How to Create a Team Slide Pitch Deck + Real-Life Examples
In a sea of pitch decks, investors are always on the lookout for the competition slide. They uncover more about the competitive landscape and how you stack up against other key players in the industry.
Beyond showcasing your unique differentiators, the competition slide reflects your thought process regarding competitive advantage, market opportunities and business maturity. And showing the investors that you know the market and have done the research to position your company with purpose will make the difference between a passed-on pitch and an interested investor.
In this guide, we review what the competition slide is, what its purpose and benefits are, some real-life examples and 12 competition slide template types to help you and your pitch deck succeed.
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The competition slide in a pitch deck is the one that highlights the company’s competitive landscape and unique differentiators. For a competition slide to exist, you must conduct a comprehensive competitive analysis of direct and indirect competitors. The results of a competitive analysis help you craft your unique value proposition and differentiating attributes.
Additionally, the analysis data is the foundation for the competition visualization slide. Data visualization for competition slides is typically a magic matrix, a comparison table, or another creative approach.
During a pitch meeting with investors, the presenter can start a conversation about this slide, focusing on the unique value proposition. For presentations sent as emails, the visual needs enough context to understand the competitive advantages at a glance.
The purpose of a competition slide is to give investors an accurate overview of your competitive analysis and how your company stacks up against the other names in the market. Essentially, the competition slide pinpoints your competitive positioning and competitive advantage.
Another purpose of this slide is to prove to investors that there’s, in fact, a market for your idea and that people are willing to pay for it. The competition slide and the conversation must show that you understand the need and have analyzed all aspects of how competitors do business, leading to your unique differentiation and value proposition.
A well-designed and well-informed competition slide has numerous benefits in a pitch deck. First, a competitive slide identifies the brand’s positioning in its competitive landscape by listing or mapping competitors against a series of measurable factors. Investors and venture capitalists need to have this crucial information in order to even consider making an investment.
The second benefit of a competition slide is that it gives investors a good idea of your competitive advantage. According to Philip Kotler, the father of marketing, competitive advantage is “a company’s ability to perform in one or more ways that competitors cannot or will not match.” It’s the competitive slide’s job to highlight this advantage clearly and with purpose.
Finally, the competitive slide also offers a benefit during its execution. Creating the competition slide requires competitive analysis to deduce a precise competitive position in the market. Investors can see right through a weak competition slide that lacks context and depth. When you conduct detailed market and competitor research, investors will feel more confident about funding your project.
There are two main types of competition slides; the matrix and the table. However, some companies get creative with their competition slide and utilize unique ways to highlight their competitive advantage and market positioning. In this section, we show you four real-life examples from brand pitch decks in various industries.
The competition slide for a pitch deck by lending firm, Clearbanc uses an attributes table with detailed data to compare the brand to three competitors. At the top of the slide is the value proposition, worded as an engaging statement. In the table, the Clearbanc column is colored blue to draw attention to it.
In the competition slide for the digital bank, N26, they used a unique approach in which N26 is in the center and includes everything all the competing apps around it offer. It’s a bold statement to position a company like this, and you better have the data to back it up.
The competitor analysis slide for the Magic Leap pitch deck is a complex Venn diagram with numerous direct and indirect competitors in different categories to facilitate comparison and analysis. A competitive diagram like this will need conversational context during the pitch meeting to communicate unique differentiators with investors.
In the case of a Revolut pitch deck, the competition slide combines two visual options for comparison: the matrix and the table. They took the best of both, minimized them visually and created a well-balanced design that informs and impacts.
Your pitch deck needs a competition slide to visualize and share the results of your market analysis. In this section, we share 12 competition slides to use straight away for your pitch deck.
Each example below is a slide inside a complete pitch deck template. When you use Visme to create a pitch deck, you have all Visme features, from foundational tools like branding kits and master slides to animation, dynamic fields, collaboration options, an analytics dashboard and a whiteboarding environment.
Not convinced? Hear it from Kendra Bradley, Graphic Content Developer at WOW! “Previously, we were using PowerPoint, which is fine, but the interactivity you can get with Visme is so much more robust that we’ve all steered away from PowerPoint.” You too can create interactive and static pitch decks with Visme.
Read the full case study here.
The competition matrix is based on the concept of the magic quadrant, a chart with four areas of different values according to two attributes. In the example template below, the attributes are affordability (visualized as inexpensive and costly) and type of transaction (online or offline). The arrows or lines are value lines from one extreme of the attribute to the other, separating the four quadrants into:
When choosing the attributes to measure, use a characteristic or attribute of your company that you know will rise above the rest. Use the value proposition to deduce the attributes to measure and compare. In this case, the value proposition is “ an inexpensive and online accommodation booking option for travelers.”
