How to Make the Customer Success Slide [Results & Relationships]
- Ink Narrates | The Presentation Design Agency
- May 14
- 7 min read
Updated: Jun 2
“Do I really need a customer success slide? Can’t we just show a few logos and call it a day?”
That’s what our client Jason asked us while we were building his sales presentation.
Our Creative Director answered with zero hesitation:
“Only if you want your wins to look like transactions instead of relationships.”
As a presentation design agency, we work on a lot of customer success slides every year. And while the industries may vary (tech, healthcare, logistics, education) the same issue shows up like clockwork: most companies treat this slide like a trophy shelf.
It’s all about what they achieved. Not what the customer got. Not what changed. Not what mattered.
So, in this blog, we’re going to talk about how to move your customer success slide from a static results dump to a story of real partnerships.
In case you didn't know, we specialize in only one thing: making presentations. We can help you by designing your slides and writing your content too.
What’s Wrong With Most Customer Success Slides
The average customer success slide is lazy.
You’ve probably seen them or maybe even made one. A grid of logos.
Maybe a few one-liners: “Reduced costs by 30%.” “Improved retention by 2x.” Throw in a testimonial if you’re feeling fancy.
And sure, it looks good at first glance. But here’s the problem: it doesn’t tell me anything beyond, “We worked with these people, and we did a decent job.”
That’s not success. That’s a status update.
The irony? Most businesses are sitting on a goldmine of stories that never make it to the slide. Not because they don’t care. But because they’re thinking in metrics instead of meaning.
See, a great customer success slide isn’t about showing off. It’s about building trust. It’s about making the prospect sitting across the table feel like, “That could be me.”
We’ve seen it too often; teams cram the slide with bullet points and miss the bigger picture. Which is: Customer success isn’t just about what you did. It’s about who you helped, how they felt, and what happened next.
Your sales deck isn’t an annual report. It’s a conversation starter. And if you’re serious about earning trust, your customer success slide needs to do more than just look impressive.
It needs to connect.
Designing a Better Customer Success Slide
So how do we take a tired, flat customer success slide and turn it into something that actually makes an impact? Here's the framework that works: no fluff, just real, actionable advice.
1. Move Beyond Just Numbers
First thing’s first: stop focusing on the numbers alone. Don’t get us wrong—metrics matter. But when you lead with "30% increase in revenue" or "50% customer retention," you're focusing on the results without acknowledging the journey.
A customer success slide should highlight the transformation, not just the outcome. Show how you worked with the client. Show the problem they were facing, the solution you provided, and the human impact of the work. By all means, include metrics—but only after you’ve made it clear how those numbers relate to actual changes for the client.
Here’s an example of a poor vs. great approach:
Poor Approach:"Helped Client A increase revenue by 30%."
It’s clear. It’s simple. But does it tell you anything useful? Not really. We need context.
Great Approach: "Client A was struggling to convert leads into customers, with a 10% conversion rate. After implementing our strategy, they saw a 30% increase in revenue within six months, which helped them hire five new team members and expand their product line."
Now, that’s a story. You’re not just listing a number. You’re explaining how that number reflects the change in the client's business, how it impacted their team, and what’s possible as a result. You’ve gone beyond a simple KPI into the realm of transformation. That’s what grabs attention and builds trust.
2. Focus on Relationships, Not Just Results
The core difference between a transaction and a partnership is the relationship. A customer success slide that merely presents your results without tying them to a human story misses a massive opportunity to connect.
When we work with clients on customer success slides, we emphasize the importance of illustrating the relationship you’ve built with your client. We’re talking about the trust, collaboration, and empathy that went into solving their problems. Instead of just stating, “We helped Client A reduce churn by 25%,” try something more relational:
Example of Relationship-Focused Approach: "Client A came to us with a critical retention problem—they had a growing churn rate that was threatening their bottom line. Through a series of collaborative workshops and ongoing feedback loops, we were able to craft a personalized strategy that addressed both the technical and emotional drivers of customer loyalty. The result? A 25% reduction in churn and a renewed sense of confidence in their customer experience."
