Yesterday was election day in America, which means the cable news channels will be packed with pundits today, each giving their take on what politicians should have done in hindsight.

Looking at the governor’s race in Virginia, it’s pretty clear what happened: one of the candidates ran on politics, while the guy who won talked about solving real problems for the public. Pretty easy decision, right?

Taking in the data—the political swing of the state, the fact that Biden won by 10 points last year, etc—most people thought it was McAuliffe’s race to lose. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned over the past year, it’s that doing little things that actually help people can be pretty effective in overcoming just about any obstacle.

In the end, you don’t need every voter on your side to win. In fact, going after every voter is a losing proposition because you cannot please everyone. You just need more votes than the other candidate, which is understood in politics, but it’s never really been a business strategy for retail. In the sales market, you want the entire pie.

But in 2021, I’m not sure that’s a winning agenda for independent wine and spirits retailers. If you’re not pissing a few customers off, you’re probably not doing your job right. If you’re not spreading the whiskey wealth, helping everyday shoppers get their fair share of the allocated nightmare that is the Bourbon market, then you’re irritating your base. If you put limits on bottles, or favor loyalty programs to reward your best customers, you anger the most passionate collectors who tend to be vocal about their disdain.

In coming back to retail exactly one year ago today, I decided Mission was going to focus on solving some of these problems for everyday shoppers, those who don’t spend every waking minute on the internet, hoarding as many bottles as they can find. As it turned out, that message resonated with enough people for us to win. We didn’t win all the votes, as we’ve certainly angered some people along the way, but—as I mentioned above—you can’t please everyone. Looking at the numbers year over year, we’re in a pretty good position based on our strategy.

Listening to Van Jones on CNN this morning, he talked about Bill Clinton’s strategy after Democrats lost big during the midterm congressional elections back in the nineties. He said Clinton regrouped by doing lots of small things that resonated with everyday voters and made them feel seen. I would argue for that same strategy in retail today.

Answer emails in a timely manner, help customers get the bottles they want, be kind and compassionate, and be as fair as possible. Take the heat when people get huffy about their Bourbon, but stand your ground and remain consistent. You may not get all the votes, but you’ll probably still win the race.

-David Driscoll