Canva vs PowerPoint: Which is Best for B2B Sales Presentations?

Canva vs. Powerpoint: Which is the best fit for your B2B organization? You’ve been using Powerpoint for years, but you’re now in the market for a new presentation design tool for your B2B sales and marketing team. Canva, a tool used by millions, has caught your attention. In this article, we will compare Canva and PowerPoint, examining their pros and cons to assist you in determining which sales presentation tool is the right choice for your growing B2B brand. 

What Are the Essential Features for Modern B2B Sales Teams in a Sales Presentation Tool?

Gone are the days of bulky, stock-image-riddled presentations. Modern B2B sales teams need sales presentation tools that can keep up with the fast-paced, mobile-driven world we live in. Enter Canva vs. PowerPoint - two heavy hitters in the presentation tool game. But which one truly has what it takes to meet the needs of high-growth B2B brands?

We’ve broken down the needs of the modern sales teams into 6 categories and will stack each platform against these criteria.

Let's start with presentation responsiveness - it's no secret that we're all glued to our phones, and that holds true for B2B buyers as well. According to a survey by Google, 70% of B2B researchers use mobile devices during the purchasing process. So, it's crucial that your presentations are easily viewable on any device.

Next up, presentation visualizations - with attention spans shorter than a goldfish, it's important to make sure your presentations are visually appealing to keep your audience engaged. A study by the Content Marketing Institute found that using visuals in sales presentations can increase the chances of closing a deal by 42%.

Speed is also key - sales is a numbers game and you can't afford to waste time creating presentations. A templated system can help ensure speed, efficiency, and accuracy when delivering your sales pitch. According to a survey by Ethos3, the average salesperson spends about 4 hours creating a single sales presentation. Some other studies have found that salespeople spend as much as 10-15 hours creating a single presentation. 

Compliance is crucial.  Your presentations must adhere to industry regulations, maintain the integrity of your brand, and protect your company's intellectual property. It is particularly important for businesses that sell regulated products or services such as medical devices, pharmaceuticals, or insurance products, as it allows you to ensure the accuracy and relevance of shared information and align it with your brand's messaging while presenting it in a professional and appropriate manner.

Presentation analytics is also important - it's no longer enough to send a presentation and hope for the best. Today's sales teams need to be able to track performance in real-time and make data-driven decisions on next steps. A study by DocSend found that companies using their presentation tracking software saw a 34% increase in closed deals.

Lastly, B2B teams need an effective Asset Management system to control the sales content needed to promote and sell their products and services. This includes things like product brochures, pricing sheets, case studies, and demo videos. A study by Gartner found that sales reps spend on average 20% of their time searching for or creating content, and that most of the content they use is either outdated or irrelevant. When your team is not wasting time looking for content they have more time to sell!

When it comes to sales presentation tools, how do Canva and PowerPoint compare in meeting the needs of modern B2B sales teams? 

Canva: A User-Friendly Tool for B2B Sales Presentations

Canva is one of the most popular presentation design platforms in today’s market with over 50 million users and counting. When comparing Canva vs. PowerPoint, Canva’s ease of use is at the top of the list. It’s designed for the non-designer, making it a go-to for many B2B sales teams.

Responsiveness score: 0/10

Canva uses a "free canvas" design, which allows users to add elements like video, imagery, or text anywhere on the canvas. However, this freedom is not ideal for viewing presentations on mobile devices as the canvas itself is not responsive.

Enhanced Visualizations: 4/10

Canva is great for creating basic designs for social content, brochures, invites, and website elements. However, for sales presentations that require enhanced visualization and experiences to explain complex ideas Canva doesn’t have the integration capabilities.

Speed: 7/10

Canva excels in creating quick presentations with its pre-designed templates and easy-to-use interface. Grab a template, add some copy, and you’re done. Plus, a simple and intuitive interface that makes it easy for anyone to create a presentation, even if they have no prior design experience.

Compliance: 4/10

Canva's team functionality allows for sharing brand assets with teams and controlling the use of specific imagery. However, it doesn't offer true control over how company information is used, which can be a concern for companies in heavily regulated industries like medical, pharma, and biotech.

Insights: 0/10

Canva is primarily a design tool, it falls short in the area of tracking performance and gaining insights. Its lack of analytics capabilities can be a significant drawback for businesses looking to use presentations as a key part of their sales strategy, as they will be unable to measure the ROI of their presentations or make data-driven decisions about how to improve them

Asset Management: 10/10

Canva Pro comes with a digital asset management system for teams to consolidate and distribute their sales content. They also do a nice job organizing brand assets and making them accessible so that teams are ensured to use the right fonts, color and imagery in their designs.

Modern B2B sales Team Score: 26/60

Canva is like the "IKEA of design platforms" - it's popular, easy to use, and has a wide range of options to choose from. While Canva is user-friendly and efficient, it may not be the best choice for B2B sales teams looking for more advanced features such as responsiveness, visualization, compliance, and performance insights. It may be better to consider other Powerpoint alternatives that are specifically designed for the needs of today's B2B sales teams.

