Distributors can benefit from guerilla marketing

For years, flooring distributors have followed a predictable marketing playbook—digital content, printed catalogs and social media. What is it? It’s largely the same: room scenes, product spotlights or promos for in-stock SKUs.

What it is not? It’s not novel. It’s not human. Cognitive dissonance is a bigger issue for the consumer than ever before. As consumers and floor covering industry pros, we are bombarded with content every day. According to a poll by Talker Research, “the average American consumes about six hours of content per day, which includes things like streaming, TikToks/social video, radio, reading, etc.”

So why should anyone engage with another room scene? This is where guerilla marketing enters into the equation. Broadly defined, guerilla marketing is a form of unconventional, low-cost and high-impact promotion designed to surprise and engage people in unexpected ways. This type of marketing emphasizes creativity over budget—using authentic, real-world moments or grassroots tactics to make your brand memorable. It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that many in our industry aren’t familiar with it. Even at a top undergraduate advertising program, I got maybe one chapter and 10 minutes of lecture on the topic. But I’ve seen it work wonders.

Don’t get me wrong: I’m not suggesting we abandon room scenes, product profiles or quick-ship flyers. They still have their place. The dealer base needs to know what their distributors offer locally and in general. But there’s a massive opportunity to differentiate.

We often say flooring distribution is a “people business” built on relationships. If that’s true, our marketing should reflect it. Humans buy from humans, so let’s act like it.

We should spotlight real employees in real moments. A photo of Bill the purchaser with a caption celebrating 25 years is fine, but an impromptu video of Bill at his desk sharing why he stayed there 25 years? That’s more powerful.

Yes, there’s hesitation. We value brand image and professionalism. But zany content can be both informative and fun. Customers scrolling LinkedIn want to see suppliers enjoying themselves.

At one distributor, for instance, we set up a “mystery pallet challenge” where we wrapped a pallet in gold foil and filmed team members guessing what product line it was before the big reveal—it took less than 30 minutes to create, yet outperformed every polished video that quarter. At another, our outside sales team filmed a mock “weather report” from a jobsite during a product launch, creatively tying weather conditions to product performance. These ideas came directly from team input; they were fun, simple and cost almost nothing. These ideas were born from spontaneous conversation, not months of planning.

This type of content we’re discussing creates parasocial relationships where your audience feels like they know you personally. Just like lifestyle influencers connect with their followers, your company can form those same bonds with customers.

Walk into your warehouse, grab a camera and capture the moments that make your team human. That’s guerilla marketing for flooring distribution. It’s real, it’s entertaining and it cuts through the clutter.