Vessi turns waterproof shoe fans into brand advocates
How the waterproof footwear brand built a referral-powered growth engine that now drives 22% of revenue.
"Referrals have become our most efficient acquisition channel. The cost per acquisition is a fraction of paid ads, and referred customers have 37% higher LTV."
The Challenge
Vessi's waterproof shoes have passionate fans, but that enthusiasm wasn't translating into measurable word-of-mouth growth. They needed a structured way to turn happy customers into active advocates.
- High customer acquisition costs in crowded footwear market
- Strong product-market fit but low organic word-of-mouth
- Needed to scale acquisition while maintaining unit economics
- Previous referral program had low participation rates
The Opportunity
With an NPS of 72, Vessi knew their customers loved the product. The challenge was making it easy and rewarding for them to share.
Top 10% in footwear category
The Solution
Optimized Referral Structure
Tested different reward combinations to find the perfect balance: $25 for friends, 1000 points for referrers.
Post-Purchase Referral Flow
Referral prompt appears right after purchase when excitement is highest—40% of referrals come from this moment.
Social Sharing Tools
Pre-written messages and beautiful share cards make it easy to spread the word on any platform.
Referral Leaderboards
Top referrers get featured and earn exclusive rewards, creating friendly competition.
The Results
Vessi's referral program has become a cornerstone of their growth strategy, delivering consistent, high-quality customers at a fraction of the cost of paid acquisition.
- 22% of revenue now comes from referrals
- 68% conversion rate on referred traffic
- Referred customers have 37% higher LTV
- 4.2x ROI on loyalty program investment
Referral Economics
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See how Lantern can help you turn customers into advocates.