PowerPoint: The “Granddaddy” for Presentation Sales Tools

PowerPoint, which has been around for over 30 years, is like the "granddaddy" of presentation software. It has stood the test of time and has become the go-to choice for creating presentations. When comparing Canva vs. PowerPoint it’s important to understand its wide range of features, and know it’s still the most popular choice for students and B2B sales professionals globally.

Responsiveness: 2/10

PowerPoint, like Canva, uses a "free canvas" approach, allowing designers to add elements anywhere on the slide. However, this lack of a fixed grid layout can make presentations less optimized for viewing on mobile devices. We have bumped this score up a little as they are making attempts to add mobile responsive features into the platform although the results are not favorable among users. 

Enhanced Visualizations: 7/10

While PowerPoint does offer layout templates and themes, it doesn't have nearly as many options as Canva for design elements. However, PowerPoint does have some more advanced design features, such as the ability to create charts and diagrams. It also has the ability to incorporate 3D models and animations. 

Speed: 5/10

For first-time users, PowerPoint can be challenging to navigate due to its complex interface and numerous options. The software is designed for professional presentations, so it comes with a wide range of features and tools that can take time to learn. Additionally, the interface itself is relatively dated compared to more modern design software, which can make it less intuitive for new users.

Compliance: 2/10

PowerPoint does offer the ability to add permissions and control access to presentations, but it may not be as robust or feature-rich as other presentation tools specifically designed for team collaboration and control. It also has some limiting factors, such as the ability to add permissions only on the online version of PowerPoint.

Companies that leverage 3rd party cloud based solutions such as Dropbox to manage their presentations have much less control over compliance. 

Insights: 0/10

PowerPoint lacks the ability to track viewer engagement, such as who is viewing the presentation, where it's being viewed from, and how much time is spent on each slide. It also doesn't provide detailed analytics on how your team is utilizing the sales content used within the team presentation making it difficult to make educated decisions on content improvements.

Asset Management: 4/10

Microsoft suite comes with OneDrive, a cloud-based file storage system as part of your subscription, but there is no direct connection within Powerpoint and acts as a standalone media management system.

Modern B2B sales Team Score: 19/60

PowerPoint is a classic presentation sales tool that can create professional presentations, but it may not have the ease of use for first-time users and team collaboration. While it offers some advanced visualization features, it's not as feature-rich as Canva and may not be the best choice for sales teams looking for detailed performance insights. 

Canva vs. PowerPoint, the Results Are In

When comparing Canva vs. PowerPoint as sales presentation tools, both have their strengths and weaknesses, but neither are fully meeting the full needs of today's scaling B2B sales teams. The decision to use either platform should come down to the exact needs of your business for its current stage: start-up vs. rapid growth, and pricing that works within your budget.

Canva, the more user-friendly of the two platforms, comes in around $15 per user for the Pro version. PowerPoint, around $22 per user, but this comes with the full suite of Microsoft applications.

Meet Nuvue,  A Modern Presentation Solution for B2B Sales Teams

Nuvue is quickly becoming a popular choice among high-growth B2B brands as a comprehensive presentation system. Nuvue eliminates the need for disorganized sales content and presentations created from templates and outdated decks. With Nuvue, you can take control of your sales narrative and empower your team to sell more effectively and efficiently.

Responsive: 10/10

Nuvue comes with over 50 design templates, all of which are 100% mobile responsive. No matter the viewer's screen size, you can assure they’ll never have to download or pinch and zoom.

Enhanced Visualization: 10/10

Since Nuvue is built like a website, you can incorporate any type of enhanced visualization, such as 3d product tours, explainer videos, ROI calculators – even VR.

Speed: 10/10

Nuvue provides teams with a library of present presentations, so all they have to do is press play. If teams need to create their own presentation, Nuvue’s drag-and-drop editor will allow them to make presentations in seconds.

Compliance: 10/10

Need to lock down certain presentation content but still give the team the flexibility to create their own? No problem. Nuvue’s permissions and teams feature ensures that your team will never alter your story or access presentation content that is not intended for them.

Insights: 10/10

With Nuvue, you’re always in the know. From individual presentation tracking to understanding how all your system's content is performing, you have all the information needed to continually assess and refine your presentations.

Asset Management: 10/10

Nuvue comes with a permissible tag-based media management system that allows your teams to use the content you’ve shared with them within their sales presentations with ease. In addition, you can create tag-based presentations, which are a collection of content that all share the same tag.

Modern B2B Sales Team Score: 60/60

The Final Word: Canva vs PowerPoint vs Alternatives

Want to see how this Canva vs. PowerPoint alternative can streamline your presentation process for your B2B sales team? Take the first step by scheduling your 30-minute Hello Call with Nuvue today. You'll learn how to create the sales story your brand deserves, how to deliver it consistently, and how to empower your team to sell smarter and faster than ever before.