly increasing the number of videos we send out. Using TradePending and other tools like Badges has greatly helped within our organization.
Are there any other products you’ve found particularly helpful?
One tool I particularly want to brag about is AutoBio. We’ve been able to send out a significant number of these, receiving great feedback from customers. To date, we’ve had 172 AutoBios viewed at Natchez Ford in July alone, and in June, the number was over 200. We’re seeing view rates between 40% and 50%, with excellent customer feedback.
For example, my mom, who isn’t much of a car person, recently bought a car from Natchez Ford. She knew she wanted an SUV but didn’t know much beyond that. I added her to the TradePending Tool and sent her AutoBios for a few different cars. Her main concern was dependability, and she eventually chose a Mazda CX-5. Although she knew little about Mazda, the AutoBio report, with its data-driven badges and the section on awards, including dependability awards, helped convince her. This transparency made it much easier for her to make a decision. Having the original factory window sticker, car history, and the awards a car has won included in the AutoBio makes it a comprehensive brochure for customers. It answers practically every question they might have about the vehicle. When we send this information to a customer, they can open it, look through it, and digest all the details they need about the car, which gives them confidence in their purchase. It’s a valuable tool for us, especially when selling used cars, which are our bread and butter. With so many pieces of inventory on our lot, we may not be as familiar with each one as we are with our Ford products. If a sales rep is on the phone but can pull up the AutoBio on the website, it helps both us and the customer. It’s truly a great asset.
How are you measuring success with the tools?
For videos, we look at the watch rate, tracking how many videos sales reps and BDC agents send out and their watch rate. With AutoBio, we measure how many are sent versus viewed and track subsequent customer actions, such as clicking on other calls to action. This helps us understand customer engagement after viewing the brochure. For the Trade tool, we monitor the conversion rate from website traffic, which was around 1% last month at Natchez Ford—an astronomically high rate. We also track the form fill rate, with nearly half of the customers who click on the Trade tool completing the form and submitting a lead.
From there, we assess the close rate, which depends more on our internal processes than the tool itself. Overall, we look at various data points to judge performance, and we love seeing a 1% conversion rate on website traffic and a high form completion rate.
Thank you so much to Joshua and Natchez Ford. Congratulations again on being our Partner of the Month!
