How to Present Benchmarking Data [And make it meaningful]
- Ink Narrates | The Presentation Design Agency
- 31 minutes ago
- 7 min read
Our client Sofia, the Head of Strategy, asked us an interesting question while we were making their benchmarking presentation:
“How do we show benchmarking data without it becoming just another comparison chart nobody remembers?”
Our Creative Director answered:
“You don’t show comparisons, you show consequences.”
As a presentation design agency, we work on many benchmarking decks throughout the year. And in the process, we’ve noticed one common challenge: Most benchmarking slides focus too much on data and too little on what the data actually means.
So, in this blog, we’ll talk about how to present benchmarking data in a way that actually tells a story, moves decisions forward, and doesn’t drown your audience in numbers.
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.
Why Benchmarking Presentations Usually Fall Flat
Most benchmarking data gets thrown into decks like it’s supposed to impress people by default. You’ve got charts comparing you to competitors, maybe a performance index, a couple of bar graphs, a spider chart if you're feeling fancy — and that’s it.
What’s missing? Context. Meaning. Urgency.
The problem isn’t the lack of data. The problem is that no one cares unless they understand why it matters. Just showing that you're 12% behind the industry average in customer retention doesn’t move the needle unless you explain what that 12% is costing you, or what being ahead could unlock.
Benchmarking, by nature, is comparative. But the presentation of it should be directional. Are we better or worse? Fine. But now what? What does that tell us about where to invest? What to stop doing? What to double down on?
We’ve seen presentations with 30+ benchmarking charts — all accurate, all beautifully color-coded — and yet, not a single strategic decision came out of them. Because benchmarking data without interpretation is just an expensive progress report. No one hires a strategy team or a design agency for that.
So, before we get into how to present benchmarking data effectively, here’s the question you need to ask yourself:
“What are we actually trying to say with this?”
Because if the only point of your benchmarking slide is “Here’s how we compare,” you’ve already lost your audience.
How to Present Benchmarking Data (So It Actually Means Something)?
1. Start with the “So what?” — Not the chart
Before you show any data, write this sentence on a sticky note and keep it in front of you:
“The only reason this benchmarking matters is because…”
If you can’t finish that sentence in a way that connects to business goals, your benchmarking data shouldn’t be in the deck.
Let’s say you’re showing that your logistics firm is 8% slower on average than the top 3 competitors.
That’s a stat. Now, turn it into meaning:
“We’re 8% slower than the industry leaders — and that delay is costing us $X per quarter in lost repeat business.”
Boom. That’s what benchmarking is for — not the stat, but the story behind the stat. Don’t let your audience work to connect the dots. Do it for them. Lay out the implication upfront.
2. Use contrast, not just comparison
Too many presentations treat benchmarking like a side-by-side product review. “Here’s us, here’s them. Here’s a chart.” That’s not enough. You have to show contrast, not just comparison.
Let us explain.
Comparison says:
“Competitor A has a 95% fulfillment rate. We’re at 86%.”
Contrast says:
“While Competitor A is fulfilling 95 out of 100 orders — we’re dropping the ball on 14. That’s 14 opportunities per 100 we’re throwing away.”
See the difference? Comparison is neutral. Contrast forces judgment. And judgment leads to action.
So if you want your benchmarking data to stick, don’t just compare metrics — contrast outcomes.
What does a 3% gap really mean in terms of revenue, retention, or risk?
3. Visuals matter — but clarity wins
Yes, we’re a presentation design agency. Yes, we love a good graph. But here’s the truth: most benchmarking visuals are trying too hard to impress, and not hard enough to clarify.
People go overboard with radar charts, donut graphs, multi-axis bar charts. And what does that lead to? A 10-second pause while the audience silently tries to decode what they’re looking at — followed by someone saying, “Can you explain this chart?”
Here’s our rule: If a benchmarking graphic takes more than 5 seconds to understand, it’s broken.
Use clean bar charts, line graphs, or side-by-side visuals with annotations. Show trends. Highlight key metrics. Circle what matters. Blur out what doesn’t.
