opinion

Why It's Time for Pleasure Brands to Stop Ignoring B2C Marketing

Why It's Time for Pleasure Brands to Stop Ignoring B2C Marketing

For many B2B adult brands, marketing to consumers feels like a waste of time. I’ve heard it so many times: “We sell to retailers, not consumers. Why should we invest in B2C marketing?”

I get it. I’ve worked in adult marketing for years, and I know that B2B brands are constantly balancing limited budgets, compliance hurdles and the reality that their success depends on wholesale buyers — not individual shoppers. But here’s the hard truth: If consumers don’t know your brand, neither will retailers.

B2C marketing is about working with retailers and creating demand that makes selling your products easier.

Let’s look at some strategies for translating B2C marketing into B2B success.

It’s About Generating Demand

If you’re a B2B adult brand, your goal is to get retailers to carry your products. But have you ever thought about how those retailers decide what to stock? They’re looking at consumer demand. If customers walk into an adult store asking for your brand by name, that store is far more likely to carry your products. Retailers stock what consumers ask for.

Retailers and distributors also look at consumer engagement, by checking social media and online reviews when evaluating new brands. If a retailer sees your product trending on social media, in sex-positive communities or in influencer recommendations, they know it’s a smart bet. If they see that consumers are actively engaging with your brand — liking posts, sharing content, tagging their purchases — that’s a huge green flag. It tells them your products are marketable, desirable and worth stocking. If your brand has no presence? No buzz? That’s a red flag.

Ways to Make Your Brand Retail-Friendly

If customers recognize and trust you, retailers don’t have to work as hard to sell your products. Here are some strategies for generating consumer engagement and creating demand:

  • Maintain a strong social media presence. Even without direct sales, engagement on Instagram, TikTok and Twitter fuels brand awareness. Encourage retailers to tag you in posts and amplify their content. Maintain an active LinkedIn for credibility as well.
  • Encourage consumers to ask for your brand. A “Where to Buy” page with retailer listings helps drive traffic.
  • Partner with influencers. Sex educators and content creators build credibility and interest.
  • Build an email list. Do this for both retailers and consumers — you want to build brand awareness in both camps.
  • Educate consumers before they shop. Blogs, FAQs and video tutorials help customers feel confident in purchasing.
  • Showcase reviews and testimonials. Social proof makes retailers more likely to stock your products.

Brands that invest in B2C win more retail space. If two brands offer similar products, but one has strong consumer recognition while the other is unknown, which one do you think retailers will choose? When you’ve built a devoted following, retailers seek you out rather than vice versa.

B2C Marketing Isn’t an Expense — It’s a B2B Investment

B2C marketing can and should be an important element of your overall marketing strategy. It’s about working with retailers and creating demand that makes selling your products easier. Here are some key steps to take that can help you secure more retail partnerships:

  • Support retailers with marketing assets aimed at shoppers. Branded content, in-store displays and co-branded promos make selling easier.
  • Conduct PR campaigns and seek out media placements. Coverage in sex-positive publications builds credibility.
  • Hold retailer-driven giveaways: “Pick up our product at [Retailer Name] and enter to win” drives store traffic.
  • Sponsor industry events and workshops: Align your brand with sex-positive education and community engagement.

This isn’t about shifting to DTC or competing with your retailers. It’s about supporting them.

Retailers don’t just want products — they want brands that sell themselves. In a crowded market, with new adult brands launching every month, the ones that invest in consumer recognition are the ones that get shelf space, prime website placement and repeat orders.

Brands that understand this are the ones dominating the adult retail space. Brands that don’t are left wondering why their competitors keep winning shelf space.

It’s time for B2B adult brands to stop ignoring B2C marketing. Because in 2025, brand awareness isn’t optional — it’s the key to survival.

Hail Groo is the director of PR and marketing for Forward Approach Marketing, where they combine their background as a public historian with over a decade of expertise in diverse marketing fields. Beyond their work in PR and marketing, Hail is a published travel writer, magazine contributor, podcast guest, award-winning photographer and Colorado-based journalist.

Copyright © 2025 Adnet Media. All Rights Reserved. XBIZ is a trademark of Adnet Media.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.

More Articles

opinion

The Midlife Movement Is Exploding; Is the Pleasure Industry Ready?

In marketing, there tends to be an emphasis on the younger generation — the trendsetters. The assumption is that appealing to the younger market has a halo effect on older consumers, who look to younger folks for what is on trend.

Sarah Tomchesson ·
opinion

Gender Play Gets Creative With Fantasy Toys

Sex toy manufacturers are increasingly recognizing the value of fantasy products, expanding their lines to include ever more diverse designs. What was once considered a niche market has proven to have broad appeal, demonstrating that people are eager to explore desires that extend beyond conventional human experiences.

Rin Musick ·
opinion

How Sex Toy Retailers Can Better Support Marginalized Communities

As someone who has been in the industry since 2003, I’ve seen countless trends, products and marketing strategies come and go. Yet one thing has remained consistent: a significant gap in how sex toy retailers serve marginalized communities.

Kimberly Scott Faubel ·
opinion

Tips for Boosting Ecommerce Success During Masturbation May

Masturbation May is not just a month for self-exploration. It’s also a prime opportunity for ecommerce brands in the adult retail space to tap into a highly engaged audience actively searching for resources and products to celebrate their sexual wellness.

Matthew Spindler ·
trends

Adult Retailers Share Theft Prevention Strategies

Shoplifting has always posed a persistent challenge for retailers, and its effects reach far beyond simple loss of inventory. Theft can disrupt operations and saddle retailers with the cost of increased insurance premiums and heightened security measures. Robust security protocols can also negatively impact customers’ shopping experience.

Ariana Rodriguez ·
profile

WIA Profile: Stefanie Neumann

It takes an ever-smiling face and a constantly creative mind to keep a retail outfit up and running. Luckily for TAF Distribution, regional manager Stefanie Neumann has endless good vibes and smart decisions to boost business and staff relations at the company’s retail chain.

Women In Adult ·
profile

Dr. Tush's Brings Anal Care to the Forefront

Few personal health products have inspired descriptions quite so bold as “If Neosporin and Aquaphor had a baby, and that baby became a crime-fighting superhero for your skin.” Then again, even fewer can live up to their own hype.

Colleen Godin ·
opinion

Tips for Promoting Inclusivity, Accessibility in Adult Retail

Walking into an adult store or browsing a retail website should feel like an invitation — an open, shame-free space to explore pleasure and identity. But for many of us, that’s not the reality. As a queer, nonbinary and physically disabled person, I’ve spent years navigating physical and digital spaces that weren’t built with people like me in mind.

Hail Groo ·
opinion

Tips for Reinvigorating Marketing Strategy by Tapping Into Online Feedback

For the past 50 years or so, the pleasure industry has worked tirelessly to increase public acceptance of sex toys. We’ve done an incredible job, and that progress has only accelerated since I first started out working the sales floor at Babeland nearly 20 years ago.

Sarah Tomchesson ·
opinion

The 'Wall of Shame' in Adult Retail: Deterrent or Dilemma?

Retail theft affects all kinds of businesses, but adult retailers face unique challenges when it comes to loss prevention. One of the more controversial strategies some retailers have adopted is the “wall of shame,” a public display of shoplifters caught in the act.

Rin Musick ·
Show More