Most immigrant entrepreneurs start with the community: friends, WhatsApp groups and referrals. It works quickly — and reaches its ceiling just as quickly.
Here is how to build an acquisition system that no longer depends on your contact list.
Choose your market before your channel
You actually have three possible markets:
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French speakers living in Israel,
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customers still in France,
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Hebrew-speaking Israelis
Each has different languages, prices, competition and channels. Mixing them in one campaign makes your figures harder to interpret.
Continuing to sell in France: an overlooked asset
Your French network and credibility have real value, often with larger euro-denominated contracts.
The constraint is scheduling. France works Monday to Friday; Israel Sunday to Thursday. The shared working window is Monday to Thursday, plus Friday morning. Plan meetings and follow-up calls accordingly, and state your opening hours clearly.
Grow beyond word of mouth without abandoning it
Community groups remain useful. But this channel cannot be controlled or measured, and one unhappy customer can turn it against you.
The first system to put in place:
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one clear page per offer, in the target market’s language,
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a complete Google Business Profile with reviews,
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Google Search campaigns for a few local high-intent searches,
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French-language Meta Ads for the community, with a specific introductory offer
Moving into Hebrew: when and how
Wait until you have someone who can respond in Hebrew, a page reviewed by a native speaker and some local evidence.
Google Search is often a good starting point: intent is explicit and creatives matter less than on Meta.
Understand your acquisition costs
Word of mouth creates the illusion of free acquisition. In reality, it costs time and limits growth.
Calculate your allowable acquisition cost from margin and customer lifetime value. Then size your tests to generate a few dozen leads per offer: below that, you are judging noise.
The most common mistakes
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targeting “the whole community” with an offer for everyone,
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reusing a landing page designed for France without adaptation,
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measuring success through likes and incoming messages,
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sending offers to WhatsApp lists without consent, a risky practice under the anti-spam law governing electronic advertising messages
Further reading
Sources
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The Jerusalem Post — Spam messages: Israel's laws and what you should do (2022)
https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-710210