And for the love of presentations — never show a benchmarking chart without a headline that tells people what the chart is proving.
4. Tell the data where to go — don’t let it lead you
This one’s big.
Most benchmarking presentations start with someone downloading a bunch of industry reports or competitive dashboards and then trying to figure out what to show. That’s backwards.
You’re the strategist. You decide the narrative. Then the data comes in to support it — not the other way around.
Here’s how we structure this when working with clients:
What’s the decision we’re trying to drive?
What belief or behavior needs to change?
What benchmarking evidence supports or challenges that?
How do we present it in a way that makes the gap feel real?
We recently worked on a benchmarking deck for a retail brand exploring expansion. The team had dozens of metrics on store size, average sales per sq ft, demographic alignment, you name it.
But all the client really needed to see was this:
“Compared to 5 brands with similar store formats, your sales per square foot are 26% lower — despite operating in higher-footfall areas. Here’s where the inefficiency lies.”
We built the whole narrative around that single insight. And it landed.
5. Avoid paralysis by benchmarking
Here’s an uncomfortable truth most people don’t talk about: Benchmarking can easily become a way to avoid decisions.
You’ve seen this play out — someone says, “Let’s wait until we get the full competitive analysis before we make a call.” Weeks go by. The deck gets longer. The action stalls.
Don’t let that happen in your presentation.
If you’re benchmarking just to show how you stack up, and not to trigger a next step, the audience will treat it the same way — as passive information.
So be ruthless. For every benchmarking slide, ask:
What do we want the audience to feel after seeing this?
What action are we driving?
What question are we answering — and what’s the answer?
If you don’t have good responses to those, skip the slide. Or rework it until you do.
6. Anchor to a goal — not just the competition
This one might sound small, but it’s a game changer: Don’t make the competition your only benchmark. Make your goals the benchmark.
Too many benchmarking decks fall into the trap of chasing industry averages. But here’s the catch — maybe the industry is underperforming. Maybe your goals should be more ambitious.
Instead of just saying “We’re 3% behind the market leader,” ask:
“What does our own growth strategy demand from this metric?”
Let’s say the industry average for onboarding new customers is 6 days, and you’re at 7. Fine. But maybe to support your product-led growth strategy, you actually need to get it down to 4.
So, the real benchmark isn’t the industry. It’s you — your future, your ambition, your strategic plan.
That shift in framing does two things:
It gives your benchmarking data a forward-looking direction.
It prevents complacency when the industry isn’t doing great either.
7. Never let a benchmarking slide stand alone
This is a pet peeve of ours, but it’s everywhere: a benchmarking slide dropped right in the middle of a deck with no setup and no follow-up.
“Here’s a chart comparing our pricing model to competitors.”[crickets]
You can’t do that.
Every benchmarking insight needs context before it and implication after it. Treat it like a story beat, not a standalone fact.
For example:
Before the slide:
“One of the biggest objections we face in sales conversations is around pricing.”
The benchmarking slide: [Clean chart showing your pricing vs. competitors, with notes on value offered]
After the slide:
“This shows we’re priced slightly higher, but we offer more integrations and faster onboarding. The key is how we position this difference — not lower the price.”
Now you’ve taken the data and turned it into a strategic talking point. That’s what good presentation is.
8. Use benchmarking to spark urgency — not shame
There’s a difference between saying “We’re behind” and “Here’s why we can’t afford to stay behind.”
People don’t take action because they’re embarrassed. They take action because they feel urgency, clarity, and momentum. Use your benchmarking data to create that.
If you’re lagging behind, don’t just show the gap — show what’s at risk. And more importantly, show what’s possible if you close it.
One of our clients in the SaaS space was behind in onboarding speed. We didn’t say “You’re slower.”
We said:
“If we can shave off 2 days from onboarding, based on our churn data, we could reduce monthly drop-offs by 18%. That’s $X per year in retained revenue.”
Suddenly, the benchmarking insight isn’t just a lagging indicator — it’s a lever.
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.