How to Make a Benchmarking Presentation [And How to Present It]
- Ink Narrates | The Presentation Design Agency
- Aug 18, 2025
- 10 min read
Updated: Jan 13
Rob, one of our clients, asked us an interesting question while we were making his benchmarking presentation:
“Isn’t benchmarking just about showing numbers side by side?”
Our Creative Director replied,
“Only if you want your audience to fall asleep.”
As a presentation design agency, we work on many benchmarking presentations throughout the year and in the process we’ve observed one common challenge: people mistake them for dull comparison charts instead of powerful business tools.
So, in this blog we’ll talk about how to make benchmarking presentations that don’t just compare numbers but actually influence decisions.
In case you didn't know, many corporations outsource slide design to us. We can help you by designing your slides and writing your content too.
What is a Benchmarking Presentation
A benchmarking presentation is a structured way to show how your performance compares to competitors or industry standards so your audience can quickly understand where you stand and what needs to improve.
Why you might need one
To help your audience understand exactly where you stand in relation to competitors or industry benchmarks.
To support strategic decisions by highlighting gaps, strengths and opportunities backed by data.
To create alignment within your team so everyone sees the same landscape and works from a shared understanding.
FAQ: Do I need a Benchmarking Presentation or a Benchmarking Slide?
If you need to walk your audience through a full story that explains where you stand, why the comparison matters and what actions should follow, you need a benchmarking presentation. It gives you room to guide people through context, analysis and interpretation so they reach the same conclusion you want them to reach.
If you already have a presentation and only need to highlight a quick comparison inside it, a benchmarking slide is enough. It works as a simple visual cue that supports your main narrative without requiring a deep dive.
How to Write Your Benchmarking Presentation
When people think about benchmarking, they often imagine dull tables with competitors’ numbers lined up like a school exam comparison. That’s the lazy version of benchmarking. The useful version — the one that actually influences decisions and earns respect in a boardroom — is a mix of smart structure, compelling visuals, and a story that sticks.
We’ve designed dozens of these for clients across industries, and we’ve learned that the difference between a forgettable benchmarking presentation and a persuasive one boils down to five things: framing, relevance, narrative, design, and delivery. Let’s go through them step by step.
1. Start with the “why”
Before you drop a single number onto a slide, you need to be crystal clear on why you’re benchmarking. Are you trying to show your investors that your growth outpaces the industry average? Are you trying to prove to your leadership that customer satisfaction is dropping compared to competitors? Or maybe you want to convince your team that internal processes are slower than market standards and need fixing.
If you skip the why, your audience will spend the whole time asking themselves, “Why am I looking at this?” That’s when eyes glaze over and phones come out.
So begin your benchmarking presentation with context. One or two slides that state the purpose clearly. For example:
“We want to evaluate where our customer retention rate stands compared to the top three competitors.”
“Our goal is to identify operational bottlenecks by comparing our cycle times to industry leaders.”
This not only frames the conversation but also primes your audience to care about what’s coming next.
2. Choose the right benchmarks
Not all benchmarks are created equal. We’ve seen teams throw in every metric under the sun, thinking more data equals more credibility. The reality is the opposite. Too many benchmarks dilute focus. Your audience doesn’t remember twenty metrics. They remember three to five that cut deep.
So ask yourself: which benchmarks actually move the needle for your business? For a SaaS company, it might be churn rate, customer acquisition cost, and revenue per user. For a retail business, it could be foot traffic, conversion rate, and basket size. For HR benchmarking, it might be time-to-hire, employee retention, and cost per hire.
If a metric doesn’t link directly to a strategic goal, it’s just noise. Leave it out.
3. Tell a story with comparisons
Benchmarking without narrative is just math. Your job is not to show that your net promoter score is 67 while the industry average is 70. Your job is to frame that difference in a way that sparks action.
Here’s an example. Let’s say your retention rate is 85 percent while your competitor’s is 92 percent. You could just present that as a gap. Or you could tell the story like this:
“We’re retaining 7 percent fewer customers than our competitor. That may look small on paper, but for us it means losing roughly 3,000 customers a year. That equals $6 million in lost revenue annually.”