In a competition matrix, always place your company on the top right-hand quadrant above and to the right of all the competitors. This is the privileged spot on the matrix and from here you can create narratives for investors. The opposite quadrant on the Matrix is typically occupied by indirect competitors with big names in the market. Including these competitors gives investors an idea of the quality and reach of the market you’ve assessed as your competition.
To achieve a balanced design for your competition matrix and across your pitch deck, maintain consistency in the size of groups of elements on each slide. On this slide, resize the competitor logos to be identical in dimension. Resizing shapes is simple; click and drag on the corner of the bounding box to set the size you like. To make all logos the exact height, input the value in pixels into each logo’s setting window. Or you can use Visme's AI Resize to automatically resize it for you rather than doing it manually.
A competition slide overviews the competitive landscape. The attributes of this landscape depend on your competitive advantage and position in the market. In this competition slide example, the comparison is based on a financial attribute.
This slide is one in a set of slides sharing the results of a competitive market analysis. This visualization positions the pitching brand into the mass market denomination, competing with big names like Amazon and eBay. Another slide follows with an explanation of the unique differentiator and value proposition.
Layer circles and shapes on your slides to highlight specific content points or reading directions. Right-click on any object and select to send it back, bring it forward or move up or down one layer. For more granular control, open the objects list and organize your layers in detail. Visual cues like layering shapes help tell your story.
Competitors can be direct or indirect. Direct competitors are the ones that offer the same or very similar products or services in the same market. An indirect competitor offers a different product but can satisfy the same consumer in another way. It’s essential to highlight both on your competition slide.
This competition slide template is an introductory overview of your conversation with investors during the pitch presentation. The next ideal slide is a matrix or table highlighting how exactly your company is different but also has a market to enter or grow into.
Visually, this slide includes two icons on the right to balance out the design and invite the reader to keep flipping through the presentation pages. With a legend, each icon can represent the direct and indirect clients; direct on top and indirect at the bottom.
This template includes two icons from our extensive library of vector icons, illustrations and graphics you'll only find in Visme. Browse the galleries to find the perfect one. Place the icons from the toolbar, style one and then use the copy style function to make them all the same size and color. Finally, customize them to create a contrasting design like the one below.
Similar to the slide above, this competition slide shares an overview of competitors but goes a step further with attribute notation, referencing the same ideas as the competition matrix. In the top right quadrant, the pitching company highlights differentiating attributes with a list.
The remaining quadrants analyze three competitors according to the same three attributes. Each attribute includes a plus or minus notation to identify positive and negative characteristics in relation to the market and consumer needs.
Use the aligning feature in your editor to center the text inside the rectangles. Select the rectangle and the text together and click on align objects in the top right toolbar. Align to the center, and all selected elements will align to the first element you selected. Aligning controls help you center, left align, and equally separate elements, objects and text boxes.
When your company has one main direct competitor, it’s worth creating one competitive analysis slide just for them. Highlighting the key differentiating factors for your biggest competitor is a great way to show investors that you know the market and can fill the gaps.
This positives and negatives comparison slide includes visual icons to depict the positives and negatives of one competitor, Tuber. When selecting the attributes to include in a comparison slide like this, consider the attributes of your own company. The positives of your competitors are the risks your company has to overcome and learn from. The negatives are the gaps that your company can fill.
When presenting this slide, the attributes are so specific that it’s highly likely that investors will want to know more about your company’s unique value proposition in relation to this competitor. These conversations about competitors are critical for showing investors that you have researched the market and the competitors well enough to make these types of statements. You must be ready to answer questions and expand on your market analysis findings.
When presenting your pitch deck, use the slides as speaking points. Highlight your biggest competitors and their unique selling points on a slide, then tell your investors about them. For each competitor, use a narrative to explain how your product or company does things differently to fill a gap that competitors aren’t filling.
To make your slide attractive and worth having in a pitch deck, to begin with, stay away from bullet points over a blank background and use a creative design with a photo background, like the example below.
The competitor analysis table is the main event of the competition section in a pitch deck. It’s with this data visualization that you can prove to investors that you know the market, the competitors and their positions in it. There are two ways to create a competitor analysis table; one with attributes that competitors have or don't have and the other with specific data per competitor.
This table example has unique data per competitor, opening up the floor for conversation with the investors. They will ask and want to know how your company, brand, product or idea will differ from the others, where the gaps you plan to fill are, and if it has a chance at making money.
