Benefits of Shared Interest Groups? National Exposure

Relocation to Cincinnati

Mary Furrie, CEO of QAMS (Quality Assessments Mystery Shoppers) recently decided to relocate her business from Illinois to the Cincinnati. She describes the motivation was simply to “get re-energized!” It turns out choosing a region internationally known for its marketing talent and resources paid off quickly. I recently got to hear the true story of Mary’s move, her engagement in the marketing community, the benefits of shared interest groups, and how attending led to an article in Entrepreneur Magazine.

One of the first items on Mary’s to-do list after arriving in Cincinnati was to connect with the local business community and other marketers. Like many, she found that our Shared Interest Groups are a good entry point. They typically consist of smaller, more interactive groups built around a common interest. Additionally, the cost to attend for non-members is budget sensitive.

Want to know more about our Shared Interest Groups? Find one that suits you on our Events Overview.

Mary shared this story with me. “While trying out AMA (I am now a member), I attended the session on “Storytelling” with Michael Davis of Speaking CPR. As luck would have it, earlier that very morning had I received a request from a reporter at a national publication to share my business story. Knowing I was going to be attending the session, I decided to wait until after the AMA session to respond to the reporter’s inquiry. My thought at the time was, ‘maybe I needed a storytelling approach.’ After returning from the session to my office, I captured my thoughts in writing about how I bought and fixed up my business 12 years ago using Michael’s storytelling style. Wouldn’t you know it, they liked it!”

Mary emphasizes that even during the interviews, they wanted to know the “story”, not just the facts. What she learned in the session came in handy right away.

The good news is that the time and preparation paid off. After going through several interviews and a vetting process, it was published. You can read the article on Entrepreneur Magazine’s website.

Leaders at Cincinnati AMA are certainly proud that a session on storytelling generated such a great story. Carolyn Dickerson, VP of SIGs & Workshops says, “This is exactly what we have in mind when we plan the Shared Interest Groups, in fact, when we plan all of our events. That attendees can take away something they learned and put it into action in their business THAT DAY.”

“This article may or may not directly help my business,” Mary admits, “but it reinforced my belief that implementing what you learn at the AMA sessions really does work.  So, if you want to know if your efforts at the AMA have made a difference – the answer is “yes”.

Mary Furrie is CEO of Quality Assessments Mystery Shoppers. Using the latest technology and mystery shoppers, QAMS helps clients in the US and Canada to improve their call centers and location service for every customer, everywhere, all the time.