I’ve been writing some direct mail lately for an ad agency client. While they are B2B pieces (the audience is small- and medium-sized businesses), they do have a bit of a B2C feel. As such, an occasional exclamation point has been in order, especially in the call-to-action language.
Generally, I see too many exclamation points in business communications. They’re everywhere—in Tweets, emails, blog posts and more. I find it even more distressing when I see exclamation points littering B2B marketing pieces.
Business people wouldn’t continually shout in face-to-face meetings or sales presentations, would they?
Besides, continual use of a particular punctuation device tends to diminish its effectiveness. Too much seasoning spoils the stew.
My advice: Refrain from widespread usage of exclamation points! Especially in B2B.
Neil Sagebiel 