Strategic models are five courses of action described by French General André Beaufre in Introduction to Strategy (1963): direct threats, indirect pressure, successive actions, prolonged all-out struggle, and violent conflict. You choose one based on three variables: how strong your resources are, how important your objective is, and how much freedom of action you have.
What are strategic models, and where do they come from?
André Beaufre (1902–1975) was a French general and military theorist. In 1963, he published Introduction to Strategy, in which he proposed that there is no single correct way to act, but rather models that depend on the situation. His great contribution was to turn intuition into a method: before deciding how to act, assess your resources and how much freedom you have to maneuver.
This article is a continuation of What is the "Want, Can, and Know" strategy and model?. There we saw that every strategy rests on the will to win (wanting), freedom of action (being able), and the ability to execute (knowing). Beaufre’s models answer the following question: Given what I have, how should I act?
The 3 Variables That Define Your Strategic Model
1. Your resources
Everything you can bring to the table: marketing budget, sales force, inventory, brand, and customer relationships. An SME with 30,000 MXN per month for advertising has limited resources compared to a national chain; a distributor with 20 years of experience in its region may have strong resources in its market even if its budget is modest.
2. The Importance of the Goal
Winning an account is not the same as dominating a market. A modest goal (increasing sales in a product line) is pursued differently than a critical one (surviving the arrival of a competitor with prices 20% lower).
3. Your freedom of action
How much freedom do you have to act without someone restricting you: contracts, regulations, dependence on platforms, cash flow, supplier exclusivity. For Beaufre, preserving one’s own freedom of action and limiting that of one’s opponent is the essence of strategy.
Beaufre's 5 Strategic Models, Explained for Small and Medium-Sized Businesses
| Model | Media | Objective | Freedom of action | Example from an SME |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Direct threat | Very strong | Modesto | Wide | Regional leader that offers a best-price guarantee on its key accounts |
| Indirect pressure | Scarce | Modesto | Reduced | Reviews, partnerships, content, and public relations to build brand preference |
| Subsequent Actions | Scarce | Important | Reduced | Conquer one city or one segment at a time and reinvest |
| Prolonged all-out battle | Scarce | Vital | Wide | A niche brand that builds a community and steadily chips away at the big players |
| Violent conflict | Very strong | Important | Reduced | A concentrated launch with the entire budget allocated to a short window |
Direct threat: winning without having to fight
It works when your resources are vastly superior, the objective is modest, and you have ample freedom of action. A simple show of force is enough to make the other side accept your terms. Beaufre associated this with deterrence.
In your business: If you’re the largest distributor in your area and a small competitor enters the market, announcing annual contracts with benefits for your key customers or a supply guarantee may be enough to prompt the new player to look for another market segment. Be careful: making threats you can’t follow through on destroys your credibility.
Indirect pressure: exerting influence when you can't impose your will
It is used when your resources are insufficient to pose a decisive threat, the objective is modest, and your freedom of action is limited. Instead of engaging in direct conflict, you act on other levels: political, economic, diplomatic, or psychological.
In your business: This is where SMEs naturally thrive. Google reviews, partnerships with business chambers, educational content, visibility in AI-powered search engine results (AEO and GEO), and customer recommendations. You can’t beat the big players on budget—but you can beat them on trust.
Next Steps: Moving Forward in Stages
When your resources are limited but the goal is important and your freedom of action is restricted, you break the goal down into steps. You combine indirect pressure and direct threats with actions of force that are limited in time and space, and you take advantage of every opportunity.
In your business: An auto parts shop in Guadalajara that wants to sell throughout the Bajío region doesn't open five locations at once. It starts in León, establishes a foothold, reinvests, and then moves on to Querétaro. Each stage funds the next. It starts by Choose Your Market Niche Wisely.
A Prolonged All-Out Struggle: Perseverance as an Advantage
It applies when your resources are limited but your freedom of action is broad and the objective is vital. Beaufre described it as a low-intensity struggle sustained by a strong moral or ideological component, which forces the adversary to make an effort that it cannot sustain indefinitely.
In your business: The local brand with a clear purpose that publishes weekly, responds via WhatsApp within minutes, and builds a community. The national competitor may spend more, but it struggles to match that level of closeness month after month. The key is that your cost of maintaining this effort is lower than theirs.
