CRM / Retention Manager
CRM / Retention Manager is responsible for customer retention and repeat sales through email, SMS, push and messengers: database segmentation, communication flows, and growth in LTV and repeat orders.
What a CRM / Retention Manager does
A CRM / Retention Manager works with customers who have already made a purchase: how to get a repeat order, subscription renewal or upsell from them, and how to keep them from churning. In nutra projects, where the product (dietary supplements, health goods) is often bought as a course or on subscription, this role directly shapes the economics. Attracting new traffic is expensive, and profit per customer grows through repeat purchases.
The role sits between marketing, analytics and customer support. The CRM manager designs the communication system: which emails, SMS and messages a customer receives after the first purchase, how the database is segmented, and which triggers bring a customer back. They work with the product team on course timing and subscription terms, with support on the causes of refunds and complaints, and with the purchasing or creative teams on offers for the database.
At the management level, a CRM / Retention Manager usually leads a small team or works with contractors on mailings, reports to the head of marketing or the growth director, and owns the budget and the LTV plan.
Responsibilities
- Design and run CRM funnels: welcome series, post-purchase flows, win-back campaigns for inactive customers, upsells and repeat orders.
- Segment the database by behavior, purchase history, traffic source, product and the stage of the course or subscription.
- Configure and test communications in email, SMS, push and messengers, taking into account platform restrictions and advertising requirements for dietary supplements.
- Run A/B tests on email subject lines, offers, send times and copy, record the results, and turn working hypotheses into standard practice.
- Monitor deliverability: domain reputation, spam and unsubscribe rates, database quality, and correct handling of unsubscribes and consents.
- Agree database copy with lawyers and compliance: prohibited claims about therapeutic effects, mandatory disclaimers, and rules for handling personal data.
- Work with support and the refunds team to analyze the causes of cancellations, complaints and chargebacks that communication can reduce.
- Manage the budget and database reporting: cost of communications, CRM contribution to revenue, and forecasts of repeat sales.
- Manage a team or contractors on mailings, set tasks, check quality and launch deadlines.
Skills
- Understanding of the customer lifecycle and unit economics: LTV, cost of retention, payback of repeat purchases.
- Segmentation and cohort analysis, ability to read retention curves and find points of churn.
- Copywriting for emails and messages, and understanding how wording affects deliverability and complaints.
- Knowledge of nutra advertising and platform restrictions: which health claims are not allowed, and how to stay within the rules of email services and messengers.
- Data work: writing simple SQL queries and reconciling data from the tracker, CRM and payment systems.
- A/B testing and statistical thinking, ability to separate noise from real effects.
- Team management and prioritization: task queues, launch deadlines, coordination with other departments.
- Cross-functional communication: explaining to product, lawyers and support why a particular mechanic is needed.
Tools
- Email delivery services and their analytics (for example, Mailchimp, SendPulse, Unisender)
- SMS and push platforms, messenger bots for push-style communications
- CRM systems and marketing automation platforms (for example, HubSpot, Kommo, Bitrix24)
- Tracker and analytics: Google Analytics, Keitaro or a similar tracker, spreadsheets for cohort analysis
- SQL and BI tools for queries and dashboards
- Payment and billing panels for data on repeat payments and subscriptions
- Jira or Trello for tasks and approvals
How performance is measured
- Customer LTV and its dynamics by cohort
- Share of repeat purchases and repeat orders in revenue
- Retention curve by day and week after the first purchase
- Unsubscribe rate, spam complaint rate and email deliverability
- Cost of retaining one customer relative to the cost of acquiring one
- Share of cancelled subscriptions and refunds influenced by communication
- Delivery against the revenue plan from the database and speed of running tests
By vertical
Nutra
In nutra, the CRM manager works under restrictions on health-related advertising claims and often with subscription or course-based products, so much of the work involves text accuracy, managing customer expectations, and reducing refunds and complaints. A strong database here often matters more than one-off sales.
Levels
Management
At the management level, the role is responsible not only for the results of individual mailings but also for the retention strategy: the LTV model, the budget, the architecture of communications, working with product on subscription and course terms, and managing the team or contractors. Decisions are made based on the economics of the database as a whole, not on individual campaigns.
How to get there
Most people come into CRM from email marketing, performance marketing, analytics, customer support or product marketing. Useful experience includes working with customer databases, segmentation and automation, as well as understanding how online purchases work.
To get started, master the basic set: setting up mailings and automations, A/B tests, reading cohort reports, simple SQL queries and the basics of unit economics. It helps to learn the advertising rules for dietary supplements and health products and how to check copy before sending.
Growth comes from running individual flows to taking responsibility for the whole database: first separate chains and segments, then the overall retention strategy, budget and team. At every step it is important to be able to explain CRM's impact on revenue in numbers that leadership understands.
Next steps: Head of CRM, Director of Growth, Head of Retention, Marketing Director, Product Growth Lead
FAQ
How is a CRM manager different from a performance marketer?
A performance marketer attracts new users through paid traffic and optimizes the cost of acquisition. A CRM manager works with customers who have already purchased: repeat purchases, retention, upsells and reducing churn. In nutra these roles are closely linked, because the payback of traffic often depends on LTV.
Can I send health-related emails in nutra without restrictions?
No. Copy about the therapeutic properties of dietary supplements and health products is checked against regulator requirements and platform rules, and often against the company's internal rules too. Templates are usually approved by lawyers or compliance, and emails use general wording with mandatory disclaimers.
What background is needed to become a CRM manager?
Experience in email marketing, analytics, customer support, or product or performance marketing is a good fit. The most important skills are working with data, writing clear messages and systematically testing hypotheses. A formal degree is usually secondary to project results.
What determines a CRM manager's income in nutra?
Income depends on the level of responsibility, the size and maturity of the database, the product model (one-off purchases or subscriptions), the region, and how much the role influences revenue. Management positions responsible for LTV and the budget usually pay more than executor roles.
What does a CRM manager do each week?
Typically this means reviewing running mailings and flows, analyzing delivery and unsubscribe metrics, launching A/B tests, agreeing new emails with lawyers, segmenting the database for a new campaign, and meeting with product and support about refunds and complaints.
Do I need to know programming?
Programming is usually not required, but you should be able to write simple SQL queries, work with spreadsheets and understand automation logic. For a management role, the ability to read data and formulate hypotheses matters more than deep technical expertise.
Looking for a job in the industry?
Post an anonymous resume in our bot — recruiters from iGaming, payments and crypto search it every day.