Tips: encourage your customers to pay with bitcoin

[Findingnemo]

• Use advertising to spread the word that you accept Bitcoin as payment. This can be done online, through social media, or even by putting up a sign in your place of business.
• Offer a discount for customers who pay with Bitcoin. This could be a percentage off their purchase, or a fixed amount if they use Bitcoin to pay.
• Make it easy for customers to pay with Bitcoin by accepting it through a digital wallet such as Coinbase or BitPay. You can also use a physical wallet if you prefer, but make sure it supports Bitcoin payments.
• Educate your staff on Bitcoin and how it works, so they can answer any questions customers may have about using it to pay.

Share your ideas about encouraging people to use bitcoin as a payment method.

Sorry for disappointing you but tips like these won't help the business to roll over for Bitcoin payments, the actual initiative should be taken by the government for that they need to declare it as some form of money or else how the business owners can oay 30% or 50% or whatever the tax determined for assets.

Also the stores can't able to provide cashbacks because the profits is like 1% or even less for groceries so it will make loss for the owners and how they will be convinced to do their business for loss?

[milewilda]

Make it easy for customers to pay with Bitcoin by accepting it through a digital wallet such as Coinbase or BitPay. You can also use a physical wallet if you prefer, but make sure it supports Bitcoin payments.

Don't ask your customers to use third parties that can ask for kyc. Be your own bank.
Also: what are you talking about with physical wallets?

Maybe he do mean about those literal trezor wallets? 

Yeah its totally opposing if you do make out some recommendation on telling them on using whether Coinbase or Bitpay but cant blame out to those who do have business on accepting on this method
considering on the convenience but its not really that totally differs since making transactions or payment cant really be that hard even if you do just simply make use of your own
non-custodial wallet.Nothing beats out if you do have those wallets which you do fully control.Most of the time where business owners doesnt really easily recognize nor really that afraid
on accepting crypto payments which it is mostly the reason whether they are afraid of volatility and regulation issues.

[Darker45]

Why didn't you mention the Lightning Network? It's fast and cheap, so it must be one of the reasons for Bitcoin owners to get encouraged to pay with Bitcoin. So, it must also be offered.

But it all boils down to what's in it for them if they opt to pay in Bitcoin. You have to take note that the most hassle-free form of payment is still cash. Cash is still the king. So, the only reason for them to be really encouraged to pay in Bitcoin is a discount, a cashback, a ticket or qualification for a raffle, a coupon for something else, or anything that they get out of paying in Bitcoin, a kind of reward for choosing a different payment, something they aren't used to.

Most people still confused about lightning network, so it's not a convenient way to encourage Bitcoin adoption. How can we expect people will pay through lightning network if they didn't even know what's the difference between non custodial wallet and centralized exchange lol, only knowledge users and experienced are know about lightning network.

You don't really have to understand the technicalities about Lightning Network. You just have to be aware that it is much faster and cheaper that way. That's enough for them to be encouraged, that is, if they're paying in Bitcoin, anyway. And you don't actually have to do much in order to use it. Your Bitcoin wallet like Blue wallet, for example, has it. All you have to do is create a Lightning wallet, put some Bitcoin in it, and that's it.

But my point is, if you're accepting Bitcoin payments, give your customers a cheaper and faster option. It's up to them which they prefer.

It's true discount and cashback would attract people to invest in Bitcoin, but honestly I don't know if these promotions are worth for stores' perspective because Bitcoin isn't a company where they will get more money after built a reputation (by giving free money at the beginning).

You know what, I agree. There's a little sense of altruism in here actually. If I only have business in my mind, I really don't have to accept Bitcoin payments, much less sacrifice a portion of my profit for it. There's not much I can earn from it, anyway. But we're Bitcoin supporters, so we contribute a little to its adoption.

[Pmalek]

Here's an example, I recently saw a couple (vloggers) who took a 1-day challenge wherein they can only use Bitcoin as payment in Boracay (a popular tourist destination here in the Philippines). They've paid BTC through an app called Pouch.ph. The app converts the BTC they've paid to fiat (Philippine Peso) when the store/seller recieves it. It kinda beats the purpose of Bitcoin and whole idea behind it but it's a good start.

They could have used any other bitcoin/crypto debit cards in the same way like they did with Pouch.ph and gotten the same results. Many people would say that can't be considered as paying with crypto. I think it still should count. You are making a crypto payment on your end. Everything that happens after that isn't something you should concern yourself with. Whether or not the merchant keeps the coins in their original form, converts them to a different crypto, receives them into a casino account and gambles them away, or uses a payment processor to convert them into fiat, you still paid in crypto.

