Retention Manager

Bells of Steel; Calgary; Hybrid; CAD 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

Bells of Steel is hiring a hands-on retention marketer to own email, SMS, and lifecycle programs. You will write copy, build flows, and manage campaigns across US, Canada, AU, and UK storefronts to move first-time buyers to repeat purchasers.

You will set retention targets, test strategies, and collaborate with Brand, Paid, and Analytics to improve CLV and margins. This role requires practical experience and a passion for fitness equipment.

Qualifications

• 3+ years owning email, SMS and lifecycle marketing for a DTC or e-commerce brand; multi-store a plus.
• Hands-on Klaviyo or comparable ESP skills; build flows, segments, deliverability, reporting.
• Comfort with retention economics: repeat rate, CLV, churn, revenue impact.
• Strong writing and brand voice; self-directed with calendar ownership.
• Familiarity with home gym equipment and authentic product storytelling.

Responsibilities

• Own Klaviyo across four storefronts (US, Canada, AU, UK): campaigns, flows, segmentation and templates.
• Build and improve core flows: welcome, abandoned cart, browse abandonment, post-purchase, win-back, sunset, VIP.
• Develop cross-sell and category expansion programs to drive repeat purchases.
• Own the retention calendar: promotional sends, product launches, lifecycle touchpoints.
• Write compelling copy from reviews, customer results, UGC and launch content.
• Grow the email list with on-site capture and opt-in strategies while preserving deliverability.
• Coordinate reviews and referrals to feed flows and paid channels.
• Protect sender reputation: hygiene, sunset policies, SPF/DKIM/DMARC.

Skills

Klaviyo

Email marketing

SMS marketing

Lifecycle marketing

Copywriting

Data-driven decisions

Multi-store mgmt

List growth & deliverability

Tools

Shopify

GA4

Okendo

Yotpo

Recharge

Job description

We're hiring someone to own retention at Bells of Steel: email, SMS, lifecycle automation, and the customer data behind repeat purchases. Right now repeat purchase rate and customer lifetime value are things that happen to us. We want someone to manage them.

This is a hands-on job. You'll write the copy and build the flows yourself, with tools like Claude Code and Claude Cowork to help you move faster on volume. There's no team to manage today, though there's room for that to change as the function grows.

One thing worth saying upfront: we sell racks, barbells and plates, not consumables. Nobody replenishes a squat rack. Repeat purchase here means moving a first-time buyer to their second and third product, and bringing lapsed customers back. If your retention playbook is built around subscriptions and refills, this role will feel unfamiliar.

Why it matters

Retention funds everything else. A better repeat rate and healthier margins give us room to invest in brand and paid acquisition. Email and SMS already drive real revenue without a dedicated owner, so we think there's significant upside in doing it properly. You'll have a clear mandate, defined targets, and a seat in marketing planning.

What you'll do

Email, SMS and lifecycle

• Own Klaviyo across all four storefronts (US, Canada, AU, UK): campaigns, flows, segmentation, templates, deliverability.
• Build and keep improving the core flows: welcome, abandoned cart and checkout, browse abandonment, post-purchase, win-back, sunset, VIP.
• Build the cross-sell and category expansion program. This is the centre of the job. Most customers come back for plates, a bench, a bar, accessories, apparel, or whatever category we launch next.
• Own the retention side of the marketing calendar: promotional sends, product launch support, lifecycle touchpoints.
• Write well. A strong script carries a flow. You'll pull raw material from reviews, customer results, UGC and launch content and turn it into messages people actually open.
• Grow the list through on-site capture and opt-in strategy, without wrecking deliverability doing it.
• Keep reviews and referrals working alongside email and SMS so they feed the flows.
• Protect sender reputation: list hygiene, sunset policies, SPF/DKIM/DMARC.

Retention strategy and CLV

• Set targets for repeat purchase rate and CLV, report on them, and run the initiatives that move them.
• Work out which customers, segments and first products actually retain, then hand that back to Paid and Affiliate so we buy more of the people who come back. Retention starts with who we acquire.
• Own an annual retention roadmap with a quarterly plan. We want steady optimization plus a couple of genuinely different bets each year, rather than fifty versions of the same send.
• Assess whether a loyalty or rewards program is worth building, and build it if the answer is yes. We're treating this as an open question.
• Maintain the segmentation and cohort views that connect retention activity back to revenue.
• Work with Finance to keep the CLV model current and validate what retention is contributing.

Measurement and testing

• Build the retention dashboard and a weekly reporting cadence: attributed revenue, flow performance, list growth, engagement, deliverability, repeat rate, CLV.
• Track at least one leading indicator, like the share of buyers who move into a second product category, so we can see progress before it shows up in repeat rate and CLV.
• Run a disciplined A/B testing program across subject lines, creative, offers, timing and segmentation. Document what you learn, and leave room for the bigger structural tests too.

Working with the rest of the team

• Paid and Affiliate: suppression and win-back on the defensive side, high-CLV lookalike audiences on the offensive side.
• E-commerce: on-site conversion, landing pages, and the data capture that feeds retention.
• Customer Support and Brand: sourcing reviews and customer stories as fuel for flows, landing pages and paid, not just as sentiment to monitor.

Who you are

Required

• 3+ years owning email, SMS and lifecycle marketing for a DTC or e-commerce brand. Multi-store or multi-region experience is a plus.
• Genuine hands-on Klaviyo skill, or a comparable ESP. Flows, segmentation, deliverability, reporting. You build it, you don't brief it.
• Comfort with retention economics: repeat rate, cohorts, CLV, churn, and connecting activity to revenue.
• Strong writing and good judgment about brand voice.
• Enough self-direction to own a channel and a calendar without close oversight.
• Real familiarity with home gyms and strength training. You should be able to write credibly about equipment.

Nice to have

• Cross-sell or expansion revenue experience in a higher-AOV, considered-purchase category.
• Experience launching or running a loyalty program.
• SMS, direct mail, or other retention channels beyond email.
• Reviews and referral tools (Okendo, Yotpo, Recharge and similar).
• Working knowledge of Shopify and GA4.

About Bells of Steel Inc.

At Bells of Steel, our mission is to make fitness and strength training approachable, affordable, and fun. We design and manufacture high-quality strength and exercise equipment for home gym owners and fitness professionals, helping people of all experience levels achieve their goals.

We’re not your typical fitness equipment brand. We’re down-to-earth, a little cheeky, and focused on making fitness more rewarding and less intimidating. If you enjoy a fast-paced, no-BS environment and want to help shape the future of strength training, you’ll fit right in.

Our Core Values: A.C.T.

Adaptability – Raise the Bar

We challenge the status quo, learn quickly, and continuously improve. We embrace change, seek better ways of working, and take initiative to drive results.

Customer Centricity – Always Spot the Customer

Everything we do is focused on helping our customers succeed. We lead with empathy, build trust through action, and create value for both external and internal customers.

Teamwork – We Win Together

We operate with honesty, transparency, trust, and respect. We collaborate openly, take shared ownership of outcomes, and succeed as a team.