Branding is one of the most important aspects of any business, large or small, retail or B2B. An effective brand strategy gives you a major edge in increasingly competitive markets. But what exactly does "branding" mean? How does it affect a small business like yours?

Simply put, your brand is your promise to your customer. It tells them what they can expect from your products and services, and it differentiates your offering from your competitors'. Your brand is derived from who you are, who you want to be and who people perceive you to be.

Are you the innovative maverick in your industry? Or the experienced, reliable one? Is your product the high-cost, high-quality option, or the low-cost, high-value option? You can't be both, and you can't be all things to all people. Who you are should be based to some extent on who your target customers want and need you to be.

The foundation of your brand is your logo. Your website, packaging and promotional materials--all of which should integrate your logo--communicate your brand.

Brand Strategy & Equity

Your brand strategy is how, what, where, when and to whom you plan on communicating and delivering on your brand messages. Where you advertise is part of your brand strategy. Your distribution channels are also part of your brand strategy. And what you communicate visually and verbally are part of your brand strategy, too.

Consistent, strategic branding leads to a strong brand equity, which means the added value brought to your company's products or services that allows you to charge more for your brand than what identical, unbranded products command. The most obvious example of this is Coke vs. a generic soda. Because Coca-Cola has built a powerful brand equity, it can charge more for its product--and customers will pay that higher price.

The added value intrinsic to brand equity frequently comes in the form of perceived quality or emotional attachment. For example, Nike associates its products with star athletes, hoping customers will transfer their emotional attachment from the athlete to the product. For Nike, it's not just the shoe's features that sell the shoe.

Defining Your Brand

Defining your brand is like a journey of business self-discovery. It can be difficult, time-consuming and uncomfortable. It requires, at the very least, that you answer the questions below:

• What is your company's mission?
• What are the benefits and features of your products or services?
• What do your customers and prospects already think of your company?
• What qualities do you want them to associate with your company?

Do your research. Learn the needs, habits and desires of your current and prospective customers. And don't rely on what you think they think. Know what they think.

Because defining your brand and developing a brand strategy can be complex, consider leveraging the expertise of a nonprofit small-business advisory group or a Small Business Development Center .

Once you've defined your brand, how do you get the word out? Here are a few simple, time-tested tips:

• Get a great logo. Place it everywhere.
• Write down your brand messaging. What are the key messages you want to communicate about your brand? Every employee should be aware of your brand attributes.
• Integrate your brand. Branding extends to every aspect of your business--how you answer your phones, what you or your salespeople wear on sales calls, your e-mail signature, everything.
• Create a "voice" for your company that reflects your brand. This voice should be applied to all written communication and incorporated in the visual imagery of all materials, online and off. Is your brand friendly? Be conversational. Is it ritzy? Be more formal. You get the gist.
• Develop a tagline. Write a memorable, meaningful and concise statement that captures the essence of your brand.
• Design templates and create brand standards for your marketing materials. Use the same color scheme, logo placement, look and feel throughout. You don't need to be fancy, just consistent.
• Be true to your brand. Customers won't return to you--or refer you to someone else--if you don't deliver on your brand promise.
• Be consistent. I placed this point last only because it involves all of the above and is the most important tip I can give you. If you can't do this, your attempts at establishing a brand will fail.

每一個人都夢想成功，可是成功不是從天上掉下來的，是通過努力奮鬥運用人生智慧經營而來。那我們應該從哪裡奮鬥？需要哪些方面的素養？其實，“十商”給我們指明了方向。只要努力提高“十商”智慧和能力，追求全面、均衡發展，一定能夠構建成功而幸福的大廈。　

　　

1. 德商（MQ） 德商（Moral Intelligence Quotient，縮寫成MQ），是指一個人的德性水準或道德人格品質。在我國臺灣，心理學界認為，德商的內容包括體貼、尊重、容忍、寬恕、誠實、負責、平和、忠心、禮貌、幽默等各種美德。我們常說的“德智體”中是把德放在首位的；科爾斯說，品格勝於知識。可見，德是最重要的。一個有高德商的人，一定會受到信任和尊敬，自然會有更多成功的機會。

　　古人雲：“道之以德，德者得也”，就是告訴我們要以道德來規範自己的行為，只有有道德的人，才能得到人生的成功。古今中外，一切真正的成功者，在道德上都達到了很高的水準。 “成功的經驗就在於：由始至終守住本分！本分體現著企業家的道德風範，有自己的原則。有些生意哪怕最賺錢，如果違背做企業的原則（比如講誠信），那就不應也不能去做，否則內心會受到道德的拷問，客觀上也會破壞自己的形象，給企業的發展造成不利的影響。”　

　　

　2. 智商(IQ) 智商（Intelligence Quotient，縮寫成IQ）是一種表示人的智力高低的數量指標，但也可以表現為一個人對知識的掌握程度，反映人的觀察力、記憶力、思維力、想像力、創造力以及分析問題和解決問題的能力。

我們不僅要從書本、從社會學習，還要從我們的上司那裡學習。因為你的上司今天能有資格當你的上司，肯定有比你厲害的地方，有很多地方值得你去學習。很多人都想超越他的上司，這是非常可貴的精神，但要超越你的老闆，你不學習他成功的地方，何談超越？不斷地學習，提高智商，這是成功的基本條件。