[KingsDen]

• Offer a discount for customers who pay with Bitcoin. This could be a percentage off their purchase, or a fixed amount if they use Bitcoin to pay.

I don't know how much discount you can offer to still remain relevant and gainish in the market. We don't because we want to accept bitcoin and run into losses.
Instead of giving discount to people paying with Bitcoin, you can opt to take care of the transaction fee which could be the reason some people will avoid paying with bitcoin, especially people paying from exchanges.

[Accardo]

Why didn't you mention the Lightning Network? It's fast and cheap, so it must be one of the reasons for Bitcoin owners to get encouraged to pay with Bitcoin. So, it must also be offered.

But it all boils down to what's in it for them if they opt to pay in Bitcoin. You have to take note that the most hassle-free form of payment is still cash. Cash is still the king. So, the only reason for them to be really encouraged to pay in Bitcoin is a discount, a cashback, a ticket or qualification for a raffle, a coupon for something else, or anything that they get out of paying in Bitcoin, a kind of reward for choosing a different payment, something they aren't used to.

Lightening network is fast for merchants, but not all customers have a knowledge of configuring boltcards or NFC chips on cards to make a swift lightening payments through LNURLw. Though, I don't know the current progress of zero conf and RBF debate to better maintain a fast payment for buyers and sellers alike, yet I don't think customers should be encouraged in a way other than what OP said about creating awareness that bitcoin is accepted in the store. Moving an inch forward to lure them into bitcoin due to discount and all, could lead to unsatisfactory service if things go wrong on the clienteles end.

At the moment bitcoin owners should pay with bitcoin and fiat owners pay with cash, unless the person is interested in bitcoin they should ask about what's like. Therefore, giving discounts should be for all customers both fiat and bitcoin owners to make things look balanced; promoting your products and bitcoin at same time, not the other way round, people with fiat will be curious knowing why there are not getting a bonus on the store and jump into bitcoin without making prior research.

[PX-Z]

• Offer a discount for customers who pay with Bitcoin. This could be a percentage off their purchase, or a fixed amount if they use Bitcoin to pay.

I don't know how much discount you can offer to still remain relevant and gainish in the market. We don't because we want to accept bitcoin and run into losses.
Instead of giving discount to people paying with Bitcoin, you can opt to take care of the transaction fee which could be the reason some people will avoid paying with bitcoin, especially people paying from exchanges.

Indeed, despite of being mentioned already about lightning implementation for a business accepting bitcoin payments, OP  still not adding lightning in the OP while talking on how members can suggest to improve the main post.

Taking a 30%-40% profit margin from a product will not harm the business if it only provides a 10% discount for bitcoin payments.

Where did you get these numbers? Have you tried to run a business?
Most retails only profits for 10% or even lesser for every product, for restaurants 20% profit is already high for every food they sell. Giving 10% discount will hurt the business despite of making an initiative for bitcoin implementation.

You may give discounts only for old stocks, near expiry, products that were not sold for longer time. The rest will only give you bad result than good.

Most people knows bitcoin already. At the time like this, in customer's point of view, i will hold my bitcoin instead of using it for purchase.
For a business, making a "we accept bitcoin ^(/lightning) payment" sign with a QR code either in a paper or digital screen is enough to encourage customers to pay with bitcoin if they want to, others are not necessary, discounts are just optional.

[ultrloa]

Here's an example, I recently saw a couple (vloggers) who took a 1-day challenge wherein they can only use Bitcoin as payment in Boracay (a popular tourist destination here in the Philippines). They've paid BTC through an app called Pouch.ph. The app converts the BTC they've paid to fiat (Philippine Peso) when the store/seller recieves it. It kinda beats the purpose of Bitcoin and whole idea behind it but it's a good start.

They could have used any other bitcoin/crypto debit cards in the same way like they did with Pouch.ph and gotten the same results. Many people would say that can't be considered as paying with crypto. I think it still should count. You are making a crypto payment on your end. Everything that happens after that isn't something you should concern yourself with. Whether or not the merchant keeps the coins in their original form, converts them to a different crypto, receives them into a casino account and gambles them away, or uses a payment processor to convert them into fiat, you still paid in crypto.

It should be count since the one promoted by pouch is bitcoin payment so it also affiliated on paying by using bitcoin. What they do is great marketing for bitcoin/crypto and to their business so hopefully we can see more like pouch.ph action so that to many option we can choose on different parts of PH merchants or even outside of that country to pay using bitcoin payment option.