If you’re in B2B marketing and sick of wrestling with vague content stats, you’re not alone. Pathfactory’s reporting tools can be powerful, but only if you know what matters and how to set things up without drowning in options. This guide is for marketers, ops folks, or anyone who actually needs to prove that content is pulling its weight—not just make a pretty dashboard.
Let’s cut through the fluff and get you building custom reports in Pathfactory that you’ll actually use.
Why Custom Reports? (And What To Ignore)
Pathfactory comes with standard reports, but they’re… well, standard. You’ll get a lot of high-level numbers, and a bunch of “engagement” stats that sound impressive but aren’t always actionable. If you want answers to questions like “Which assets actually move deals forward?” or “What content is ignored?” you’ll need to go custom.
What’s worth tracking: - Which assets are viewed most (and by whom) - How long people stay with each asset - What content paths lead to conversions or pipeline - Drop-off points—where people bail
What’s mostly noise: - “Engagement score” with no context - Vanity metrics (total views without quality) - Overly broad attribution (“influenced X pipeline” with no detail)
You’re not here for a pat on the back. You want to know what’s working, what’s dead weight, and where to double down.
Step 1: Get Clear On What You Want To Measure
Before you click anything, ask yourself:
- What decisions will this report drive? Don’t measure just to measure.
- Who will use the report? Sales? Marketing? Execs? Yourself?
- What’s realistic to track? (Not everything is trackable, and that’s okay.)
Common goals: - Spotting best/worst performing assets - Tracing which content is used in closed/won deals - Understanding drop-off points in content journeys
Pro tip: Write down your “must have” and “nice to have” questions up front. Otherwise, you’ll end up with a Frankenreport that impresses no one.
Step 2: Get Your Content and Metadata In Order
Custom reports are only as good as your data. Garbage in, garbage out.
What to check before building reports:
- Asset tagging: Are your assets tagged by topic, persona, funnel stage, etc.? If not, do this now. You’ll thank yourself later.
- Content groupings: Are assets organized into Collections, Tracks, or Campaigns? Pathfactory reports are much easier if you use these.
- Naming conventions: Be consistent—“2024_Product_Overview.pdf” is better than “finalv3.” Don’t laugh, we’ve all seen worse.
If your content library is chaos, pause and clean up. Don’t waste time reporting on a mess.
Step 3: Navigate to Pathfactory’s Analytics & Reporting Section
Not everyone finds Pathfactory’s reporting UI intuitive. Here’s how to get to the right place:
- Log in to your Pathfactory instance.
- Click on Analytics in the main navigation.
- From the dropdown, choose Reports (sometimes called “Custom Reports” depending on your version).
- You’ll see a list of default reports. Ignore them for now—click Create Report or New Custom Report.
If you don’t see these options, you may not have the right permissions. Bug your admin for access.
Step 4: Choose Your Report Type
Pathfactory offers a few different custom report types. The main ones you’ll care about:
- Content Performance: Tracks views, time spent, engagement on specific assets.
- Track/Collection Performance: Shows how groups of assets perform together.
- Visitor/Account Analytics: Focuses on who’s engaging, not just what.
For most people, “Content Performance” is the workhorse. Start there unless you have a clear reason to do otherwise.
Step 5: Filter, Slice, and Dice—But Don’t Go Nuts
This is where people fall into the weeds. You want actionable filters, not a kitchen sink.
Recommended filters:
- Date range: Last 30/90 days, or custom period
- Content type: eBook, case study, video, etc.
- Tags: Topic, persona, funnel stage
- Campaign or Track: If you want to see performance in a specific journey
- Visitor/account info: Industry, company size, etc. (if you have that data)
What to skip: - Overly granular filters (“show me only people from Idaho who view at 9:17am”) - Filtering on fields you don’t trust (dirty data = misleading results)
Pro tip: Start broad, then narrow down. It’s easier to zoom in than to zoom out after you’ve built a monster query.
Step 6: Pick Your Metrics (and Ignore the Fluff)
Pathfactory gives you a buffet of metrics. Here’s what’s actually useful:
- Total views: How many times was the asset loaded? (Basic, but still matters.)
- Unique visitors: Avoid double-counting people who binge.
- Average time spent: Did they actually read/watch it, or just bounce?
- Completion rate: Especially for long-form content or videos.
- Downstream actions: Did they fill out a form, click a CTA, or move to another asset?
Skip or treat with caution: - “Engagement score” (unless you understand exactly how it’s calculated) - Metrics with unclear definitions—if you can’t explain it to your boss, don’t use it
Step 7: Configure and Save Your Report
Once you’ve set up your filters and metrics:
- Preview the data. Make sure it makes sense—look for weird spikes or zeros.
- Adjust columns. Hide anything you don’t care about.
- Name your report clearly. “Top Whitepapers Q2 2024” beats “TestReport1.”
- Save and schedule. Most teams want reports emailed weekly or monthly. Pathfactory lets you set this up—just check the scheduling options.
Pro tip: Don’t be afraid to save multiple versions for different audiences (exec summary vs. deep dive).
Step 8: Share and Interpret—Don’t Just Email a Spreadsheet
A good report is useless if nobody knows how to read it. When sharing:
- Add a quick summary or highlight reel—what surprised you? What should the team do?
- Call out any data caveats (“Note: some visitors are anonymous, so account stats are an estimate.”)
- If you see something weird (a sudden drop, one asset dominating), dig in before you panic or celebrate.
Remember: Numbers ≠ insight. The goal is action, not trivia.
What About Integrations? (A Reality Check)
Pathfactory pushes data into systems like Salesforce, Marketo, or your BI tool. This sounds great, but be realistic:
- Salesforce reports: You can tie content views to opportunities, but only if your CRM is squeaky clean and Pathfactory is set up right.
- Marketo/Automation: Good for triggering nurture or scoring, but don’t expect magic attribution.
- BI tools: Useful if you need to blend Pathfactory data with other sources—but expect some data wrangling.
Bottom line: Integrations are powerful when you’ve got your basics down. Don’t try to automate everything on day one.
Common Pitfalls (and How To Dodge Them)
1. Reporting on everything, learning nothing.
Start with 2-3 key questions. Add more only if people actually use the answers.
2. Letting dirty data mislead you.
If your asset tags or account IDs are a mess, fix them first. Don’t trust reports built on sand.
3. Ignoring context.
If a whitepaper gets 500 views, is that good? Compared to what? Always benchmark.
4. Chasing attribution unicorns.
You’ll never get perfect insight into which content “closed the deal.” Aim for directionally useful, not forensic precision.
Keep It Simple, Iterate, and Don’t Obsess
Custom reporting in Pathfactory is a tool—not a magic bullet. Start with the metrics and views that drive real decisions. Share what you learn, ask for feedback, and tweak as you go. Don’t get sucked into building a report no one reads.
The best reporting setup? One you’ll actually use—again and again. Good luck, and keep it straightforward.