　

3. 情商（EQ） 情商（Emotional Intelligence Quotient，簡寫成EQ），就是管理自己的情緒和處理人際關係的能力。如今，人們面對的是快節奏的生活，高負荷的工作和複雜的人際關係，沒有較高的EQ是難以獲得成功的。EQ高的人，人們都喜歡同他交往，總是能得到眾多人的擁護和支持。同時，人際關係也是重要資源，良好的人際關係往往能獲得更多的成功機會。

4. 逆商（AQ） 逆商(Adversity Intelligence Quotient，簡寫成AQ)，是指面對逆境承受壓力的能力，或承受失敗和挫折的能力。當今和平年代，應付逆境的能力更能使你立於不敗之地。巴爾扎克說過：“苦難對於天才是一塊墊腳石，對於能幹的人是一筆財富，而對於弱者則是一個萬丈深淵。”卡耐基說：“苦難是人生最好的教育。名人之談告訴我們：偉大的人格只有經歷熔煉和磨難，潛力才會激發，視野才會開闊，靈魂才會昇華，才會走向成功。一個人吃常人不能吃的苦，必然做常人不能做的事。 逆境不會長久，強者必然勝利。因為人有著驚人的潛力，只要立志發揮它，就一定能渡過難關，成就生命的輝煌。 　　

5. 膽商(DQ) 膽商（Daring Intelligence Quotient，縮寫成DQ）是一個人膽量、膽識、膽略的度量，體現了一種冒險精神。膽商高的人能夠把握機會，該出手時就出手。無論是什麼時代，沒有敢於承擔風險的膽略，任何時候都成不了氣候。而大凡成功的商人和企業家，都是具有膽略和魄力的。

有人評價李曉華能一次次的贏，除了他具有非同尋常的商業眼光和理性分析之外，認為他更敢於比別人冒險。而李曉華認為，危險越大，商機越大。

　　

6. 財商（FQ） 財商（Financial Intelligence Quotient，簡寫成FQ），是指理財能力，特別是投資收益能力。沒有理財的本領，你有多少錢也會慢慢花光的，所謂“富不過三代”就是指有財商的老子辛辛苦苦積攢下來的錢，最多最後也會敗在無財商的子孫手中。財商是一個人最需要的能力，也是最被人們忽略的能力。

　　

7. 心商(MQ) 心商（Mental Intelligence Quotient，簡寫成MQ），就是維持心理健康，調試心理壓力，保持良好心理狀況和活力的能力。現代人渴望成功，而成功越來越取決於一個人的心理狀態，取決於一個人的心理健康。從某種意義上來講，心商的高低，直接決定了人生過程的苦樂，主宰人生命運的成敗。

　　

世上有很多人，取得了很大的成功，可因承受著生活的各種壓力，鬱鬱寡歡，因不堪重壓或經不起生命的一次挫折患上心理障礙，甚至走上不歸路，演繹一幕幕人間悲劇。

8. 志商（WQ）“志商”就是意志智商（Will Intelligence Quotient，簡寫成WQ ），指一個人的意志品質水準，包括堅韌性、目的性、果斷性、自製力等方面。如能為學習和工作具有不怕苦和累的頑強拼搏精神，就是高志商。

　　

“志不強者智不達，言不信者行不果”。這是墨子留給後人的一句至理名言。志向是意志的重要方面。所謂“不想當將軍的士兵不是好士兵”就是強調要有志向。人生是小志小成，大志大成。許多人一生平淡，不是因為沒有才幹，而是缺乏志向和清晰的發展目標。在商界尤其如此，要成就出色的事業，就得要有遠大的志向。

　　

9. 靈商(SQ) 靈商（Spiritual Intelligence Quotient，簡寫成SQ），就是對事物本質的靈感、頓悟能力和直覺思維能力。靈商在商業中也是同樣的重要。李嘉誠在總結成功經驗時，還特別提到靈商，說靈商的作用是“超越問題”。張瑞敏也說：“人生最重要的是悟性和韌性”。

　　

管理上沒有定式，單靠成文的理論是解決不了實際問題的，還得需要悟性，需要靈商的閃現。修煉靈商，關鍵在於要會思考，要敢於大膽的假設，敢於突破傳統思維。

　　

10.健商（HQ） 健商（Health Intelligence Quotient，簡寫成HQ），是指個人所具有的健康意識、健康知識和健康能力的反映。健康意識是指人們對健康價值的態度和對能否獲得健康的信心；健康知識就是有關人類健康方面的知識；健康能力是人們在健康意識和健康知識綜合作用的基礎上，表現出有關健康的行為。

　　

健康是人生最大的財富。在市場競爭日益激烈的今天，人們一味追求金錢，忘記對健康的維護和投資，這其實是不劃算的。不管你有多麼成功，有多少財富，如果以犧牲健康為代價都是不值得的。正如聖經上所說：“人諾賺得全世界，卻賠上自己的生命，又有什麼益處呢？一個人要想在事業上獲得成功，最基本的條件就是有一個健康的體魄，而許多人卻忘記了這個基本的真理。