Bonjour!
A quick article this time, as I have been on study leave for much of the last month. I’m doing a Marketing diploma with the Open University, and as it has been some years since I did anything academic, it has taken up a great deal of my time. Much of this time has been researching the growth of social media and its impact on business generally. Briefly, the impact is huge – Twitter, FaceBook, LinkedIn, MySpace, Ecademy and so on. It is now virtually essential that your business is registered on all these sites.
The growth of electronic website use for business has also had a profound detrimental effect on traditional printed media – several publications have disappeared as advertising revenue falls. Monthly publications (especially glossy magazines) have long lead times, meaning advertising and articles have to be input up to 2 months in advance, making it difficult to be too specific, so as to ensure your article is current, or the properties you advertise are still for sale! Most switched on publications are fighting back and now also have a web presence that operates in parallel to their printed publications.
By contrast, online media – (such as N4Normandy, of course) can gather all their material right up to the last gasp before publication, so the content is fresh and up to date. There are several e-zines specific to France or to a particular French region. Investing time googling them and getting your company listed is time well spent. Even better if you can offer an advertorial or
informative article…
As I write this, First Rate FX is spending the UK Bank Holiday weekend moving offices! We are still on the 33rd floor at 25 Canada Square, Canary Wharf, but the increase in staff to cope with the soaring levels of business over the last 12 months meant that we had outgrown our old office space. We were able to take on some fabulous office space with a view across London to die for (though not if you are afraid of heights!).
Many other changes are afoot this autumn. The new website is just about ready for an autumn launch – this will bring exciting new features, which have necessitated an extended period of testing to ensure that all the technical nuts and bolts fit together and work just as they should.
We are also launching a holiday money cash delivery service (for UK based clients only at this stage), saving clients £££s against buying their holiday money from banks or bureaux de change. Those of you with UK visitors to your Gites and Chambres d’Hotes might like to contact us to see how you can offer this additional service to your rental customers – people like to be offered a solution!
If you know of anyone who would like to increase their earnings in France by recommending First Rate FX, please get in touch to find out more, either to me, or to Chris Canning at First Rate FX in London…
Contact details:
Judy Mansfield: judym@firstratefx.com or
Chris Canning: chrisc@firstratefx.com
Finally, it has been good to see that sterling had been holding its own against the euro during the last half of August, staying just above the £1 = 1.20 euro mark. A bit different from September last year, when £1 would buy only 1.07 euros at Interbank rate. Let’s hope this rally stays with us! If you would like further information on market trends for any currency, do contact our traders on info@firstratefx.com
Next month, I’ll be well into exam revision, but will be writing about why it is vital to use an FX company if you trade overseas, or you source materials or customers outside your own currency.
Judy Mansfield
for First Rate FX
We offer all N4Normandy readers a preferential rate –
register with us, and quote reference
N4Normandy 11400
See our website at
www.firstratefx.com
or call on +44 (0)207 038 8075
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