Marlene Merle speaking about entrepreneurship, innovation and impact in Lanzarote, Canary Islands

Independent consultant · Lanzarote

Strategy.Technology.Business.

I help companies and entrepreneurs turn ideas, products and brands into digital businesses that the market understands, finds and buys.

Digital strategy · AI Visibility · Product · Go-to-Market · Business Development

Tell me about your project

Lanzarote · Canary Islands · National and international projects

I don't just develop digital products.I build a business around them.

My work sits exactly where strategy, technology, marketing and business intersect.

For more than 20 years I have been building companies, developing products, selling, negotiating, analysing markets and turning ideas into real projects.

I hold a degree in Computer Science, but I have spent most of my career close to clients, markets and companies.

That allows me to approach a project from two perspectives that rarely come together: understanding what technology can do, and understanding what the business needs to achieve.

Portrait of Marlene Merle

“Understand the problem first. Build the solution afterwards.”

How I can help you

Six areas · 01 — 06

01

Digital strategy & product

From an idea to a clear digital product and a commercial proposition that holds up.

When it isn't yet clear what to build, how to structure it or what the customer actually needs — that is where I add the most value.

  • Digital strategy
  • Product conceptualisation
  • MVP and validation
  • Customer journey
  • Product architecture
  • Service digitalisation
  • Market analysis
02

Does your company exist for artificial intelligence?

AI Visibility, SEO & GEO.

The way people discover companies is changing. Google is no longer the only entry point. ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Perplexity and other AI systems are starting to influence which companies, products and services get discovered and recommended. I actively research and measure that visibility in my own digital businesses — with first-hand data, not borrowed theory.

  • AI Visibility Audit
  • GEO / Generative Engine Optimization
  • Strategic SEO
  • Content architecture
  • Semantic optimisation
  • Entity / authority strategy
  • Measuring AI-sourced traffic
  • Optimisation for search engines and AI assistants
03

Branding & positioning

A brand doesn't start with a logo. It starts with being clear about why someone should choose you.

Strategic brand development: what you say, to whom, with which argument and with which commercial consequence.

  • Positioning
  • Value proposition
  • Brand architecture
  • Naming
  • Messaging
  • Storytelling
  • Creative direction
  • Digital presence design
04

Go-to-Market & business development

Entering the market with a plan, not with a hunch.

Hands-on experience building B2B pipelines with hotels, vacation rental operators, tourism companies and businesses in other sectors: prospecting, proposal, negotiation and closing.

  • Go-to-Market strategy
  • B2B sales
  • Lead generation
  • Partnerships
  • Commercial strategy
  • Market entry
  • Sales processes
  • Negotiation
05

Web & digital presence

A beautiful website isn't enough. It has to explain, position, convince and convert.

I don't sell web design: I treat digital presence as a measurable commercial asset.

  • Web conceptualisation
  • UX / customer journey
  • Conversion architecture
  • SEO architecture
  • AI-ready content structure
  • Landing pages
  • Analytics
  • Conversion tracking
06

Consulting for tourism & hospitality

Specific knowledge of a sector I know from the inside.

An area of specialisation — not the only sector I work in.

  • Digitalisation of experiences
  • Customer journey
  • Experience economy
  • Hospitality technology
  • B2B2C models
  • Tourism products
  • Partnerships
  • AI applications in tourism

Own ventures

I don't just advise.I also build.

Alongside working with companies, I develop my own digital products. That changes the conversation: I know the real cost of every decision.

Benty

Marketplace · B2B2C

A digital marketplace for curated sports experiences in the Canary Islands. Built from concept to MVP and real B2B2C operations.

Product, positioning, supplier network, commercial model, digital acquisition and B2B partnerships.

TerrisOS

TravelTech · AI

A current product exploration in TravelTech and artificial intelligence, focused on traveller intent and on discovering trips through experiences.

I work with companies from the perspective of someone who also builds, sells, tests, gets it wrong, measures and builds again.

20+ years between technology, business and people.

Areas of expertise · core

Digital products
TravelTech
B2B2C
Business Development
P&L
Sales
Operations
Branding
Marketing
Digital strategy
AI Visibility
Go-to-Market

Education

Computer Science (Dipl.-Ing.)

Furtwangen University (Germany) · Final grade 1.4 — Excellent

Diploma thesis: BMW AG, Munich

Languages

  • GermanNative language
  • SpanishBilingual proficiency
  • EnglishFull professional proficiency

Awards · 2025 — 2026

Awards

2025

Winner · Impulsa Startup

Chamber of Commerce of Lanzarote and La Graciosa

Project: Benty

2026

Winner · Innovation Award

Charter 100 Canarias / Government of the Canary Islands

Project: Benty

Marlene Merle taking part in a panel discussion on entrepreneurship and innovation at the Universidad de Verano de Lanzarote (Marina Hub Lanzarote)

Public presence

Ideas I also share away from the screen.

Speaker, jury member and guest entrepreneur at events on entrepreneurship, innovation, tourism and technology in the Canary Islands.

Regular contact with the innovation ecosystem of the islands: entrepreneurship programmes, business forums and working sessions with institutions and companies in the tourism sector.

Portrait of Marlene Merle

“I'm more interested in understanding how things work than in doing them the way they have always been done.”

For more than two decades curiosity has taken me through very different worlds: technology, marketing, sales, entrepreneurship and digital product development.

What connects all of them is the same question:

Where does the problem really sit, and what can we build to solve it better?

Are you working on something interesting?

Tell me what you are trying to build, improve or sell.

Direct contact

Marlene Merle

Lanzarote · Canary Islands

marlene@benty.es

LinkedIn

Frequently asked questions

Common questions

What does Marlene Merle do?

I work as an independent consultant in digital strategy, AI Visibility and GEO, digital product, branding, Go-to-Market and business development. I support founders, managing directors and established companies when they need to decide what to build, how to position it and how to sell it.

What does an AI Visibility audit involve?

It is an analysis of how your company appears (or doesn't) when someone asks AI systems such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude or Perplexity about your category: what is said about your brand, which sources are cited, how your information is structured, and what needs to be corrected in content, entities and architecture so that it becomes understandable and quotable.

What is GEO or Generative Engine Optimization?

GEO is the optimisation of a digital presence for generative engines and AI assistants. Unlike classic SEO, which targets positions in a list of results, GEO works on semantic clarity, content structure, entity consistency and the sources a model can use when composing an answer.

Does Marlene Merle only work with companies in Lanzarote?

No. I am based in Lanzarote and work with companies across the Canary Islands, mainland Spain and internationally — remotely and on site, depending on the project.

Can she help build a digital product from scratch?

Yes. I have built my own products from concept to MVP and real operations: proposition definition, product architecture, validation, commercial model and launch.

Do you work with companies in the tourism sector?

Yes. Tourism and hospitality are a specific area of expertise: digitalisation of experiences, customer journey, B2B2C models, partnerships and applied AI. It is not my only sector, but it is one where I bring first-hand context.