The first question that comes to mind when we talk about brands is–what is a brand? A brand is the perception of a product or service by its customers. Other things that come to mind when we talk about brands is the company name, its logo, its advertising and the slogans used. It is very easy to concentrate on customers, but what about the employee–they have to carry out your business' day-to-day activities and make your company's brand image sustainable in the first place.
当我们谈到品牌时，我们想到的第一个问题是：品牌是什么？品牌是指客户对于产品或服务的感知。我们还会想到公司的名称、标志、广告和宣传口号。专注于客户很容易，但员工呢——他们每天都在公司工作，是使公司品牌形象可持续的首要之处。
The Customer Focus
关注客户
Have you realized that most companies focus their branding only on customers? Though this is the common trend, it is not completely the right thing to do. It is advisable to all those marketing executives and marketing experts out there to do branding on two levels, i.e. the customer's point of view, and focus on the employees as well. As a small business owner, it is important that you manage your brand from both the customer and employee angle. This is because irrespective of what you are selling or serving, your brand is the magnet that pulls customers and employees to your business. So if you manage to brand your company well for your employees, they will manage your brand appropriately for your customers.
你是否意识到大多数公司在品牌推广上只关注客户？虽然这是一种普遍的趋势，但这并不完全正确。所有的营销主管和营销专家在两个层面上进行品牌推广，即客户层面和员工层面，更为明智。作为一个小企业主，从客户和员工两个角度来塑造你的品牌是很重要的。因为不管你销售什么或提供什么服务，你的品牌都是吸引客户和员工的磁铁。所以，如果你能为员工树立良好的公司品牌，他们也会向客户很好地展示你的品牌。
A good brand will attract customers. This is because customers are attracted towards the emotional aspect or the logical aspect of a brand and its product or service. You as a business owner or marketing executive for your company have to be really good at positioning your brand. While you are positioning your brand, also remember to promote the right image of your brand to your customers. This means doing some extra work in terms of consumer behavioral surveys, but at the end of it isn't it worth it to have a happy, satisfied and loyal customer?
一个好的品牌会吸引顾客。因为顾客会被品牌及其产品或服务的情感化或逻辑化所吸引。作为公司老板或营销主管，你必须非常擅长定位你的品牌。当你在定位品牌时，同样记住向你的客户推广自己品牌的正面形象。这就意味着还要消费者行为调查上做一些额外的努力，但最后，为了拥有快乐、满意和忠诚的客户这难道不值得吗？
As we discussed earlier, branding is all about developing a complete experience for your customer. The customer starts perceiving your brand from the minute they set foot into your store. They are observing and creating a brand image based on customer service, store appearance, and quality of products. The brand experience does not stop the minute the customer is out of the store. They are still judging you on after-sales-service, product quality and attitude of the employees.
正如我们前面所讨论的，品牌塑造就是为你的客户开发一套完整的体验。顾客从踏入你的商店开始就会接触你的品牌。基于你的客户服务、商店外观和产品质量来观察和形成你的品牌形象。品牌体验并不会在顾客离开商店时就终止。顾客仍然在根据售后服务、产品质量和员工的态度来评判你的品牌。
相关资料：
品牌塑造是指给品牌以某种定位、并为此付诸行动的过程或活动。
塑造品牌的三大法宝：广告语、形象代言人、实效VI（实效VI的优势在终端市场煞是抢眼，声光电综合运用形成立体效果，形成了一道品牌风景线，以区别于同类品牌，决战终端。家电城的金正金苹果；超市里的宝洁品牌区、可口可乐、百事可乐区、背背佳矫姿带，风格迥异，气势、氛围、亲和力一涌而上，互动沟通的色彩甚为浓重，徘徊期间不仅是购物，简直就是一种休闲享受，激情瞬间的刺激看你还能拒绝谁？品牌推广形象的统一，是一个品牌所有资源集中整合的直接再现，将使大量资源有了主心骨，使其立体化。与消费者的沟通也就很易，许许多多的渠道问题，推广问题迎刃而解。）
品牌塑造的“四高原则”：高瞻远瞩、高屋建瓴、“高开低走”、高枕安卧
