Whether you’re selling a product or service, it’s important to know how well you’re meeting your customer’s expectations. One indicator might be whether or not, based on past experience, they would recommend you to another company. That’s the information Lampin Corp.—a critical component manufacturer based in Uxbridge, Massachusetts, that specializes in right-angle gearboxes and spiral bevel gear drives—sought when it presented its customers with a survey known as “The Ultimate Question.”

Based on research by brand loyalty expert Fred Reichheld, a fellow at Bain & Co., the survey asks “On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being extremely likely, would you recommend Lampin to your friends or colleagues?” Collectively, the answers generate a “net promoter score, or NPS, which measures how willing a company’s customers would be to recommend that company to friends and colleagues.

The good news is that Lampin earned an NPS of 85.7, meaning that nearly all of its customers would give their recommendation. Conducted in coordination with the strategic Web marketing services organization Applied Interactive, the survey received a strong response rate, lending additional weight to the findings. “The Ultimate Question” is considered by many to be a reliable litmus test for customer satisfaction and, therefore, a good metric for planning strategic company growth. Go here for a video about the company’s MITRPAK right-angle gearbox.