Violent conflict: Focus everything on a quick strike
When facing vastly superior forces, with a major objective at stake and limited freedom of action, you seek a quick decision by concentrating your forces. Beaufre warned that if a quick victory does not materialize, the conflict can become bogged down and turn into a war of attrition.
In your business: A product launch with an intensive campaign on Google, Meta, email, and the sales force over four weeks. It only makes sense if your sales funnel It's ready to convert. Otherwise, you'll blow the budget and leave yourself vulnerable.
Direct Strategy and Indirect Strategy: The Two Main Types of Strategy
In addition to the five models, the theory distinguishes between two types of strategy:
- Direct strategy: You target your opponent with your main strength, going head-to-head on the decisive battlefield. In marketing: competing head-to-head on price, product lineup, or advertising spend.
- Indirect strategy: You pursue your goal through avenues that avoid direct confrontation (economic, political, social). You make the most of your limited freedom of action. In marketing: differentiation, niche, service, reputation, and content.
Carl von Clausewitz, in On War (Book III, Chapter 3), he wrote that moral forces are among the most important aspects of war and that their effects are completely intertwined with those of physical forces. In Book IV, Chapter 4, he explains that victory consists of three elements: greater physical losses inflicted on the enemy, greater moral losses, and the enemy’s open acknowledgment of defeat by renouncing its intentions.
In market terms: you win when your competitor stops competing in your segment. That’s almost never achieved with money alone. It’s achieved when customers perceive you as the obvious choice.
The Levels of Strategy in a Company
There is only one strategy, but it is studied at different levels that must be subordinate to one another:
- Overall Strategy: It is defined by management: the mission, the markets, and the combination of commercial, financial, and operational efforts to be used.
- Specific strategies: Marketing, sales, finance, operations. Each department assigns tasks within its own area.
- Operational Strategy: the bridge between what one wants to do and what the tactic enables: campaigns, calendar, quarterly goals.
- Logistics Strategy: inventory, deliveries, support, and systems. Without it, operations are worthless.
How to Choose Your Strategic Model in 4 Steps
- Rate your resources on a scale of 1 to 5 compared to your main competitor: budget, team, brand, and portfolio.
- Determine whether your goal is modest, important, or vital. Be honest: not everything is a matter of life and death.
- Measure your freedom of action. List your dependencies: platforms, vendors, credit, and contracts.
- Cross-reference the three answers with the table and choose the model. Then define the tactics and metrics for each stage.
Common mistake: An SME with limited resources attempting a violent confrontation with a national leader. It almost always ends in a price war and destroyed profit margins.
Next step: Choose the right model using real data
If you're not sure whether your business should take a head-on approach, move forward in stages, or build an advantage through consistency, schedule a free diagnosis with Metamedia. We analyze your media, your competition, and your channels, and we propose the model and tactics that make sense for your budget.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are Beaufre's 5 strategic models?
These are direct threats, indirect pressure, successive actions, prolonged total warfare, and violent conflict. André Beaufre described them in *Introduction to Strategy* (1963). Each model corresponds to a different combination of three variables: the strength of your resources, the importance of your objective, and the freedom of action available to you.
What types of strategies are there in a company?
There are two main types: the direct strategy, which pursues the objective by pitting strength against strength (price, investment, product lineup), and the indirect strategy, which pursues it through avenues that avoid a head-on clash (niche, service, reputation, content). Furthermore, the strategy is organized into levels: general, specific by area, operational, and logistical, all of which are subordinate to management’s objective.
What strategic model is best for an SME?
With limited resources, the usual approach is indirect pressure (reputation, partnerships, content) or a step-by-step strategy (winning one segment or one city at a time and reinvesting). If your goal is critical and you have the freedom to act, a protracted struggle based on persistence and proximity also works. Force-based models are only advisable when your resources clearly exceed those of your competitors.
What is freedom of action in strategy?
It is the ability to decide, plan, and carry out your actions regardless of what your opponent does. In a business, this depends on your cash flow, your contracts, your suppliers, and the platforms you rely on. For Beaufre, the core of strategy is to preserve your own freedom of action and reduce that of your competitor.
What does Clausewitz say about victory?
In *On War*, Book IV, Chapter 4, Carl von Clausewitz explains that victory has three elements: the enemy’s greatest physical loss, its greatest moral loss, and its open acknowledgment by renouncing its intentions. Applied to business, you win when your competitor stops competing in your market segment because customers already see you as the obvious choice.
