Originally posted by Jamie Verdi on The Andera Blog. Follow us on twitter @AnderaInc.

If you work at a bank or credit union today, chances are you use some type of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform at work for customer relationship management, marketing automation and analytics, branch management, account opening and lending, etc. SaaS can help you automate processes to better serve your customers, but even implementation of the most intuitive platform can be a pain, because it requires a representative from the bank or credit union to take time from their routine to manage IT integration, set up user logins and passwords, configure details and features, and formally introduce the new platform to the company. When this process is complete, and the “plane” is built, it’s easy to relax and return to business as usual, new tool in hand.

Unfortunately, SaaS implementation isn’t over once the plane is built.  To make the most out of third-party technology, the system administrator also needs to think about how exactly the company should use the it, and what supplementary measures need to be taken to utilize the full potential of the platform. This is an ongoing process that requires tweaking as employees come and go, and the needs and capabilities of the institution evolve. I call this “flying the plane.”

A good provider will both help you build the plane, provide maintenance when needed, and also help you fly it. At Andera, our account management team helps our customers fly the plane in four ways:

• Set goals for account opening and lending by looking at benchmarks set by other financial institutions of the same size on Andera’s network
• Connect clients with each other so they may share success stories and talk about what they’ve learned along the way. (In fact, we’re hosting a webinar on 2/21 with one of our top-performing clients, University Federal Credit Union, where they’ll share specifics on how they’ve achieved success in the online channel.)
• Provide tips and ideas for optimizing your website to drive online account opening and lending
• Share marketing best practices and strategies for developing referral programs, online advertising, and retargeting with incentive offers
• Explain the problem of abandonment and share best practices for workflow optimization and risk strategy maximize approved applications.

Ultimately, flying the plane depends on the client. We hate to see a built plane sit in the hanger, but it happens more often than you might think, mostly because of employee transitions or diffusion of responsibility within the bank or credit union. That’s why it’s also extremely important to make sure that any piece of SaaS your institution purchases has a dedicated pilot-someone who is responsible for the success and full utilization of the platform.

To learn more about flying the plane, subscribe to The Andera blog, or check out Andera’s free webinars, videos, and whitepapers in the resources section.