This is a guest post by Mike Piddock, Founder and CEO of Glisser – interactive presentation software that allows event managers to live-share presentation content with audience smartphones, and incorporate polling, Q&A, feedback forms and social media feeds.

With Christmas now well and truly behind us, January can be a bit of mixed bag for those of us in the events industry. Optimism for our events ahead, building on the success of the previous year and adding in some improvements and perhaps some new tech. Yet at the same time, it can be hard to get the wheels turning after a couple of weeks of R&R.

The trick to getting the most out of these dark January days is to focus on a few key tasks that really lay the groundwork for the year ahead. Time spent doing a few things really well now, will pay dividends throughout the year.

Here are 5 useful things to do RIGHT NOW to set you up for events success in 2016…

1. Review that feedback!

So hopefully you made a key point of collecting as much feedback from your stakeholders – whether delegates, presenters, suppliers or even colleagues – over the previous year. But one of the real dangers of feedback is collecting it but doing nothing with it. Maybe you collected so much it feels overwhelming? Or perhaps you gathered it from so many sources through so many systems it’s giving you a headache just thinking about it.

Well now’s the time to deal with it. Gather it into one place, decide what you want to get out of the feedback (new ideas, a list of issues that need fixing, a way of personalising delegate communication), create a structured process for reviewing it, and crack on.

If you’re not using your feedback, you may as well not collect it. Filter it, extract some key action points, and put them somewhere where you’ll be regularly reminder of them.

2. Give your database an early spring clean

Another task that certainly won’t get your heart pounding with excitement, but time spent getting your database in shape will save you time and money over the year. How? Well a tidy database will give you are far better platform from which to develop highly personalised marketing, meaning more delegates for this year’s events.

Simply tidying up the ‘First Name’ field will mean your emails can actually be addressed to that person. Understanding where that contact was found, or the last event they attended, will help you pitch your event in the right way for their level of engagement with your brand. Plus a tidy database now is a great starting point for all the valuable data you’ll be capturing this year.

3. Check your website(s) search engine optimisation

New events for the year may mean updated or entirely new websites are being created. It’s important that you optimise these pages to ensure they are working hard for you throughout the year.

Use Google Analytics or bring in a specialist to give your site a review and develop some key action points. Brief copywriting teams to ensure they’re producing content that helps rank your site for crucial keywords – do it now so they have a plan for the year. Plus, review your listing on any sites that aggregate events, ensuring contact information and social media links are up to date.

And be mindful about ‘switching off’ sites from 2015. Often these pages can be beneficial in pushing your new sites up the Google rankings, or leading potential attendees to your more recent content.

[Download complete guide to SEO]

4. Meet with a handful of new suppliers

It’s not just the ‘boring but necessary’ tasks that should be picked up in January. It’s also a great opportunity to think differently and creatively – challenge what you did last year, or what you’ve been doing every year. Take the opportunity to bring new vendors into your office to understand how they might be able to help you, but also to pick their brains about your challenges for the year.

The best providers in the industry will recognise that their success depends on your success, and will be more than willing to offer ideas and contacts to help you deliver on your goals. They’ll probably have their fingers on the pulse of new technology that fits your needs, or perhaps another client that’s solved a similar challenge before that can help you.

5. Set up your reporting documents and measures of success

Now you’ve completed numbers 1 to 4, you’re well set for a successful 2016 – so don’t forget to measure it! Establish what your key criteria for success will be for the New Year, and get them down on paper. Then start to think about how you’re going to be able to measure whether you’ve hit these targets over the year – what data do you need to collect?

For example, perhaps a Net Promoter score from each of your events will be your key measure of success – you want your attendees recommending your events to their colleagues, right? So how are you going to measure that simply and effectively? Perhaps using technology during the event to capture delegate viewpoints and feedback?

Establishing this right now will help you do the right things this year, and make next year’s January task list just that little bit easier!