Industry benchmarks are averages of averages — compiled from companies with different list quality, send frequency, and audience composition. Comparing your click rate to a published benchmark treats your list as if it were the average of everyone else's. The benchmark scores the wrong thing.
Teams declare performance healthy or failing against a standard that was never calibrated to their audience, causing misallocated optimization effort.
Click rate benchmarks become meaningless as performance targets when applied to lists with different composition and cadence.
Your click rate is within the published industry benchmark range but conversion from email to purchase or trial is flat or declining. The benchmark appears satisfied while the actual list performance is disconnected from any outcome that matters to your program.