Notice what happened there? Suddenly the number is not abstract anymore. It has weight. It matters. That’s the story you want to tell.
A benchmarking presentation becomes powerful when you move beyond what the numbers are to why they matter.
4. Make it visually digestible
Let’s be honest — most benchmarking slides look like spreadsheets pasted into PowerPoint. That’s a guaranteed way to kill interest. If you want your data to land, you need design that works for the human brain, not against it.
Some simple but effective rules we follow:
Use charts sparingly but smartly. Bar charts are great for showing comparisons side by side. Line charts work well for trends over time. Radar charts can highlight multiple dimensions at once, but don’t overcomplicate.
Highlight the key number. Don’t make your audience scan a chart to figure out what matters. Circle it, bold it, or visually isolate it.
Avoid clutter. White space is your friend. Every extra gridline, label, or logo that doesn’t serve the message is noise.
Use color intentionally. If you’re behind the industry average, make it red. If you’re ahead, make it green. Simple cues like that help people process faster.
Remember, your audience will not remember every number you present. What they will remember is the impression. Did they feel you’re lagging? Leading? Closing the gap? Design drives that impression.
5. Frame gaps as opportunities
One of the most common mistakes we see is when teams present benchmarks as a depressing list of shortcomings. Nobody likes to sit through a presentation that feels like a funeral.
Instead, frame every gap as an opportunity. For example:
Don’t say: “We’re 15 percent slower than industry average in onboarding.”
Do say: “By matching industry onboarding speeds, we have the chance to increase customer activation by 15 percent. That translates to an additional $2 million in revenue potential.”
See the difference? One feels like a dead end. The other feels like a door opening.
Benchmarking presentations are not about proving you’re the best today. They’re about showing a path to improvement tomorrow. That shift in framing changes the energy in the room.
6. Use context to avoid misinterpretation
Numbers in isolation lie. If you show that your marketing spend is higher than competitors, someone might argue you’re inefficient. But if you also show that your customer lifetime value is double theirs, suddenly that “inefficiency” looks like smart investment.
Context is everything. Always pair the benchmark with the why. Otherwise, you risk your audience drawing conclusions you didn’t intend.
7. Build a flow that makes sense
Think of your benchmarking presentation as a journey:
Opening: Why are we here? What’s the purpose?
Current state: Where do we stand right now?
Comparison: How do we compare with others?
Implications: What does this mean for us?
Next steps: What actions should we consider?
If you stick to this flow, your audience never feels lost. They know exactly why each slide exists and where you’re going with it.
8. Keep the language human
This one’s underrated. Too many benchmarking presentations are written in stiff corporate jargon.
“Our KPI variance demonstrates a strategic misalignment with industry peers.” Nobody wants to hear that.
Instead, say: “We’re spending more but getting less value than our competitors.”See? Straightforward. Human. No translation required.
When you speak like a human, people engage. When you sound like a robot, they tune out.
9. Rehearse the delivery
Even the best designed benchmarking presentation falls flat if delivered poorly. You don’t need to memorize every line, but you should be able to walk through each slide with confidence.
Anticipate the tough questions:
“Why did you choose these benchmarks?”
“How reliable is this data?”
“What does this mean for next quarter’s strategy?”
If you can answer those clearly, you’ll hold the room. If you stumble, the data loses credibility.
Practice not just what you’ll say, but how you’ll say it. Use pauses. Emphasize key numbers. Let silence do some of the heavy lifting after big reveals. A calm, confident delivery can make average data feel important.
10. End with action, not just analysis
A benchmarking presentation that ends with “and that’s the data” is a missed opportunity. Your audience doesn’t just want to see the numbers. They want to know what to do next.
Always close with clear options:
“We can reduce churn by investing in customer success programs.”
“We should streamline onboarding to close the gap with competitors.”
“We need to revisit pricing to align with industry standards.”
Give your audience something to decide on. That’s how benchmarking stops being passive comparison and becomes active strategy.
