Director of Retention - Remote in the USA

Director of Retention – 100% Remote in the USA

PetLab Co. is the world leader in DTC pet supplements with 50%+ market share, 9-figure revenue, profitable and rapidly growing with ambitious plans for global expansion.  We’re searching for a performance-driven, hands-on head of retention to maximize customer LTV by unifying and optimizing our multi-channel retention / CRM efforts across web, email, sms, app, phone and direct mail.  This is your opportunity to drive rapid growth in LTV by leveraging all the best tools available.

The ideal candidate has a proven track record of innovating effective retention strategies, and either directly or with the team, executing the tactics that drive higher cross-sells, up-sells, re-purchases, re-activations, renewals and engagement, while minimizing customer churn.  And this is all done in the context of nurturing a brand-friendly customer journey that drives loyalty and WOM.

So, if you love driving LTV by synergizing strategies across multiple channels in a high velocity growth environment that supports rapid experimentation and learning, and…

• You have in-depth digital retention experience across email, sms and app…

• You’re a natural team leader who sets targets and holds everyone accountable to deliver…
• You deftly collaborate across brand, acquisition, product, tech, etc. to drive execution…
• You have a knack for innovating retention strategies that work across multiple channels…
• You’re extremely data-driven and adept at monetizing high-value segments…

… then please keep reading as you may be the perfect fit.

What are the Key Points?

• Core Compensation: $150,000 – $175,000 (base + bonus)
• Location: 100% Remote in the USA (global team of 140+)
• Benefits: Health/Dental/Vision/Disability/Life + 401k + 20 Days PTO
• Hours: 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. ET (with some flexibility based on location)
• Culture: Think Fast, Move Fast, Learn Constantly… and Have Fun!
• #1 Objective: Maximize LTV

Who Will You Report Into?

Hello, my name is Matt Davies, co-founder and CMO at PetLab Co., and I need your help.  We started PetLab Co. in November 2018 because we saw an unmet need to offer safe, effective nutritional supplements to help pets have their happiest, healthiest lives.  Since then, we’ve become the fastest growing pet health brand in the U.S., thanks in part to our rigorous approach to customer acquisition and conversion and our focus on building a robust subscription business.

And that’s where you come in.  While we have LTV driving initiatives across email, SMS, phone and now direct mail, they are being managed individually.  To help drive LTV to the next level, we need to bring in a hands-on leader who 100% owns LTV and can synergistically integrate these initiatives, while also improving the strategies and tactics executed in each retention channel.  Our customers love their pets, and based on our strong baseline of retention KPIs, they also love our products, which is an incredible competitive advantage on which to capitalize. 

What’s the Ideal Candidates Background?

The ideal candidate has a digital-first background with heavy experience leveraging digital retention channels to drive LTV and engagement – email, SMS, web remarketing, push, in-app messaging, etc. – to deliver against specific P&L targets.  Ideally, you’ve also had significant exposure to offline retention channels, such as fulfillment boxes, direct mail, phone, etc.  You also have exposure leveraging loyalty programs to intrinsically drive LTV.  And you have a clear understanding of how to combine all the above strategies, tactics and channels to achieve a synergistic effect.

Most importantly, however, you have a proven, measurable track record of increasing LTV.  You can point to very specific initiatives you lead, from idea, to execution, to scaling them for ultimate success.  You think strategically and bring your own framework pinpointing how to elevate LTV in any situation with innovative ideas that drive results.  Lastly, you can toggle between leveraging your extremely effective hands-on skills to do what needs to get done with the ability to recruit, cultivate and hold accountable a high-performance retention team to deliver against their goals.

What’s It Like Working at PetLab Co.?

We’ve gone to great lengths to set up a data-driven culture wherein the best ideas win, regardless of where they come from.  As a rapidly growing company, we prioritize finding people who can think fast, move fast and deliver fast… while having fun at the same time.

To that end, here’s what you’ll get access to when you join our team:

• Clear Reporting – Getting accurate and timely data is crucial to enabling marketers to do their jobs, which is precisely what our standalone data analytics team delivers
• Collaborative Team – There are no silos here, we all understand that to win, we must help each other out as necessary, doing things outside our normal jobs when needed
• Scientific Rigor – Everyone on the marketing team shares the same philosophy to attack every challenge with an experimental test-and-learn process to tease out success
• Variety of Challenges – Given we’re just entering our 5th year as a company and growing rapidly, the challenges keep coming with new products, promotions, categories, etc.
• Refreshing Autonomy – Expectations are always set high for anybody who joins the team, but so too is your autonomy to figure out how best to deliver against your objectives

You’ll also find that everyone here listens – if something isn’t working, we respectfully call it out.  If something is needed, those needs are heard.  If there’s something we can do better, let’s hear it.

How Will Success be Measured?

You’ll be held accountable to the following retention leading and lagging KPIs that are a combination of “gas” and “breaks”.  Some of these may be revised and refined as you progress through your retention optimization efforts and focus your attention on different strategic objectives:

• LTV per New Customer – This is your primary KPI overall, but will also be broken down into LTV seasoning buckets that are tied to strategies, e.g. day 1, 5, 15, 30, 60, 90, 180, etc.
• P&L Targets – Specific weekly, monthly, and quarterly retention P&L targets that are aligned on with senior leadership to help the company achieve its overall P&L objectives
• Churn Rate – Minimize the rate at which customers churn to maximize the time they stay on as repeat purchasing customers
• Subscription Renewal Rate – Increasing the average subscription length while also driving up intermediate renewal rates, e.g. 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th renewals
• Cross-sell Rate – Maximizing the rate at which customers purchase complementary cross-sells after initial acquisition
• Email / SMS Engagement Rates – Increasing click rates while holding unsubscribe rates in check to drive up average length of opt-in status

How Will Your Time Be Spent?

Here’s an approximate breakdown of how you’ll spend your time:

• 25% on Analysis – Diving into campaign performance metrics across various retention channels to pinpoint actionable insights to inform strategy
• 25% on Strategy – Deciding new retention opportunities to launch, how to deploy them synergistically across multiple retention channels, and how to optimize each channel
• 25% on Execution – Hands-on execution wherever needed, whether configuring campaigns in interfaces, building creative briefs for the creative team, sourcing vendors, etc.
• 25% on Team – Doing what’s needed to cultivate a high performing team - objectives are clearly articulated, expectations are set unambiguously, recruiting, training, etc.

Important: PetLab Co. will only contact you regarding your application using the @thepetlabco.com email domain. If you receive any communications from other domains, please treat this as spam and flag accordingly.

Requirements

Requirements

• 7-10 Years in DTC Retention – Leading retention efforts, combining both hands-on individual efforts while directing and scaling a team to hit retention targets
• Data Driven – Extremely comfortable diving deep into analytics platforms, spreadsheets, etc., to detect patterns on which to capitalize while leveraging the latest in data science
• Think Fast, Move Fast – Energized by a high-velocity, high-growth entrepreneurial environment with lots of ambiguity wherein conditions can change rapidly
• Driven to Excellence – A natural end-to-end ownership mentality with a relentless inner drive to excellence that other people find energizing, inspiring and motivating
• Systems-Oriented – Strong organizational skills and with a knack for creating order out of chaos with highly organized systems and frameworks that deliver sustained success
• Exceptional Communicator – A perceptive listener who quickly synthesize info and can formulate a methodical action plan that can be clearly articulated verbally and in writing