For nearly two decades, Nick and Michael have been deeply invested in identifying and perfecting the formula for increasing senior living occupancy. By integrating data-driven insights with a compassionate marketing strategy, they’ve consistently helped senior living operators exceed their occupancy goals and create thriving communities.
"The senior housing market is changing and so are the target customers.
The best strategy not only incorporates deep, timely, geocentric insights,
but also is nimble enough to pivot as often as the marketplace calls
for it."
-Nick Skislak, Owner/President of SSDM
Lower Avg Cost Per Lead*
Lower Avg Cost Per Deposit**
This comprehensive guide dives deep into how sales and marketing misalignment is costing you occupancy. Discover actionable insights to ensure your teams are working together seamlessly to achieve the best possible outcomes. You’ll find practical tools, key performance indicators (KPIs), and real-world examples to help you:
In this guide, you’ll gain valuable insights on optimizing your sales funnel, increasing collaboration between teams, to ultimately drive higher occupancy and revenue for your senior living community. Download your free guide today to start improving your occupancy strategy and boosting your growth!
Low occupancy, low conversion rates and lead volumes that aren’t big enough to move the needle.
We're a group of highly experienced marketers focused on performance and measurable outcomes. We want to help tackle senior loneliness and challenge today’s misconceptions about living options, while also helping your communities thrive. Our dedicated team is committed to enriching the lives of seniors and highlighting the exceptional efforts of senior communities.
Years of marketing senior healthcare/living
Senior living communities actively managed
Of communities average occupancy above 90%
Improve our clients' lead gen by an average of 28%
Improved our clients' ROI by an average of 40%
SSDM has spent nearly two decades:
Because we found that clients often struggled to identify the optimal lead-gen marketing spend for each senior community, we developed the tool below to help simplify this calculation. This tool will calculate the optimal investment amount for your organization based on the number of communities and units you have, and how many leads are required to ensure that occupancy rates remain at or above 90%.
With this investment and strategic partnership with SSDM, you will be able to generate and nurture more leads, close on more move-ins and improve occupancy rates - creating an even more vibrant and diverse community for your existing residents to enjoy.
*3 Communities/100 Total Units Minimum
**Calculations are based on average occupancy length and monthly
cost to arrive at an average lifetime customer value.
These numbers vary greatly for unique communities and operators.
For a custom calculation based on your unique community mix, schedule time with us or give us a call.
Our team combines decades of marketing expertise with a genuine passion for senior care. We’re not just here to help you fill vacancies—we’re here to make a difference in the lives of the residents and families you serve. Every campaign we create is powered by this dedication, resulting in real connections and powerful performance.
Meet Nick:
When Nick was in grade school, his mother worked afternoons at a senior living community in his hometown. Because Nick was already home from school, she often took him to work with her. During the many days and hours at this senior living community, Nick got to know several of the residents. Most memorable for him was Pearl, the 101 year old resident with whom he spent much time. He marveled at the wisdom she and the other seniors offered him and deeply enjoyed how much they adored him and made him feel valued.
When Nick began his digital marketing business, he had no idea that this positive experience would become an area of passion and grown expertise. Nick now relishes the opportunity to help support senior communities that use wisdom to help their residents remain as active and vital as possible, all while also making them feel adored and valued.
Meet Michael
Growing up, Michael had a great aunt who was more like a grandmother to him. She had raised Michael’s mother from her teen to adult years, in addition to raising her only son, Saintclaire, who had been born blind in the 1940s. This grandmotherly figure was named Thelma and Michael’s family visited her and her husband almost every single weekend of Michael’s childhood. Michael saw how Thelma never spoke differently to her blind son and taught him skills he needed to be as independent as possible…in a time when many would have put a blind adult in an institution. Saintclaire walked their hometown to run his own errands and managed a good deal of his own life. Though Thelma might drive him somewhere or pick him up on occasion, she never made a fuss or positioned her son as being disabled. Saintclaire participated fully in all family gatherings, even helping to clear dishes and fill glasses with sweet tea from time to time. Through unspoken actions, Thelma helped Michael understand that it was possible to care for another human being, but still offer them the best environment to thrive and live without a sense of being limited in their contributions to themselves and others. Her attitude and mannerisms assured that Saintclaire felt vital, independent and comfortable in almost any environment.
Late in Thelma’s life she developed dementia and ultimately had to be placed in memory care. Michael visited Thelma frequently with his mother and family. He witnessed the many pros and cons of the care Thelma received, often noting that not everyone is able nor does every situation allow for a human to be made to feel vital, independent and comfortable.
Fast forward 10 years to a time when Michael is establishing and growing skills on how to market a number of senior living environments. Over the next 15+ years, he has dedicated himself to offering the very best creative strategies (UI + UX) to help assure that the potential residents and their families can easily find the ideal care.
Meet Tena
In her early 20s, Tena’s mother informed her that the very social and independent younger version of herself “always made a beeline for the oldest person in any room.” Though Tena had not consciously made this choice as a small girl, it likely translated from the wonderful relationship she had with her grandmother (after whom she was named). As it turns out, Tena became guardian of her mother in her mid 20s and one of her first tasks was to find an assisted living facility that could help assure her mother was cared for, but also give her as rich a life experience as possible. Tena toured 6 and landed on one that her mother lived at for 18 years, before moving on to a facility that could deliver full nursing care. In total, Tena cared for her mother for more than 30 years, with the fabulous help of a stellar pair of senior living communities.
