Rhetoric in customer referencing: Fortifying sales arguments in two start-up companies Jari Ruokolainen a,b, ⁎, Leena Aarikka-Stenroos c,1 a Nokia Networks, Espoo, Finland b Tampere University of Technology, Korkeakoulunkatu 10, FI-33720 Tampere, Finland c Industrial Management, CITER (Center for Innovation and Technology Research) Tampere University of Technology, Korkeakoulunkatu 10, FI-33720 Tampere, Finland abstract article info Article history: Received 5 March 2013 Received in revised form 2 July 2015 Accepted 7 July 2015 Available online 17 August 2015 Keywords: Start-up Customer reference Value creation Value-in-use sAles Argumentation Rhetoric Persuasion Constructive case study This study investigates how start-up companies can strengthen their argumentation power and the persuasive- ness of their scarce customer references by applying the principles of rhetoric in the business-to-business (B2B) context. We demonstrate how to fortify the qualitative information embedded in a start-up's single customer reference. By conducting a constructive study with two longitudinal cases, we develop a construction for qualitative reference information with the help of the literature on start-ups, value creation, customer references, and rhetoric. This construction of qualitative reference information for a start-up comprises (1) basic reference data, (2) the reference customer's long-term orientation, (3) the reference customer's value-in-use experiences comprising both direct benefits (i.e., monetary benefits) and (4) indirect benefits (e.g., new competencies), (5) the start-up supplier's demonstrated and improved competencies, and (6) the customer's current and future-oriented commitments to conducting business with the start-up. This study also associates each informa- tion element to aspects of rhetoric and accordingly develops propositions regarding the persuasive effects. In addition, it demonstrates the procedure for capturing information to highlight divergent customer perspectives with the assistance of the single reference customer. The key contributions of this study are the developed construction for qualitative reference information and understanding how the rhetorical approach improves sales argumentation by improving logos (rational aspect), pathos (emotional aspect), and ethos (source credibility), as well identification in B2B marketing. The construct also serves as a managerial tool for building and developing single customer references effectively. The results of this study, and particularly the developed propositions, build avenues for further research on start-up and customer reference marketing. © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction From the societal perspective, start-up companies should bring growth, increase wealth, and renew the societal structures by introduc- ing new services and products (e.g., Fritsch & Noseleit, 2013; Koster & Stel, 2014). Often, start-ups must capitalize their knowledge, for example, in technology, after making a breakthrough in their research and development (Ruokolainen & Mäkelä, 2007). A start-up can be defined as a company in the process of setting up business (Brierley, 2001). However, start-ups frequently encounter problems with market entry and growth due to their newness and foreignness, which comprise a lack of reputation, legitimacy, and knowledge of the various business environments (Sepulveda & Gabrielson, 2013). Studies have highlighted that start-ups and small companies lack marketing competencies (e.g., Huang & Brown, 1999; Perry, Jones, Rowley, & Kupiec-Teahan, 2012), and this underscores the marketing and sales challenges that start-ups face, since customers tend to prefer established suppliers, whose robust performance is already recognized, and who already have an established customer base (e.g., Ewing, Caruana, & Loy, 1999; Podolny, 1993). In order to resolve these prob- lems and overcome the liability of being small and new, start-up compa- nies often need to employ early customer relationships as customer references to help them expand their business (Partanen, Chetty, & Rajala, 2014). Therefore, this study addresses the important aspect of how start-ups can fortify scarce customer references to enhance sales and growth. Previous studies on customer referencing noted that customer references can provide reference information through detailed reference lists as well as through more descriptive success stories and case histories (Anderson & Wynstra, 2010; Jalkala & Salminen, 2009; Kumar, Petersen, & Leone, 2013; Salminen & Möller, 2006). Recently, Kumar et al. (2013) suggested that richer information content in customer references is more influential, but they did not investigate further the essence of this richer information content or Industrial Marketing Management 54 (2016) 188–202 ⁎ Corresponding author at: Tampere University of Technology, Korkeakoulunkatu 10, FI-33720 Tampere, Finland. E-mail addresses: jari.ruokolainen@nbl.fi (J. Ruokolainen), leena.aarikka-stenroos@tut.fi (L. Aarikka-Stenroos). 1 Tel.: +358 41 4436553. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2015.08.002 0019-8501/© 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Industrial Marketing Management