Beyond the Numbers With Kyle Weston
There’s a good chance you’ve heard Kyle Weston described as Estland’s “numbers guy.” While that’s certainly true, it only tells part of the story.
Recently promoted to Data Director, Kyle helps transform marketing data into clear, actionable insights that help clients make smarter decisions. John Krampf sat down with him to talk about home renovations, camping adventures, data, AI and helping clients solve their business problems.
Q&A
I know you’ve spent a lot of time renovating your home over the past couple of years. Has there been a project you’ve enjoyed more than you expected?
Absolutely. Almost everything beyond painting was completely new to me. The bathroom renovation, building the deck and remodeling parts of the kitchen were all first-time projects.
The deck was probably my favorite because I enjoy being outside and creating something from the ground up. The bathroom remodel was rewarding too, although tiling the shower definitely came with a learning curve.
I’m guessing there had to be at least one project that didn’t go exactly as planned. Any good stories?
There was one that could’ve turned into a pretty big disaster.
I converted the primary bathroom from a single vanity to a double vanity, which meant running new plumbing through the wall. Everything seemed fine until I heard a faint dripping sound after turning the water back on.
It turned out I’d forgotten to install one of the protective metal plates over the studs before hanging the drywall. One drywall screw barely nicked a water line.
Thankfully, I caught it almost immediately before it caused any water damage. It was definitely a lesson I’ll never forget.
That’s probably one of those mistakes you only make once.
Exactly.
One thing I’ve always found interesting about you is your annual camping trips out West. How did those get started?
Right after I got my dog as a puppy, I started looking for trips we could take together.
That eventually led me down a YouTube rabbit hole where I discovered overlanding and off-grid camping. Before that, I really hadn’t done much camping growing up.
Once I started researching it, I was hooked. I built out my truck, gathered all the gear and planned my first trip out West.
You seem like someone who probably spends more time planning the trip than actually taking it. Am I right?
(Laughs.) That’s probably fair.
Honestly, I think planning the first trip took longer than building everything in my truck.
When you’re driving thirty hours across the country, you want to know where you’re going, have backup plans and understand what to expect. I enjoy that process because it helps me discover places I probably would’ve missed otherwise.
Sometimes the destination ends up being great. Other times you find something even better along the way.
Listening to you talk about planning these trips, I can’t help but think that’s probably how you approach your work, too. You’ve officially stepped into Estland’s Data Director role. What excites you most about this next chapter?
I think we’re at this really interesting inflection point where AI is changing what’s actually possible with data, and I want us to be ahead of that curve for our clients. The thing I’m most excited about is building custom AI-powered tools and apps that don’t just surface data but actually help clients understand what to do with it.
When most people hear the word “data,” they immediately picture spreadsheets, dashboards and reports. I have a feeling you see it a little differently.
Spreadsheets, dashboards and reports are the container, but the data is the piece that converts what actually happened in your business into something you can look at, learn from and act on.
It’s telling you a story about your customers, your campaigns, your spend and your marketing efforts. My job is to read that story and then tell it back in a way that’s actually useful to the client or business owner.
One thing I’ve always appreciated about the way you present data is that you make it approachable. Even complicated reports somehow feel understandable. Why is that so important to you?
Data without action is just overhead.
If I hand a client a 10-page report and they close it and never look at it again, I haven’t helped them.
The goal with data should always be clarity and direction. When someone who isn’t living inside the numbers every day can look at what I’ve put together and quickly understand what’s working, what’s not, and the actionable next steps, that’s when it’s actually doing its job.
I want clients to walk away from a report or data meeting with a sense of clarity and direction, not feeling overwhelmed or confused.
Data without action is just overhead.”
Kyle Weston, Data Director, Estland
That really leads into my next question. You’ve said before that data should drive action, not just reporting. What does that philosophy look like in practice?
It starts with asking “so what?” with the metrics and reporting.
If I tell a client their ad’s click-through rate was down 4% last month. Okay, so what? Does that mean we adjust the ad language? Make adjustments to the landing page? Pivot to a different ad type?
The reporting is just the first step. The real work is building a clear line between what the data shows and what the next move is.
In practice, that means I’m not just building dashboards and reports, but I’m thinking about what decisions this data needs to support. Every metric on the page should be there because it connects to something the client or Estland can act on.
What’s one misconception businesses have when it comes to measuring marketing success?
That results will show up fast.
I think that sometimes there’s an expectation that if you run ads for 30 days and the phone doesn’t ring off the hook, something is broken.
But marketing, especially in the early stages, builds over time. The data from month one is telling you something, but it’s usually telling you what to adjust, not whether the whole thing is working or not.
Businesses that pull the plug too early never give themselves a chance to see what the data would have looked like in months three or four.
Patience and consistency are part of the strategy. The numbers will catch up if you’re making the right moves and acting on what the data is giving back to you.
The goal with data should always be clarity and direction.”
Kyle Weston, Data Director, Estland
Last question. After spending all day analyzing numbers, how do you know you’ve found something that’s actually worth acting on?
When it changes what I would recommend.
If I find something in the data and my advice to a client stays exactly the same, it wasn’t an insight—it was just information.
But when I look at something and immediately think, “Okay, we need to do something different because of this,” that’s when I know it’s actionable.
Congratulations again on your promotion, Kyle! Thanks for taking the time to chat with me.
Happy to do it!
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