What is ramp up?
In general terms, to “ramp up” means to sharply or exponentially increase the level or amount of something. In business and economics, “ramp up” means to increase business production ahead of the anticipated increase in demand.
Ramping up becomes necessary across different industries and types of teams or employees for a number of reasons:
- Onboarding new employees about their jobs and the business
- Preparing for the release of a new product
- Announcing a rebrand, acquisition, or round of funding
- Starting a significant hiring period
- Testing website load and performance
- Substantial increase in demand for a product due to a new distributor or retailer relationship
- Making a beta stage product or service publicly available
- Necessary recovery after an unpredictable, uncontrollable situation
Startups, small businesses, enterprises, and established companies all need to ramp up from time to time. Budgeting and forecasting software help companies estimate future revenues, as well as supply and demand. As a result, they know when ramping up is most beneficial.
Ways to ramp up
Nearly every department and process is involved when a business needs to ramp up. Here are just a few ways different teams facilitate the ramp up process:
- The marketing and advertising team build brand awareness by increasing social media engagement and beginning email campaigns.
- Email and content teams implement email marketing for awareness and lead generation.
- Product and user experience teams work on new or improved product features.
- The recruiting team reaches potential new employees and promotes open roles using recruitment marketing.
- Public-facing teams create a coordinated response to product demand.
- Finance and executive teams grow investor spending or venture capital support.
Preparation required for the ramp up process
A proper ramp up period requires careful planning and preparation, as many employees, departments, and customers are affected. Here are some of the items a business must address to prepare its employees properly:
- Expectations for every team and department at each step of the process
- New processes to deal with increased demand
- More brain power, whether in the form of more employees or automation tools
- A detailed backup plan for when things go wrong
- Steps to provide reporting of ramp up and growth success to investors and backers
Ramp up vs. ramp down
Ramping up increases production or activity at the beginning of a process.
Ramping down decreases production or activity at the end of a process or at a natural lull. While ramping up is often announced or publicized, ramping down is not.
Whitney Rudeseal Peet
Whitney Rudeseal Peet is a former freelance writer for G2 and a story- and customer-centered writer, marketer, and strategist. She fully leans into the gig-based world, also working as a voice over artist and book editor. Before going freelance full-time, Whitney worked in content and email marketing for Calendly, Salesforce, and Litmus, among others. When she's not at her desk, you can find her reading a good book, listening to Elton John and Linkin Park, enjoying some craft beer, or planning her next trip to London.
