It's no secret that the movement of mobile technology to an increasingly shrinking screen size – and now to wearables and screen-less virtual assistant technology like Alexa – have posed considerable challenges to credit unions. Credit unions are known for being community-focused and developing relationships rather than for being cutting edge and tech-savvy. When we think about these challenges, we might be tempted to mostly consider them from a user experience perspective – concerns such as the expense and effort involved in choosing and constructing a digital banking platform, or how to make the platform aesthetically desirable enough for credit union members to download, adopt and integrate into their banking habits. However, I would like to suggest that an aspect of omnichannel banking credit unions aren't considering enough is how it can improve their ability to market across all digital contexts.

The Incredible Shrinking Interface

To be clear, marketing within omnichannel banking can be a pain point for all traditional financial institutions, not just credit unions. Screen sizes for most users become more compact with each iteration of wearable technology, and optimizing a platform for smartphone use now means accommodating a wide range of screen sizes. This creates a real marketing challenge, with only a few inches of real estate granted for each opportunity to grab a user's attention. To add to this burden, many of the other applications available on mobile and wearable devices are flashy and highly interactive, and offer the convenience of one-click purchasing options, which make impulse buys more alluring. Although e-commerce and "quantified lifestyle" apps may not be a credit union's market competitors, they are all stiff competition when it comes to fighting for attention and adoption from digital banking users. So how does a credit union leverage marketing opportunities within the omnichannel sphere's most daunting form factors: In-application marketing for mobile devices, wearables, and to a certain extent, voice-assisted banking devices?