The coronavirus pandemic has caused remarkable shocks to enterprises that have had negative repercussions on their existing capacity. To preserve a company's competitive advantage, it is necessary to provide new, sustainable products or services. Survival, customer satisfaction, and lack of longevity of small and medium-sized businesses continue to generate public discussion and scientific interest. Inadequate innovative strategy is one of the primary issues that might contribute to low customer satisfaction. The objective of this study is to determine the association between innovative strategy and long-term customer satisfaction in chosen small and medium-sized businesses in Lagos State. This study employed a survey research methodology with a sample size of 742 owner-managers from chosen SMEs in Lagos State. A questionnaire that was adopted and verified for the research was used to collect data. The questionnaire items' Cronbach's alpha coefficients range from 0.77 to 0.88. The percentage of respondents to the survey was 92.6%. Using descriptive and inferential statistics, the gathered data were evaluated (Pearson product moment correlation and regression analysis). The data analysis revealed a significant relationship between innovative strategy and customer satisfaction in Lagos State (= 0.090, t = 3.029, F = 9.176, p<0.05). The conclusion of this study is that innovative strategy is a resource that enhances customer satisfaction, sustainability, and business performance. This conclusion has both theoretical and practical consequences. It is recommended that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Lagos State incorporate innovative strategy and sustainability into their strategic vision and plans in order to increase their competitive advantage, as it may be advantageous for the environment, marketing, and product and service development.
