Digital product teams today face one of the most critical challenges: analyzing user behavior accurately, quickly, and in an actionable way. However, most teams struggle to build the right structure to make sense of the data they collect, which slows down decision-making. Product managers, marketing specialists, business owners, and technical leaders often have difficulty answering questions such as: “Which user did what, why did they do it, and how does this behavior impact business outcomes?”
At this point, Mixpanel offers a product analytics platform that simplifies this complexity with its event-based data model and powerful analytical capabilities. Two of Mixpanel’s most essential features—Formulas and Custom Properties—enable teams to turn raw data into meaningful insights when used correctly.
In this guide, we explain how these two features work, in which scenarios they are used, and why they become far more efficient when implemented with Omtera’s Mixpanel expertise.
Mixpanel Formulas allow you to mathematically combine one or more metrics to create a new metric. With this feature, teams can:
Most common examples:
For example, in a SaaS product, you can create a KPI such as Activation Rate as a formula and track your product health in one view.
Omtera, as a Mixpanel partner, has deep experience in helping clients define the correct KPI set, standardize formulas, and make the data model scalable in the long term.
Formulas are defined inside Mixpanel’s interface using simple mathematical expressions. When creating a formula:
This formula allows you to see how well your onboarding performs at a glance.
Advantage: It provides a structure that transforms data and standardizes metrics without requiring any additional development.
Omtera’s contribution: Errors in KPI design, incorrect formulas, or missing data points often lead teams to make inaccurate decisions. Omtera prevents these issues from the start—ensuring that the data taxonomy and all formulas fully align with business goals.
In Mixpanel, Custom Properties allow you to derive new attributes from existing event data. These attributes help you understand user behavior in greater detail.
Use cases include:
With Custom Properties, product teams can assign meaning to data afterward, enabling more flexible and powerful analyses.
In Omtera’s Mixpanel implementations, custom properties are often one of the most critical components of the data taxonomy. When teams cannot define the right properties, analysis becomes limited; when defined correctly, user behavior becomes crystal clear.
There are two ways to create a custom property in Mixpanel:
A new property is created from an existing value in the event.
Example: generating a "price_range" from a "price" value.
A property is created using if–else logic.
Example:
Once created, these properties can be used in:
This allows behavioral differences among users to surface clearly.
Both require the right data model.
Misnamed events, missing properties, or inconsistent data lead to incorrect formulas and inaccurate custom properties. This results in teams moving forward with misleading KPIs.
This is exactly where Omtera’s Mixpanel expertise becomes critical.
Omtera, as an official Mixpanel partner, provides end-to-end consulting for data modeling, event taxonomy, dashboard structure, and alignment with business objectives across many organizations.
Although Mixpanel Formulas and Custom Properties appear simple in theory, in practice teams often struggle due to:
Omtera’s contributions include:
Defining which events should be tracked with which properties, which KPIs should be created, and what custom properties are needed—based on business goals.
Ensuring dashboards remain functional long term by standardizing formulas.
Detecting, normalizing, and standardizing incorrect or inconsistent data flows.
Workshops, use-case guidance, and role-based training ensure teams get maximum value from Mixpanel.
When implemented correctly, these two features make it possible to:
These capabilities are essential for organizations aiming to improve data maturity and increase product team velocity.
Formulas and Custom Properties sit at the heart of Mixpanel’s analytical power. With these features, product teams can transform raw data into meaningful, business-aligned insights that drive action.
However, to achieve this, both the data model and KPI design must be flawless.
Omtera, as Mixpanel’s official partner, guides organizations through this entire process—building the right data structure, designing formulas, and optimizing custom properties according to business goals.
A well-configured Mixpanel doesn’t just collect data; it becomes a decision engine that accelerates business growth.
Do you want to configure Mixpanel correctly and transform your data into real business results?
Contact Omtera today and optimize your Mixpanel setup with expert guidance.
What are Mixpanel Formulas used for?
Mixpanel Formulas let you combine multiple metrics through mathematical operations to create new KPIs. This makes critical metrics such as conversion rate, activation rate, and ARPU easy to track in a standardized way.
Why are Custom Properties important?
Custom Properties allow you to derive new attributes from events. They are essential for accurate segmentation, funnel analysis, and retention interpretation. Poorly defined properties limit analysis; well-designed ones reveal user behavior clearly.
What is the main difference between Formulas and Custom Properties?
Formulas create metrics, while Custom Properties enrich user and event data. Formulas operate at the analysis layer; Custom Properties add meaning at the data layer.
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