I’ve been reading up on how retailers can better market to their male customer, and here are some observations about men’s consumer behavior and how you can better hone your message to reach out to them.

Men are likely to seek out advice about what products to buy (and where) online from people they don’t know. Customer reviews increase the credibility of your products and/or store for your male customers.

Men look for products that will help them become the man they want to be. Men are generally seeking power, prestige and distinction within their chosen community, profession or interest. So, when communicating with men, either on the sales floor or in your marketing, make sure you are highlighting how your products will help them become the man they want to be.

Men exist in the present and when shopping they are purposeful and want their desired product now. When marketing to men, remember to communicate how your business or product will help them achieve their purpose now.

Men tend to be linear, focused and sequential. Men appreciate organization and clarity when it comes to shopping. When it comes to attracting men to your store, create a store layout that appeals to a man’s desire for organization and sequential structure. Stores that require lots of browsing will likely drive many men nuts; they want to easily see the products they are seeking displayed in an organized, easy-to-find fashion.

Men value self-reliance and individuality. When communicating to men, make sure you highlight how your store or products will help men achieve greater independence, win over the competition and/or become number one.

If your store offers holiday gift wrapping, here are a few ideas to get your creative juices flowing while planning for this year’s holiday wrapping season.

• Recycled paper – Give new life to old paper by using non-traditional papers to wrap customers' purchases, such as vintage wallpaper.
• Bows – Consider keeping your paper choice simple and use lots of bows (or just fancy bows).
• Learn a new technique – On the Internet you can find photos and detailed instructions to learn various gift wrapping techniques, such as the Furoshiki Japanese Cloth Wrapping Technique.
• Use a new material – Consider choosing material that coincides with your primary product line. For example, if you are a linen retailer, use cloth. If you sell books, use foreign newspaper or old maps. And use different materials to tie up presents instead of ribbon, such as yarn or baker’s twine.
• Create your own wrapping paper – Be totally unique by decorating your own plain wrapping paper with stamps (be sure to include a stamp of your business logo).
• Pick a theme – Consider choosing a theme such as holiday candy and use bright colors and candy stripes for ribbon and paper; or a Christmas tree theme with wood grain paper and tree trimmings as decorations.

What are some fun ideas you’ve used or seen used?

Recently I was named as an advisor and spokesperson for American Express OPEN’s Small Business Saturday (SBS). I’m hoping you’ve heard of SBS, a program introduced by American Express last year to promote local retailers and encourage shoppers to spend their holiday dollars in their local communities at small businesses on Saturday, November 26th, the day after Black Friday.

As we all know, local retailers are the backbone of the communities in which they do business and American Express just released a survey that further proves it. The American Express OPEN Independent Retail Index reported that 46 percent of retail sales come from small business retailers. On average 1800 jobs are created in a local community thanks to small business retail. And communities with thriving small business retail have home values that outperform citywide markets by 50 percent.

What can you do? For starters, learn more and begin promoting Small Business Saturday in your community.

Start by liking the Facebook page at www.facebook.com/ShopSmall (or using the Like button to the right). American Express has also just launched a toolkit of promotional materials, also available on the Facebook page, that you have access to, to promote Small Business Saturday in your community.

You should also register your store on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ShopSmall. American Express has partnered with Facebook to create a national database of retailers who are participating in SBS. When you register your store not only will you be encouraging all of the people in your community to stop by, but you'll also be marketing your store on a national level. Last year, the SBS Facebook had more than 1.5 million likes so when you post and comment on the page you'll be putting your store in front of 1.5 million Americans immediately. And that’s just for starters…

Stay tuned because I will be writing more on how we can make this holiday, and specifically Saturday, November 26th, your biggest sales day ever!