Many startups will assume once they have built a functional SaaS product they can rely on SEM and SEO to support all of their SaaS MQLs, (Marketing Qualified Leads) however, this could be a costly mistake. SEM is expensive and can quickly cost tens-of-thousands-of-dollars in marketing spend per week, and if the demand generation foundation has not been properly defined before launching an SEM campaign, then the traffic being generated from the SEM ads may not convert due to poor landing pages, poor supporting content, or just completely missing the mark with your targeted personas. Startup entrepreneurs may say this is part of the “growing pains” a young SaaS startup must face as they enter the market, and to a small degree this might be true. (but it doesn’t have to be)