Running a pilot program - any advice?

That's awesome that you've got a pilot in a bank! Congrats!

You might get better/more focused advice if you tell us as much as you want to divulge about what your pilot is ;-)

I haven't made something useful enough for a company to pilot a tool, but I have been in charge of implementing pilots and 3rd party software at a large company.

I think showing appreciation is a good idea. But obviously the critical part is making sure your product is useful and valuable to them :)

A few brainstorming ideas:

• Show interest in making sure it's up and running smoothly. Offer to help automate any difficult processes.
• The optimal contact frequency would probably be as much as possible without bothering your contact. What that means I'm not sure :)
• Let them know that you're ready to make it a success. Tell them you'd be happy to discuss issues with any users or administrators of the pilot, that you want to know of any pain points.
• If your contact has skin in the game, tell them you want to make it successful specifically for them, and suggest anything that might help them or benefit them in their position.