"The normal guy", as he described himself during his first press conference with Liverpool FC, Jürgen Klopp, has changed the dynamics of community building and sports management. Having been involved with special clubs where the communities are their greatest asset since his early days as a player, Klopp has developed this special knack for being the "people's man".
With realistic goals set, Klopp has understood and built brands from their lowest to the pinnacles no one could dream of. Take his seasons in Mainz 05, Dortmund, and Liverpool FC; Klopp has managed to do what many managers and football fans fantasise about taking teams to. Today, we will be discussing how Klopp has become an example for being the ideal community and brand manager.
One of the first few things Klopp has done while associating with any club is to find the lost connection of the brand back to the community. It is crucial to remind ourselves that every time Klopp joined a club, their financial condition and performance were quite down. Using his natural charisma, he goes down to building back the networks with the local setups such as fan clubs and business establishments to regain their support and trust.
Even during a low time, Klopp managed to show passion and the authenticity the club carries as its essence through his words. One significant moment in his career where he managed to pull everyone together was his speech delivered to the Mainz 05 community after losing the promotion battle for Bundesliga in 2003. Community managers have to understand from this that constant communication is one of the key ways to build a connection between a brand and its community.
Moving on to another key feature of Klopp's management masterclass, he always created a long-term vision that the clubs have to reach along with its short-term goals. Expressing this long-term vision to the community is important to any community manager as one has to understand where the community stands with such goals. This is also important in the end for managing a realistic expectation of the crowd behind the brand.
Klopp believed that for a brand to be sustainable and special, it all lies in its connection to its community and for that, he worked. Creating an identity and reinforcing the community's beliefs is what a community manager has to strive towards. This identity should be the mirror of the community's culture so that one in it can easily associate with the brand. Therefore, taking Liverpool's beloved song, a brand with a community behind it will never walk alone.
