NORTHERN PLANNER

I've liked Original Source shower gel for a long time. I even worked on it once.

I liked the zing the experience gave, I liked the distinctive, natural, outdoorsy feeling the brand gave off (maybe because I was partly responsible for it).

But I don't buy it very often.

Because my local supermarket doesn't stock the men's range. And that's the one I'm used to.

To be more precise, I'm used to the eucalyptus one.

Like most people, I don't 'love' the brand or the product, I like it a fair bit but it won't change my life.

I don't think about it that much and I've better things to worry about.

So I only buy if I'm at Boots, or another supermarket. Which isn't that often.

I won't bother with online either, I'm not going to waste my time spending five minutes buying from a website when it takes five seconds to just throw an alternative in my supermarket trolley.

Meanwhile, Dove for Men is becoming more of a habit. Because it's there.

You see, brand preference is all well and good. You can can remove reasons not to buy as you go along too – in my case, a mens range and one that would wash my sparse hair as well as body.

But without distribution, making it easy to buy, most people don't care enough to seek you out and will be building up another weak habit all the while.

Or put another way, consumers are a bit like single men after midnight in a bar. They'll happily go with what's available.