Despite a recent study of CEO’s by Forbes and Gartner, that C-level executives rely more on the Web for their news and industry information, it’s still hard to get C-Level approval for many Web projects beyond good old marketing efforts. This despite the PR guy dropping off a copy of a nasty blogger regarding recent financial results to the CFO. So why, if so many C-Level execs are using the Web more and more, is it hard to get that executive level buy-in to Web projects. In our experience, it’s about Approach, Metrics, Evidence and Return.

In part you could blame it on us marketers. The Web since the mid-90’s was pushed mostly as a new era in marketing. It was a wonder land. Yes, it was and is, great for marketing. But the Web is far more than just a marketing channel now. Doc Searles et al were very prescient in the Cluetrain Manifesto when it first came out many years ago - the Web is a conversation.

This being said, many C-Level executives are only just beginning to discover the other potentials of the Web themselves. Yes, more than 70% of CEO’s see the Web as a primary news source compared to perhaps 20% only a few years ago (we’re guessing here, there is no study to back that stat that we can find.) As a PR pro, investor relations or HR professional, you see the added value of the Web for more than just marketing. So how do you generate awareness in the C-Suite for project approvals other than marketing?

Here’s some suggested guidelines we’ve found helpful in our work, based on the fact we work mostly at the C-Level in organizations;

Approach: Know your timing and have all the facts with you when you do. From case studies to the following points. Ensure the timing is correct as well. In the middle of prepping for an analyst call is not good approach timing.

Evidence: Gather your evidence. Have Case Studies, White Papers, budgets and projections along with a schedule for implementation and the impact to the organization as a whole and how it relates to your departments deliverables in relation to the Strategic Plan and Business Plan. Have a 1-2 page Executive Summary and the other materials just in case.

Metrics: How will success be measured? What metrics will you put in place and do those metrics relate to your KPI’s for your team/department and are they Leading or Lagging Indicators?

Return: What is the return to the department and the company? Can evidence of a return either financially (which is the best, at least in perception) or human capital wise or market share lead to greater corporate benefits?

These four key elements can help move projects that are not just marketing related to the forefront in an organization. There may be others and sometimes there’s politics and ego’s to deal with as well. At least having the peices in place will go a long way to obtaining project approvals.