For the second year in a row, Southwest Airlines is the top-rated brand among the nation’s small- and midsize-business owners and top executives.

That’s the conclusion of a new survey of men and women who lead businesses with less than 500 employees that was conducted by American City Business Journals, the parent company of Portfolio.com. Although this is the sixth year of the survey, it’s the first year ACBJ has released the findings to the general public.

“Southwest is No. 1 for several reasons,” said Godfrey Phillips, vice president for research at ACBJ. “One, it’s a value brand, which is critical; two, it was built by an entrepreneur and has an entrepreneurial attitude; and three, they don’t nickel-and-dime you—and these guys hate to be nickel-and-dimed.” (For more on Phillips' take on branding and the economy, click here.)

Following the Dallas-based budget carrier in the rankings were Apple Computer, United Parcel Service, Intuit, Apple iPhone, Adobe Systems, Federal Express, Microsoft, Dell, and Sony. In some cases, companies were considered as two brands if they had distinctive products, such as Apple with its computer and phone products.

Of the top 10, Intuit saw the biggest increase over the previous year. It went from No. 14 in 2009 to No. 4 in 2010, largely because of the strength of its Quicken and QuickBooks products, as well as the creation of a division devoted to helping small-business owners grow their business.

“It’s how to grow your business—not our business, your business. So clearly the focus they have on this market at this point in time really paid off,” Phillips said, adding that Intuit’s rise is really a case of commitment. “It’s a classic example of committing to this market and doing their job properly.”

ACBJ looked at 272 brands across six categories—business services, finance and insurance, retail, technology, travel, and telecommunications. Among some of the other findings:

• The technology sector dominated the top 25, taking 13 spots. Besides the brands noted above in the top 10, BlackBerry came in 12; Intel, 13; LG, 14; HP Printers, 19; Motorola, 21; and HP Computers, 25.
• Although no other travel brand besides Southwest was in the top 10, several made it into the top 25. Courtyard by Marriott and Hilton both improved their standing from 2009, with the former rising from 29 to 18 and the latter jumping 10 spots to 24. Two other brands dipped: Marriott fell from 11 to 20, and JetBlue Airways dropped from 16 to 22. (For the survey, Courtyard by Marriott and Marriott’s other hotels were considered as separate brands.)
• Dropping out of the top 25 completely were Enterprise (2010 rank is 31), Aflac (32), Visa Business Card (45), and Salesforce.com (120). All had been in the top 25 for only a year.
• Three categories—computer hardware, telecom, and retail—had the most recession-proof brands. And the top brands in each of those categories were Apple, Apple iPhone, and UPS Store, respectively.
• The biggest factor that led to a businessperson’s positive view of a brand was a mixture of respect, recognition, and relevance—85 percent said they sought out brands or companies that valued them as a customer.

(To view an interactive of the strongest 25 brands, click here.)

Problems with the economy took their toll on brands in last year’s edition of the survey. Across all categories—a brand’s leadership, relevance, differentiation, value, momentum, ethics, and customer service—business leaders’ perceptions dropped from 2008 to 2009.

For 2010, attitudes improved in all of the categories, with the biggest improvement coming in ethics. Phillips said this was a good sign overall for the economy, and that as trust in brands increases, the other perceptions should also rise.

To get the results, ACBJ surveyed 1,762 business owners, CEOs, and presidents, most of whom were involved in businesses with between five and 499 employees. This group had an average age of 51, an average income of $155,000, and presided over companies that had an average of $6.4 million in sales. A big majority—69 percent—were men.

Asked the secret for any brand to capture positive attention from the small- and midsize-business person, Phillips boiled it down to honesty and commitment.

“People just want you to address their needs. If you’re selling a brand to them or marketing a brand to them and your messaging isn’t what they want to hear, if your product doesn’t fit their business, if you don’t have support and service to fit their business, you’re not even going to play.”