In this episode, I go back to one of the original ideas behind Rocket Chiro and what used to be Black Sheep DC: relationship marketing.

This topic has been near and dear to me for a long time, and I wanted to revisit it because I think it is especially relevant heading into a new year. A lot of chiropractors are either just getting started, feeling stuck, or reflecting on why their practice does not feel as stable as they want it to be. In my experience, a big part of that comes down to how you think about marketing and growth.

Specifically, are you trying to build relationships, or are you just trying to make sales?

Why Chiropractic Is a Relationship Business

Chiropractic is not a big-ticket, one-time-sale business like real estate or high-end sales. We do not make our money from a single transaction. Chiropractic works much more like a restaurant.

Restaurants succeed because they have repeat customers over a long period of time. Some people come in all the time. Some come occasionally. Some only come for special occasions. But when they want that type of food, they go back to the same place.

Chiropractic works the same way. If someone comes in, finishes a care plan, and never comes back, that is not a success. That is a broken relationship.

The Goal Most Chiropractors Get Wrong

I talk through three different goals chiropractors tend to have.

The wrong goal is simply "I want new patients."

A better goal is "I want new patients who are a good fit for my practice."

The best goal is "I want new patients who are a good fit for my practice and who always come to me when they need a chiropractor."

That last goal changes everything. It changes how you onboard patients, how you make recommendations, how you follow up, and how you market.

Retention Is Not PVA

One of my long-standing soapboxes is that real retention is not a PVA number.

Real retention is not about how many visits someone averages during a care plan. Real retention is about maintaining the doctor patient relationship over time.

If someone sees you ten times over twenty years, but every single time they need a chiropractor they come back to you, that is incredible retention.

Retention is about time, trust, and being the default chiropractor in someone's life.

Dating for Marriage vs Dating for Sex

I use a dating analogy to explain how mindset changes behavior.

If you are dating with the intention of a long-term relationship or marriage, you move differently. You listen more. You are more honest. You care about fit. You think long term.

If your only goal is to score, none of that matters.

The same thing happens in chiropractic. If your only goal is to close a new patient, you will use pressure, scare tactics, and short-term thinking. If your goal is a long-term relationship, your entire approach changes.

How a Relationship Mindset Changes Your Practice

I walk through several areas where this mindset shows up.

Onboarding looks different. You listen more, talk less, and focus on agreement instead of closing.

Recommendations and care plans become more flexible, educational, and structured instead of rigid and contract-driven.

Follow-up and reactivation feel natural instead of awkward. You check in because you care, not because you are desperate.

Marketing shifts from chasing new patients with deals and urgency to building authority, trust, and long-term connection with both new and existing patients.

Relationship Marketing and SEO

I also talk about how this mindset applies to SEO and online marketing.

Short-term SEO tactics rely on fake activity, fake reviews, junk backlinks, and manufactured signals. They can work briefly, but they are unstable and risky.

Long-term SEO is relational. It is built on real reviews, real activity, real authority, and consistency over time.

Selling to people who trust you is easy. Getting people to trust you is hard.

Google works the same way. You do not game a relationship. You build one.

The Big Takeaway

Relationship marketing is long-term and stable. Sales marketing is short-term and unstable.

One compounds. The other burns out.

And the final thought I leave you with is this:

What you do to get patients is what you have to do to keep them.

If you rely on pressure to get people in the door, you will need pressure to keep them. If you build trust to get them, trust is what keeps them coming back.

Resources Mentioned:

Free Website/SEO Review: https://rocketchiro.com/chiropractic-practice-assessment

Best chiropractic websites: https://rocketchiro.com/best-chiropractic-websites

Relationship Marketing vs Sales Marketing in Chiropractic