Customer Insight Dashboard
An example of how sometimes the dashboard you ask for isn’t the one that ends up changing how you work.
Scenario
A small independent pet‑supply retailer was saving data in three separate spreadsheets: customer details, sales records, and enquiry notes. Each dataset worked on its own, but none of them connected — meaning the business couldn’t easily see how a customer’s purchases linked to their enquiries or their pet type.
After cleaning and joining the data the requested business dashboard was built, giving the retail owner a clear view of sales trends, stock movement, customer behaviour and enquiry patterns.
However, during conversations, it became clear that there was still an operational challenge: staff still had no fast way to understand the customer in front of them. So ThinkCave proposed an additional solution — a customer insight dashboard, designed specifically for day‑to‑day use.
The result was a one‑click customer view that brings together contact details, pet type, purchase history, enquiry history, total spend, and last purchase date. A practical tool the retailer didn’t know to ask for, but immediately recognised they needed.
Before → After
Before - three separate spreadsheets
The spreadsheets included:
customer details
sales records
enquiry notes
untidy formatting
small structural issues
usable, but not joined together
Staff had to search through multiple spreadsheets or rely on memory to understand a customer’s history.
After - one-click customer insights dashboard
This dashboard brings together:
contact details
pet type
total purchases
total spend
last purchase date
full purchase history
full enquiry history
Staff can now select a customer and instantly see everything they need to serve them confidently.
What ThinkCave Delivered
Cleaned and joined customer, sales, and enquiry datasets
Built a unified data model using Person_ID
Delivered the business dashboard the retailer originally requested
Identified the operational gap that the business dashboard didn’t solve
Proposed and designed the Customer Insight Dashboard as an additional solution
Created a one‑click customer view for day‑to‑day use
Added summary cards for quick context
Included detailed purchase and enquiry tables for full history
Applied minimal styling for clarity and ease of use
Outcome
The Customer Insight Dashboard gives staff a practical, day‑to‑day tool that improves customer experience, supports upselling, and reduces friction in real interactions. It complements the main business dashboard by solving the operational challenge the retailer hadn’t been able to articulate.
By recognising the gap and proposing an additional solution, ThinkCave delivered more than the requested reporting. The business dashboard met the brief — the customer dashboard met the need.
Why This Matters
This project highlights the difference between delivering a dashboard and solving a problem. Joining the data made reporting possible — but understanding how staff actually worked made the solution useful.
It shows how ThinkCave approaches data work:
Look beyond the initial request
Understand how people use information
Spot gaps that aren’t obvious
Build tools that make everyday work easier
Turn scattered data into something genuinely helpful
GitHub Link
View the full project on GitHub: https://github.com/Dawn-ThinkCave/customer-insight-dashboard/tree/main
Before → After
Before - three separate spreadsheets
The spreadsheets included:
customer details
sales records
enquiry notes
untidy formatting
small structural issues
usable, but not joined together
Staff had to search through multiple spreadsheets or rely on memory to understand a customer’s history.
After - one-click customer insights dashboard
This dashboard brings together:
contact details
pet type
total purchases
total spend
last purchase date
full purchase history
full enquiry history
Staff can now select a customer and instantly see everything they need to serve them confidently.