What is Viewings Manager?

It is a piece of software that sits within Rightmove Plus, which manages applicants who can books viewings directly with a lettings agent online. We use Van Mildert (now Rightmove Landlord and Tenant services), for referencing potential renters (they're based in the Newcastle office).


What does Viewings Manager do?

This is a product within Rightmove Plus where lettings agents can manage their email leads. The applicant will be asked to select dates and times that work best for them, giving the agent at least two dates they can go back with. 


The viewings manager gives the applicant a direct line to the agent to:

  • book their viewing
  • cancel the viewing
  • amend the viewing
  • make an offer
  • provide feedback


On our side, the changes to the normal process are:

  • Replaces the "email agent" button on the property details page with "Book a Viewing"
  • It prequalifies tenants with mandatory questions to give the agent an indication of their suitability for the property
  • It will automatically remind the applicant of the viewing appointment via email or SMS text message to help reduce no shows
  • It then automatically asks the applicant if they would like to proceed to make an offer or not after the viewing
  • It will also ask the applicant for any feedback from the viewing, allowing the agent to focus on other things and not spend time chasing applicants
  • The reminders are at no extra cost and are included with the product


This makes it easier for the agent to identify serious renters and increases the likelihood of the agent securing a signed tenancy agreement, faster. This will also help limit the risk of voids (where a property is empty with no tenants and not let)


It cuts down the repetitive questions agents have to ask to qualify and register an applicant by providing a simple affordability question on the lead form.

 

Applying Viewings Manager

This is applied via site admin and you tick the box under 'Has Communications Manager'. This is the only box that requires ticking.


A request in writing from the account manager will be needed for us to add this to their account. The request is sent to Contracts to manage. Switch offs are also typically managed via Contracts although occasionally they will be requested via AM's in to Customer Support - we ask that they update Contracts when this is happening so we can update the tracker that we complete to show us who is being switched on and off on any given week. A common reason for a Customer wanting to switch it of currently is it can affect how leads are received when the Customer is using a feed/CRM to collect their leads. The leads will instead all go direct to Rightmove Plus, meaning their normal flow is disrupted. 



How to troubleshoot Viewings Manager?

  • Is Viewings Manager set up correctly in Site Admin and does the user have the correct permissions? 
  • Can you replicate the error?
  • If you can't, try clearing cookies and cache
  • Confirm their browser is supported and up to date
  • Gather as much information as possible (including diagnostics) and raise it to the SAs for further investigation 

Can 'book a viewing' requests go through to a customers CRM?

Viewing email notifications do not integrate into partner CRMs.


If the branch has Viewings Manager switched on, then their ‘normal’ lead form is replaced with the Book A Viewing form for all their properties. As this form ties in the with the appointment booking functionality in Viewings Manager in RM+ the expectation is the partner then manages their leads within RM+ as that’s where the tools are to accept viewings or reschedule times etc. It sends an notification email to the lead inbox to let them know there is a new or updated viewing in RM+ but this email doesn’t contain the actual lead data – just a prompt so they know something new has happened and they can log in to deal with the new viewing request.

 

How long do enquiries appear for?

Inbox - enquiries will show as long as the property is listed on Rightmove (whether Available or Let Agreed), and the enquiry has not been archived.


Archive - archived enquiries show if they were sent in the last 30 days, if they're older than a month then those enquiries do not load in the archive. If they've lost an enquiry, the Act team can retrieve it from the database for them if necessary.