This Mother’s Day got me reflecting on something in a new way:

Moms are THE most effective marketers on the planet.

Think about it.

Before any of us ever encountered a single ad, we were already deeply conditioned by the ultimate persuasion expert — our first and most needed friend.

Each of the moms in my life have shaped every aspect of who I am. My mother, grandmothers, mother-in-law, and for the past 15 years parenting alongside my amazing wife as she mothers our children — each has taught me precious lessons about influence and behavior change that no marketing textbook could capture.

Moms are masters of creating and enforcing needs:

“You NEED to eat all your vegetables.” “You NEED to get to school.” “You NEED to practice piano.”

In I Need That, I explore how the word “need” carries unique psychological weight, starting from this super-important and deeply formative context.

When properly positioned as non-negotiable, it becomes The Most Powerful Word in Marketing (the title of Chapter Two in my book). It really is something we’ve been conditioned to respond to since childhood.

Our mothers were the first to use “need” statements that bypassed our logical resistance.

When Mom says you need something, it isn’t presented as a friendly suggestion. It’s a certainty, delivered with authority by someone we trust implicitly. Who has the power to impose immediate, inescapable consequences.

And it works. The neural pathways formed in those early years run deep.

This explains why product marketing that succeeds in positioning offers as genuine needs rather than mere wants triggers such powerful responses.

We’re neurologically primed to prioritize needs from our earliest days.

But moms don’t only create needs – they teach us the consequences of ignoring them.

Skipped the green beans? No dessert. (Or my childhood nemesis: the green beans return for breakfast!)

Avoided cleaning your room? Good luck finding your fave toy.

Abused a screen time restriction? BUH-bye, devices.

The most effective product marketing follows this same pattern – clearly connecting the need with meaningful outcomes, both positive and negative.

Product Payoff: Consumer goods behemoth Procter & Gamble has leveraged maternal wisdom masterfully in its marketing for decades. Their classic Tide campaigns bake in the need for children to have clean clothes so they won’t be judged or excluded — and the undying motherly need to be sure everyone has something fresh to wear.

This approach has helped P&G maintain category leadership for over 70 years, with 2024 annual revenue exceeding $84 billion. By tapping into the same protective instincts and social awareness that mothers naturally possess, P&G marketing resonates at a level beyond logical product attributes.

Action for today: Think about how a mom would position your product as a need. Not as a want, option, or nice-to-have – but as a true-blue need with clear consequences for ignoring it. What would that sound like? How would she connect it to outcomes her “child” deeply cares about?

Try writing one product description using this maternal authority voice and test it against your current messaging. Conversely, try it with the consequence being a reward. What is better? (Loss aversion is more powerful than an equal gain.)

What’s the most important “need” lesson a mother figure taught you that’s influenced your approach to product development or marketing? Tap that reply arrow and share your story – I’d love to hear how Mom Magic has shaped YOUR work.

Or reach out anytime to my amazing team of product marketing experts at Graphos Product.