Most of the time, I can tell whether a business is a small independent business or large corporation, or whether it is family-run or a franchise. I was recently fooled because any of these businesses can have a solid brand. Not only that, but also the way in which these businesses promote and present themselves is very polished and professional.

Business #1 – Little Saigon Vietnamese Cuisine
My partner and I were driving through Abbotsford, B.C., and decided to stop there for dinner. We were drawn towards Little Saigon because it had a sandwich board out front offering customers the opportunity to “build your own meals”. The photos of the food also made the meals look very inviting.

When entering the restaurant, there was a large flat-screen TV showcasing a slide show of the various dishes you can order. The menu also was colour-coded with clean white pages and large images of each dish.

The napkin was branded with the Little Saigon logo and was folded a special way to accommodate chopsticks and a fork. Every detail was meticulously thought out and implemented.

Business #2 – WOW – 1 Day Painting

While cycling, a sign caught my attention. It was positioned on my bike route at the corner of the street, and declared: “WOW – 1 Day Painting”. Right away, I thought this was a great idea. Is it possible? I saw people coming and going from a van that was wrapped in the WOW brand logo. Every person was wearing a green shirt in the same colour as the signage.

Two days later, I returned to the same area and the sign was still there but the van was not. They left their mark, however. There was also a sign in front of the house to illustrate which home they had painted.

So which business is a small independent business and which is a franchise?

It was difficult for me to tell until I spoke to the server at the restaurant and went to the website of the painting company.

Business #1 – Little Saigon Vietnamese Cuisine
This restaurant, which has three locations, is a small independent business. They started with one location in 2006, added another in 2010 and the third in 2013. It could likely become a franchise as they appear to have great systems in place that can be easily replicated at each new location. Their website is very professional and they even have their own line of Little Saigon-branded sauces for sale.

Business #2 – WOW – 1 Day Painting
As it turns out, WOW was started by Brian Scudamore, the innovator of 1-800-Got-Junk. Initially, Brian hired an independent company called One Day Painting to paint his house. This company had a wrapped van with their logo and painters in company shirts. They did a great job. Brian loved the idea so much he asked the owner of this company to join him in creating a franchise. The owner agreed, the partnership was formed and the rebranding began.

Tell us what your company – whether large or small – has done to successfully brand itself?

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