Notice the difference? It’s not just “here’s what happened.” It’s “here’s how we worked with the client, what challenges we faced together, and the shared success we celebrated.”
By telling the story of the relationship, you position yourself as a true partner. And that’s far more compelling than just another client logo on a slide.
3. Make It Visual: Show, Don’t Just Tell
We can’t stress this enough. A customer success slide that’s all text is simply not going to have the same impact. The brain processes images 60,000 times faster than text. This means that if you can combine compelling visuals with your customer success story, you’ll have a much higher chance of engaging your audience.
The key is to use visuals that complement the narrative, not just fill space. Think about using:
Before-and-after visuals to show the transformation: These can be charts, graphs, or even simple images that show the change in action.
Client photos to humanize the story: Include a photo of the client (with permission) or their team in action. It makes the success feel more personal and relatable.
Infographics to illustrate complex ideas: A well-designed infographic can simplify data, making it both informative and visually appealing.
Here’s an example of what we mean by combining visuals and narrative:
Before: A slide showing "Increased website traffic by 40%" with a bar graph.
After: A slide with the headline, "Client B was struggling to drive traffic to their site, which hurt their lead generation efforts. After we reworked their SEO strategy, traffic increased by 40%, leading to a 20% increase in conversions."
Alongside this text, there’s a before-and-after chart showing the growth in traffic and a photo of the client's website with a notable spike in traffic numbers. It’s data combined with the human impact of the work.
4. Use Testimonials to Reinforce the Message
Customer testimonials are powerful, but they’re only effective when they’re the right kind. Instead of generic phrases like, “They did a great job!” look for testimonials that reinforce the story you’re telling with your customer success slide.
A great testimonial should focus on:
The challenge the client faced: "Before working with this team, we struggled to retain customers past the first six months."
How you helped solve it: "They helped us identify key touchpoints in the customer journey and implement strategies to improve engagement."
The impact it had on the client’s business: "As a result, we saw a 40% improvement in retention and even began receiving direct referrals from customers."
It’s about showing that the client’s success wasn’t just due to your product or service—it was the result of working together as a team to address a challenge and create lasting change.
5. Don’t Forget the Human Element
At the end of the day, a customer success slide should be a reflection of people. And people want to connect with people. So, don’t forget to inject a little personality into your slide.
In our experience, this can mean:
Sharing a memorable moment from the project: Maybe your team stayed up late solving a last-minute issue or had an “aha” moment that led to a breakthrough.
Including quotes from the team who worked on the project: “Working with Client C was incredible. We learned so much from their perspective and were able to apply it to future projects.”
These elements aren’t just nice-to-haves. They make the slide more authentic and relatable. They remind the audience that the success you’re showcasing wasn’t some automated process—it was a team effort. And, for your audience, that makes all the difference.
6. Tailor the Message to Your Audience
Every customer success slide should be adaptable. The story of how you helped a client may resonate differently depending on who’s sitting across from you.
For example, if you’re presenting to a potential investor, focus more on the business outcomes: growth in revenue, reduction in churn, and market expansion. On the other hand, if you’re presenting to a potential customer, emphasize the transformation—how you helped a client overcome similar challenges and what that journey looked like.
This means you may need multiple versions of your customer success slide, each tailored to the audience you’re addressing. And that’s okay.
Tailoring the message is how you make the story relevant and relatable. The goal is to show that you understand their pain points and that you’ve successfully addressed them before.
Why Hire Us to Build your Presentation?
If you're reading this, you're probably working on a presentation right now. You could do it all yourself. But the reality is - that’s not going to give you the high-impact presentation you need. It’s a lot of guesswork, a lot of trial and error. And at the end of the day, you’ll be left with a presentation that’s “good enough,” not one that gets results. On the other hand, we’ve spent years crafting thousands of presentations, mastering both storytelling and design. Let us handle this for you, so you can focus on what you do best.