PKS Sähkökauppa
Identifying growth pockets
Strategy | Customer insight | Business case
August 2026
PKS Sähkökauppa, Pohjois-Karjalan Sähkö, partnered with After with the goal of identifying a clear, strategy-aligned direction for customer-centric growth in its consumer business. Together, we identified growth pockets through customer insight and structured collaboration, and translated the growth path into concrete choices, actions and measurable objectives.
Growth in the green energy transition
PKS Sähkökauppa is a national energy company and electricity retailer operating from North Karelia. The energy transition has reshaped the electricity market in recent years: consumer awareness of and interest in energy and electricity consumption has grown significantly, while consolidation among energy companies is intensifying competition.
PKS Sähkökauppa has identified customer-centric business development as one of the cornerstones of its strategy. The aim of the collaboration between PKS and After was to identify the conditions for growth in the consumer business and build a growth strategy genuinely grounded in customer insight.
"After's approach to our growth challenge was distinctive and holistic. Customer-centricity and commercial impact were present all the way through. The work had real focus and we achieved clear results that provide a strong foundation for growth."
Nisse Rimpilä
Head of Product and Service Development, PKS Sähkökauppa
Comprehensive customer insight for strategic growth choices
The collaboration began by establishing objectives rooted in PKS Sähkökauppa's strategy and consumer business goals. Growth hypotheses from key stakeholders provided the starting point for identifying growth pockets. In the first phase, we gathered qualitative customer insight by interviewing both PKS customers and non-customers. The interviews explored the motivations, needs and pain points of consumers when purchasing an electricity contract and managing their customer relationship.
We deepened the customer insight gathered in interviews with a survey conducted among both PKS Sähkökauppa's own customers and a national panel. More than 5 000 PKS customers responded to the survey, sharing their expectations of the products and services they want from an energy company, now and in the future. Following the customer insight phase, we prioritised potential growth paths together and identified key growth drivers. These were then translated into measurable, quantitative growth targets for the consumer business.
To support the execution of the growth paths, we mapped PKS Sähkökauppa's ongoing and planned development initiatives. In addition, we generated ideas for new actions to help realise the needs and wishes that had emerged from customers, reflected in PKS's products and services. In a joint workshop, we prioritised the initiatives and scheduled the selected actions on a roadmap. The result: PKS Sähkökauppa now has a clear, strategy-aligned growth direction and plan, as well as a strong foundation for developing its business in a customer-centric way.
Business impact
1
A concrete consumer business growth path aligned with strategy and grounded in deep customer insight: growth choices, actions, ownership and timelines.
2
A robust understanding of the motivations behind electricity contract purchase and customer relationships, as well as customer needs, wishes and pain points to support future development.
3
Measurable growth targets and a business case to support strategic choices and enable ongoing tracking of strategy-aligned growth.
Interested? Be in touch and let’s find your growth pockets.
Sohvi Salmelin
Founder, After Advisory
sohvi.salmelin@afteradvisory.fi
+358 40 830 1168
