Company spokesperson vs. customer testimonial: Investigating quoted spokesperson credibility and impact in business-to-business communication

• Partial support for greater credibility of customer rather company spokesperson.
• Quoting a customer adds credibility to business audience's perception of an article.
• Attitude toward product more positive when information quotes customer spokesperson.
• Spokespersons trusted more by businesspeople with low expertise than high expertise.

Through the framework of source credibility, this study examines the impact of quoting a company executive versus a customer testimonial in a business communication context. A 2 (spokesperson) × 7 (media channel) full factorial experiment (N = 514) showed partial support for enhanced perceived credibility of information conveyed by a customer testimonial compared to a company spokesperson in independent and controlled media channels online. When evaluated through a measure of media credibility, a customer spokesperson rates higher than a company spokesperson. In addition, a product is viewed more positively by an audience receiving information quoting a customer spokesperson rather than a company spokesperson. An audience with low business expertise considers both types of spokespersons as more trustworthy than a high-expertise audience; however, a customer is considered more trustworthy than a company spokesperson. The study provides public relations professionals with insight in determining the use of spokespersons when communicating to businesspeople.