Tena is a seasoned marketer that has worked with some of the biggest brands in the world. What she enjoys the most, however, is using her accumulated marketing wisdom to assure that senior living communities can be so great at marketing themselves that they are able to easily devote more funds to creating the best life-enriching environments for seniors.
Meet Courtney
For Courtney, family memories were often made around the dinner table, where her Oma shared stories, served up meals fit for an army, and instilled a sense of tradition that resonates to this day. Her Oma’s journey - from her roots in Sulawesi, Indonesia, through her immigration to the United States in 1959, and onward to her 19 years of service at General Motors and 62 years of dedication to her church - left Courtney with a lasting appreciation for resilience, kindness, commitment, and the importance of tradition.
As Associate Creative Director at SSDM, Courtney brings that same dedication to creating work that leaves a mark. Through her experiences, she understands the challenges, decisions and uncertainty that families face when supporting loved ones in senior living - a journey she is navigating firsthand with her father. With every project, Courtney ensures that SSDM’s strategies and creative solutions go beyond marketing - helping families feel supported, heard, and connected as they make important transitions.
When she says she cares, she means it, and when she says she’s here to help, it’s with the heart of someone who values legacy, community, and building something that lasts.
Meet Rachel
Growing up, Rachel spent time with her grandparents at least twice a week, cherishing the wisdom and stories they shared. Their life experiences shaped much of who Rachel is today, and she always appreciated the wisdom and legacy that came with each passing year. As she watched them transition from a life of traveling the world to needing in-home care and eventually moving into assisted living, Rachel gained a deep appreciation for the professionals and communities that support seniors.
As a Senior Project Manager and CX representative at SSDM, Rachel brings that same dedication to every client. She ensures that each project runs smoothly, while always keeping the residents’ experience at the heart of her work, creating strategies that deliver results with empathy and care.
Meet Grace
Grace’s passion for seniors stems from the close bond she shared with her grandparents growing up. To her, seniors are the keepers of family traditions and the foundation of our roots, making their stories invaluable. Grace’s relationship with her grandmother deepend when she moved into a nursing home, where she saw firsthand how community and connection brought her grandma increased joy and engagement.
Now, as a Project Experience Coordinator at SSDM, Grace channels that passion into her work, creating strategies that allow our clients to help seniors stay engaged and connected. She believes that every senior has a story worth sharing, and works to ensure that senior communities foster meaningful connections and happy experiences, just as her grandmother enjoyed.
Meet Marie
As one of the youngest members of a very large family, Marie is no stranger to spending time with older folks. She spent weekends during her childhood digging for treasures in her grandparent’s basement, which was packed floor-to-ceiling with all kinds of things (a product of her grandparents living through the Great Depression, no doubt). She loved bringing her findings to her grandparents to hear the stories behind them, or to learn what kind of outdated kitchen gadget she had found. Later, Marie cared regularly for her grandparents as they aged, helping with activities of daily living as well as assisting with bedtime routines as her grandfather suffered with dementia. Ensuring that both of her grandparents remained comfortable and happy during their golden years is something that she continually strived toward during each visit.
Now, Marie understands how important it is to make sure that our loved ones receive the best possible care in an environment that will ensure that they are able to flourish. This core value is at the heart of everything she does as a Marketing Intern, and drives her to continue striving toward excellence for SSDM, its clients, and ultimately, the seniors that are impacted along the way.
This includes everything you need to generate leads off the web. We will run search and display ads to the highest converting audience in your footprint and take them to custom landing pages that include multiple conversion points that will turn web visitors into leads.
Supports up to 3 communities, starting at
Includes:
This is for nurturing your web visitors and leads after the first conversation has gone cold. Here we will run automated emails, retargeting ads, social ads and direct mail to reignite the conversation. This is for senior living companies struggling with high lead volumes that are not converting.
Supports all communities
Includes:
This is a 90 day program that turns your sales department into a finely tuned conversion machine. This complete sales program uses proven tactics and processes that strategically guide prospects through the sales pipeline.
3 month engagement
Includes:
This exclusive content series delivers valuable insights on 12 different aspects of senior marketing. Several include free downloadable resources. The emails will be delivered to your inbox one time a week for the next 12 weeks.
We mean it - No sales pitch here. Let’s get to know each other a little, and discover if we share similar passions. Ask us whatever you want to know.
To ensure the best success for our future clients, we only work with those who are operating outside of the geographical footprint of our current clients. By filling out this form, we are able to determine how we can best service your communities.
If you’d like to speak with us rather than fill out a form, we always welcome a friendly conversation.
Talk with us today: (248) 629-9594
Step One
Complete the form. Please provide us with your contact information
and a few details about your communities.
Step Two
Our team will be in contact with you in the next 4-8 hours to discuss
how we can help.
Step Three
Get ready to maximize your growth marketing potential! We will work
with you to chart the best path forward for your unique needs.
*SSDM 140+ Community Average compared to National Industry Average reported
by McKnight’s Senior Living
**SSDM 140+ Community Average compared to Average Referral Source Fee
To ensure the best success for our future clients, we only work with those who are operating outside of the geographical footprint of our current clients. By filling out this form, we are able to determine how we can best service your communities.
If you’d like to speak with us rather than fill out a form, we always welcome a friendly conversation.
Talk with us today: (248) 629-9594
Step One
Complete the form. Please provide us with your contact information
and a few details about your communities.
Step Two
Our team will be in contact with you in the next 4-8 hours to discuss
how we can help.
Step Three
Get ready to maximize your growth marketing potential! We will work
with you to chart the best path forward for your unique needs.