Built on Sweat, Not Sales: How Ritual Cycling Preserved Authentic Community at Scale
Alison Brien, Founder of Ritual
“Working with Telomere was an absolute delight! We had them assist with our marketing automations which has been looming over us to build out. With their help, it was all completed in a month with beautiful email templates and easy ways for me to go through and review myself. Communication has been great and we appreciate their ability to understand the brand quickly and jump in to add value! Thanks Telomere!”
Through automated messaging, Ritual saw firsthand what authentic communication can accomplish:
66% conversion rate, upselling clients from class packs to memberships
92% conversion rate through thoughtful onboarding communications
21% of new clients purchased a membership within weeks of their first visit
Maintaning a People-First Brand
Ritual is an indoor cycling studio in Lakewood, CO, designed for those looking for a more intentional approach to cycling. Alison Brien, Ritual’s owner, places a heavy focus on hospitality throughout the studio experience. Her vision for communications was to reflect her community more consistently, while preserving the “indoor cycling without the bullshit” experience that defines the brand.
Ritual was facing the challenge of creating personalized communication without losing the brand’s core identity: a grassroots, ego-free, relationship-driven indoor cycling experience.
Their personal touches (handwritten cards, milestone gifts, remembering names and stories) deeply resonated with clients, but these gestures didn’t scale easily as the studio grew. The team needed a way to automate parts of their outreach and communication — such as follow-ups, milestone celebrations, and onboarding messages — without it ever feeling automated, sales-y, or impersonal.
At the same time, Ritual wanted to increase engagement and retention without crossing the line into the kind of aggressive marketing (frequent texts, pushy sales) that their clients specifically came to them to escape.
Discovering the Balance Between Sales and Connection
We implemented a personalized, automated customer engagement strategy designed to scale their signature sense of connection while maintaining the brand’s authentic, non-corporate feel.
To address the challenge of scaling genuine communication, the studio created automated touchpoints that mirror the personal attention clients love without overwhelming them or sounding “salesy.” The campaign focused on thoughtful, relationship-based communication rather than frequent marketing pushes.
Key elements of the strategy included:
Automated Milestone Recognition:
A milestone-based campaign (25, 50, 100, 250, 500 visits) celebrating client loyalty with congrats messages and meaningful gifts (e.g., retail items, free workshops). This preserves Ritual’s tradition of noticing and celebrating individuals while making it scalable.
Gentle Winback Flow:
A non-pushy re-engagement sequence for clients who haven’t ridden recently — starting with simple “we miss you” notes and gradually introducing modest offers (10–20% off packs or a BOGO drop-in).
Thoughtful Onboarding & Personalization:
A structured intro offer (3 rides for $33) and surveys for music preferences and ride themes help tailor future experiences to individual tastes. This keeps new riders feeling seen and understood, just like Ritual’s in-person experience.
Member Value Reinforcement:
Clear membership tiers and perks (discounts, guest passes, early booking) communicate value in a friendly, community-driven way — not a high-pressure sales pitch.
Community-Based Engagement:
Plans for birthday offers, referral incentives, and Google review requests continue to build community and word-of-mouth organically.
Centered on personalization, appreciation, and authenticity, these new automations allow Ritual to scale their warmth and attention to detail while maintaining their grassroots brand identity.
Authentic Automations that Convert
In its first few months, the new automation strategy shows strong momentum. Onboarding automations are performing well, with new riders quickly converting through the intro offer flow, and the “Share The Love” referral campaign has generated impressive engagement. These early wins suggest that Ritual’s authentic, relationship-focused approach translates effectively into automated communication.
One of the strongest indicators of this is the completed 5 Class Pack to Membership upsell, which converted at 66.7%. This suggests that once clients experience enough classes to feel connected to the practice, the transition into membership feels like a natural next step rather than a hard sell.
Similarly, new client upsells to membership landed at a 20.7% conversion rate, showing promise in early relationship-building and education around membership value.
Where the strategy truly shines is in onboarding and personalization. The Before First Visit communication is performing exceptionally well, converting at 92.4%, which highlights how effective early guidance and expectation-setting can be in getting clients through the door.
Community-driven initiatives are also resonating strongly. The “Share the Love” intro offer campaign achieved a 50% open rate, signaling that messaging rooted in connection, generosity, and community continues to capture attention and reinforce brand warmth.
A Brand Evolution (That Doesn’t Sacrifice Authenticity)
Ritual’s story shows that automation doesn’t have to dilute what makes a studio special. When built with intention, it becomes an extension of the same care, presence, and respect clients feel the moment they walk through the door. Each touchpoint reinforces connection, honors individuality, and supports long-term relationships, without ever slipping into noise or pressure.
Ready to put your client communication on autopilot? Telomere’s automation systems blend personalization with precision—so every message feels human, even when it’s automatic. Let’s build the kind of marketing ecosystem that runs while you teach, lead, and grow.
Looking to automate? We’ve helped hundreds of studios streamline their marketing and communication through custom-built email and SMS automations that convert, retain, and re-engage. From first visits to long-term memberships, our strategies ensure every message lands at the right time—without adding more to your to-do list. Book your free intro call today to learn how Telomere can help your studio run smarter, not harder.
