Last week I got a hair cut at a local barber shop. They do a great job. The owner, Kevin, is nice, and so is his wife. They run the place… a true “Mom & Pop” business.

I asked Kevin, “What’s the average interval for a male customer?” He said it was 3-4 weeks, same as my own interval.

That gave me an idea. There are 52 weeks in a year, which means I go to the barber shop about 15 times per year. If I pay $10 per haircut (including tip) then I am giving Kevin $150 during the year.

What if Kevin gave me a coupon after every haircut? What if it said, “$2 off. Valid only for Thom.” And the expiration date would also be hand-written for exactly 2 weeks later.

If Kevin gave me a coupon after every haircut, and I took advantage of it every time, then I would be getting a haircut not 15 times a year, but 27 times per year. If I got a haircut for $8 (including tip), 27 times per year, that’s $216 per year, or a 44% increase in revenue.

The growth in revenue for every customer would be somewhere between 0% and 44%. There is no opportunity for loss, because if I don’t take advantage of the coupon, I will come in anyway, for the regular price, and all is the same. If out of every three customers, 1 guy never takes advantage of the coupon, 1 guys takes advantage sometimes, and 1 guy takes advantage all the time, then you are looking at a 22% average revenue growth per customer, all year long.

And that’s a growth that any company would drool over, especially these days.

This concept could easily translate to dog groomers, maid services, lawn care, etc…. any company that provides a regular, interval-based product or service. In not so many words, you’re saying, “Use us more often, pay us less each time, and we’ll net more over time.”