Designing the Slides of Your Benchmarking Deck
A well-designed benchmarking presentation should instantly reveal meaningful differences, so your audience understands the landscape without effort.
1. Use consistent visual identity
Assign each competitor or benchmark a single color and stick to it across all slides. This builds recognition and helps viewers follow patterns quickly.
2. Choose comparison friendly charts
Select chart types that clearly show contrast, like bars or side by side visuals. Avoid formats that flatten differences or force the audience to interpret too much.
3. Keep layouts spacious and clean
Give your charts and labels enough room to breathe. Clutter hides insights, while open layouts allow key differences to stand out.
4. Highlight only what matters
Guide attention with subtle emphasis instead of decoration. A simple label or accent can lead viewers toward the insight you want them to see.
How Should You Present Your Benchmarking Data & Insights
Presenting benchmarking data is not about reading charts. It is about guiding your audience through what the comparisons actually mean. Breaking your delivery into clear stages helps people absorb the message without feeling overwhelmed.
Start With Context So People Know What Lens to Use
Before showing a single chart, explain why the comparison matters right now. This gives your audience a mental anchor.
Example: “We’re evaluating this because our customer growth has plateaued, and we need to understand how our performance stacks up against the fastest growing players in our space.”
With context, every comparison feels purposeful. Without it, your data feels scattered.
Show the Comparison, Then Tell Them What It Means
Never assume the audience automatically understands a chart. Walk them through it.
A helpful sequence is: Show → Interpret → Implication
Example: "We’re onboarding users in 12 days. Competitor A does it in 6. This difference affects our activation rate because customers lose momentum during long onboarding cycles.”
By interpreting the data out loud, you remove guesswork and keep everyone aligned.
Simplify the Delivery Instead of Explaining Every Detail
Your job is to highlight the comparisons that truly matter, not recite every number on every slide.
Example: If your slide has eight metrics but only three show major gaps, you might say: “Let’s focus on these three because they influence revenue most directly. The others support the picture but don’t change the overall story.”
This keeps attention on what drives decisions.
Use Rhythm and Contrast to Hold Attention
The way you speak can guide people just like your visuals do. When something important appears on screen, slow down. For supporting information, move naturally and slightly faster.
Example: Slow your pace when saying, “This is the point that explains why our churn increased last quarter.” Speed up slightly when transitioning with, “Now let’s move to the next metric that supports this trend.”
Rhythm helps your audience follow you without feeling mentally fatigued.
Handle Emotional Reactions With Calm, Constructive Framing
Benchmarking exposes gaps, which can make people defensive. Your framing matters.
Instead of: “We’re falling behind in almost every category.”
Try: “These comparisons show us exactly where improvement will have the biggest impact.”
Example: If marketing is underperforming, say,“This gap in campaign efficiency highlights where opportunity lives. Closing it means gaining more reach for the same budget.”
This shifts the emotion from blame to possibility.
Turn Data Into Real World Meaning With Simple Examples
People connect more easily when you translate metrics into relatable scenarios.
Example: If your conversion rate is half the industry average, say,“That means we’re spending twice as much to convert the same number of customers. Improving this metric reduces cost while increasing our impact.”
Examples transform abstract data into everyday understanding.
Close by Reconnecting to the Purpose and the Key Takeaways
End your presentation by returning to the goal you started with. Summarize the top two or three insights that matter most and tie them directly to decisions ahead.
Example: “We began by asking how well we’re positioned for the next growth phase. Based on the comparisons, here are the three areas that will make the biggest difference. These will guide our priorities for the next quarter.”
This gives your audience clarity and alignment.
FAQ: What’s the ideal number of competitors to compare against?
Aim for a range that gives you a meaningful landscape without overwhelming your audience. For most benchmarking presentations, comparing against three to five competitors is the sweet spot because it shows clear patterns while keeping the data readable.
If you include too many, the comparisons flatten out and your insights lose impact. Choose competitors that truly represent the market you are trying to understand, not every company that happens to be in your space.
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