Creating tables with Visme is easy and intuitive. You have access to lots of pre-filled tables to get you started quickly, all with different unique designs to match your content. All you have to do is customize the colors and the fonts. To input the data, you can do it manually, but why waste time with that when you can import the data from a Google Sheet or Excel workbook?
Feature and benefit tables are highly visual representations of your company’s differentiating factors. In the table, the left column lists in order, the elements of your value proposition, the key benefits and unique features. The columns on the left start with your company and the competitors to the right are listed in order of relevance. Your column has all cells filled with checkmarks; the columns on the right are a combination of checks and Xs.
This competitor analysis slide offers a pre-filled color-coded table to compare five features across your company and two competitors. The column header colors mirror the brand colors in the slide design. For a bolder visual composition, remove the Xs altogether and show only the checkmarks. Seeing only one full column of check marks can be more impactful than a table full of icons.
Showcase your closest competitors with image highlights. A slide template like this is great as an introduction to a full competitor analysis with all competitors and comparison data. When presenting to investors, talk about your competitive advantage over your greatest competitor.
Visually, Instead of a logo or a name on a list, add an image in a circle to visualize why these are the most critical competitors. The Visme editor has thousands of stock images and videos at your fingertips. For a creative approach, use the AI image generator to create attractive visuals instead of using stock photography.
The competitor table is considered by some as the most effective visual for a competitor slide. It’s easy to skim and compare benefits between your company and its competitors.
The bold design on this slide includes a large title on the left and a minimalistic table on the right. The table design has a strong green header, no column lines and circular markers with checks and Xs.
When looking for design elements or editing features, save precious time by using the / keyboard shortcut. Simply tap / on your keyboard and a small popup will appear. You’ll find the basic design building blocks and a search bar to find whatever is needed. All without leaving the canvas.
Add a bit of edge to your competitor's table with these angled column lines and contrasting colors over grayscale. Highlight the company’s prospects or characteristics. This table includes characteristics such as Cheap, Multiple Subscriptions, Updated Templates, Multiple Platforms.
When naming the prospects or characteristics for your table, list your company’s most impactful benefits. Use two or a maximum of three words to describe each benefit clearly.
You can also take it further by showcasing how your team’s expertise and results are highlighted in the team slide pitch deck, proving that your experience matches or exceeds expectations compared to competitors.
Use the integrated animation features to improve the slide’s visual story. Here’s an idea: animate the checkmarks on your column to bring attention to the benefits your company offers. Then add subtler movements to the Xs to show how much the competitors are missing.
Competitor analysis for brands in busy sectors or ones that cover several industries are typically longer than for a small startup. The complex results are reflected in the competition slides of late stage pitch decks. Some presentations require an entire section to cover different groups or categories. This template is the solution for the section cover or introduction.
Link each category blurb to the corresponding slide with the competitor matrix or benefits table. Add an interactive back-to-home button on each inside slide so the viewer or presenter can navigate back to the section cover if necessary. Otherwise, simply flip from one matrix to another.
You’re not limited to circles on a competition categories slide. Try diamonds, hexagons or slanted squares. Fit them together on the slide in creative layouts and add the category names or groups. Keep the font size and style the same for all titles to impart a sense of balance to the design.
Visually listing your competitors in a chart, table or list is fine for the slide in the pitch deck. But for the speech you pitch, there’s more to a competition slide than meets the eye.
1. Have a clear grasp of the competitive landscape. Some investors will be very interested in your competition slides, while others will want to know more about the market size or go-to-market strategy. You won’t know until you’re giving the presentation, so regardless if you use a minimal competition slide or a detailed table, you must be ready to answer questions.
2. Be knowledgeable of your competitors' positive and negative attributes in comparison to yours. Pinpoint clear comparison points that reinforce your competitive advantage and have them ready to share if the investors ask for more information when you reach that section of the pitch.
3. Never slander the competition. Always stay objective in the way you talk about your competitors. When explaining what your company does better, don’t speak negatively of the competitor. Keep all mentions cool and unbiased. If there are negative reviews online about your competitors, you can share them but make sure they’re cited as being from someone else.
Creating a pitch deck with a competition slide is simple when you have the right tools. Visme, as a visual content authoring tool, has everything you need to create competitive slides that tell stories about your competitive advantage, plus all the other slides you need. Don’t forget to invite team members to collaborate on the finalization of the competitor table.
Pitch decks aren’t all you can do with Visme. You can also create all types of documents, infographics, social media posts, branding material and much more. As a tool for agencies, Visme can fill the design gap in your organization and offer solutions for everyone on your team.
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